Malta

Full name of country: Republic of Malta

Region: Europe

Official language: Maltese, English

Population: 469,730 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Maltese (singular and plural) (noun), Maltese (adjective)

Land area: 316 sq km (122 sq miles)

Capital: Valletta

National anthem: "L-Innu Malti" (The Maltese Anthem), by Dun Karm Psaila/Robert Sammut

National holiday: Independence Day, September 21 (1964); Republic Day, December 13 (1974)

Population growth: 0.51% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC +1

Flag: The flag of Malta is half white, half red. There is a George Cross in the flag’s upper left-hand corner

Independence: September 21, 1964 (from the UK)

Government type: parliamentary republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age (16 in local council elections); universal

Legal system: mixed legal system of English common law and civil law (based on the Roman and Napoleonic civil codes); subject to European Union law

The Republic of Malta is an archipelago of five islands located in the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout history, Malta has experienced invasions by the Phoenicians and Romans and the Normans, French, and British. During World War II, the islands played a strategic role in the battle for North Africa, and numerous Axis bombings devastated the cities and the population.

Malta was granted full independence from Great Britain in 1974. It has established itself as a center for shipping, and over the decades, tourism has become its most important industry. In 2004, Malta was admitted into the European Union.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: Malta’s population is showing only slight growth and has a median age of 43.5 years (2024 est.). Life expectancy is comparable to other European countries: 81.5 years for men and  85.8 years for women (2024 estimate). Malta ranked 25 out of 193 countries and territories (based on data for 2021) on the 2022 United Nations Human Development Index.

About 94.9 percent of the population was concentrated in urban centers according to 2023 estimates. The largest city, located on the island of Malta, is the capital, Valletta, with a population of 213,000 in 2018. Other large cities include Saint Paul’s Bay and Mosta, also located on the main island of Malta. Marsaxlokk is also a major port. After the island of Malta, Gozo is the second largest island in the Maltese archipelago. Gozo is more rural than the island of Malta. Gozo’s largest town is Victoria.

The population of Malta is almost totally homogenous. Maltese people are descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians, with a mixture of several ethnic groups from the Mediterranean region.

Maltese is a Semitic language, and modern Maltese is heavily indebted to Arabic. Subsequent colonizers, however, added many loanwords from Romance languages. Both Standard Maltese and English are the country’s official languages: the former being used in daily life, government, and the media, the latter often being the language of instruction. Standard Maltese has several dialects, most significantly the dialect spoken on the island of Gozo. It is written in a modified Latin alphabet.

The majority (90 percent; 2006 estimate) of the population professes Roman Catholicism. The Maltese trace their conversion to Christianity to the first century, when Saint Paul was shipwrecked on the main island. Scholars, however, have not been able to substantiate the widely accepted version of events. In any case, Catholic traditions permeate the culture and have withstood periods of Byzantine and Muslim conquest.

Indigenous People: Malta’s strategic position has attracted settlers and invaders from throughout the Mediterranean region. The archipelago was first settled by people from Sicily around 4000 BCE. As Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Arabs arrived, the typical character was gradually modified. The modern Maltese people and their culture reflect these many historical influences.

Education: Malta’s educational system is highly developed and reflects British influence. Education is free and compulsory between the ages of five and sixteen; preprimary and the upper levels of secondary school are also free, and enrollment after the age of sixteen is high.

Students sit a national exam after the sixth year of schooling in addition to annual testing in various subjects. Students who choose to continue their education are then streamlined into academic and vocational programs. Private schools, many of which are Catholic, follow a similar educational structure. The literacy rate is 94.9 percent (2021 estimate).

The University of Malta, founded in 1592 by the Jesuits, is the country’s most prestigious institute of higher education. It offers a wide range of degrees and has several institutes operating under its auspices.

Health Care: Malta’s national health care system is highly developed and free. It covers every citizen of Malta under the National Insurance Scheme, which receives funds from the government, employers, and general taxation. The comprehensive system covers the full range of patient needs, including pharmaceuticals.

As part of the European Union, Malta has reciprocal agreements with other EU countries to provide health care to all EU citizens. In addition to the national health care system, there are private hospitals that patients pay for either out-of-pocket or through private insurance policies. The Ministry for Health oversees both public and private health systems.

Food: Maltese cuisine has been influenced by its many colonizers but is closest to Sicilian cuisine. Lunch is the main meal of the day, and the heavy bread called hobza accompanies most meals. Pasta is one of the major staples, with fresh pasta being preferred. Meat and seafood dishes are both common.

Typical dishes include ravjul, pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese and herbs and topped with tomato sauce; various savory pies stuffed with cheese, vegetables, meat, or fish; baked or stewed rabbit seasoned with herbs; ross fil-forn, rice baked with meat and tomato sauce; and stewed snails dipped in fresh herbs and garlic.

Soups are also popular, particularly minestra, a vegetable soup, and aljotta, a fish and rice soup. A favorite snack is pastizzi, a pastry stuffed with egg and cheese, with meat, or with anchovies. Nougat, date pastries, almond macaroons, and local fruits are typical Maltese desserts. Coffee and local wines and beers are widely consumed.

Arts & Entertainment: Malta has a rich cultural heritage; this is especially evident in the islands’ architecture. Secular and sacred structures, ancient and medieval, were constructed from the native stone, giving the towns and villages of the island a unified look, and demonstrating considerable skill in stone dressing.

Malta has developed a formidable literary canon, though Maltese did not become a widespread literary language until the nineteenth century. It is based on European literary forms and strongly influenced by Italian literature. Novelists and playwrights are popular, but poets are considered to have created the purest expressions of Maltese language and culture. Francis Ebejer, Joseph Attard, Victor Fenech, and Achille Mizzi are just a few of the country’s well-respected authors.

Folk music has a long history in Malta. The most popular traditional form is l-ghana, which was influenced by both European and Arabic music. Lyrically, l-ghana can entail carefully crafted poetic verses or a call and response format, in which two singers “duel” as they make up the song in an impromptu fashion. Nowadays, the music is accompanied by acoustic guitar.

As in most European countries, Western sports, especially football (soccer), are popular in Malta.

Holidays: A strong tradition of Roman Catholicism provides the context for Malta’s major celebrations. In addition to the numerous feast days of the Catholic calendar, the Maltese celebrate the Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (February 10), which commemorates St. Paul’s accidental visit to the island, and the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul (June 29). Feast days in Malta are characterized by parades, folk music, processions with statues, and church services. The beginning of the Lenten fasting season is preceded by Carnival. Revelers wear masks and join processions in the streets.

Secular holidays include Freedom Day (March 31); the Sette Giugno, a commemoration of the 1919 uprising against British forces (June 7); Independence Day (September 21); and Republic Day (December 13). Our Lady of Victories Day (September 8) commemorates the Great Siege of 1565, when the population repelled an attack by the Turks, as well as the bombing of the islands during World War II.

Environment and Geography

Topography: The Republic of Malta consists of a string of five islands in the Mediterranean Sea known as the Maltese archipelago. Only three of them (Malta, Comino, and Gozo) are inhabited; the other two are Kemmunett (Cominotto) and Filfla.

The limestone islands have a flat, rolling terrain and low elevations. Deep but narrow straits separate the three main islands. The archipelago is approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Sicily and 290 kilometers (180 miles) from the coast of North Africa.

Malta, covering 246 square kilometers (95 square miles), is the largest island. Its coastline measures 196.8 kilometers (122 miles) and has many natural harbors. Some stretches are characterized by high cliffs, others by stony beaches. Ta’Dmejrek is the country’s highest point at 253 meters (830 feet). It rises in the southwestern portion of the island in the Bingemma Hills. Gozo, the second largest island, has fewer natural harbors but otherwise resembles the island of Malta.

Natural Resources: Malta is seriously limited in terms of natural resources, of which salt and limestone are its two most prevalent. Arable land covers 28.4 percent (2018 estimate) of the country, and some areas are highly cultivated with typical Mediterranean crops.

There is also a marked lack of natural fresh water sources on the islands, and residents must depend on desalinization (the removal of salt from seawater) programs for potable water.

Plants & Animals: Malta’s dry, relatively barren landscape does not provide habitats for extensive plant and animal life. It is thought that the islands were, for the most part, deforested in ancient times. Today, there are small stands of Aleppo pine, buskett, holm oak, olive, willow, poplar, elm, laurel, and carob trees. Shrubs and grasses are predominant as undergrowth and in areas where the land has been degraded by overgrazing or the topsoil is of poor quality.

Insects, reptiles, a few migrating birds, and several types of shrew live on the islands. In addition, the waters surrounding the islands are rich in marine life.

Climate: Malta experiences a typical Mediterranean climate, with warm summers and temperate winters. Hot sirocco winds from Africa prevail throughout the summer, with temperatures averaging 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit). July and August are the hottest months, and January is the coldest. In the winter, the average temperature is 14 degrees Celsius (57 degrees Fahrenheit).

Precipitation occurs in the form of rain. It falls most heavily between November and February, where there is an average eight days of rain. The summer months in Malta average between three hundred and four hundred hours of sunshine.

By the 2020s, experts warned of the country facing increasing impacts of climate change in the form of rising sea levels and drought.

Economy

Malta has a strong, diverse economy that is somewhat curtailed by its reliance on foreign trade, since it lacks its own energy resources and produces a small percentage of its own food. The labor force numbered an estimated 313,000 in 2023 with an unemployment rate of 3.13%  percent. In 2023, the gross domestic product (GDP, purchasing power parity) was US$31.661 billion, or US$57,200 per capita.

The economy has grown in the twenty-first century, and Malta joined the European Union in 2004. Membership also means that the local economy must meet stringent EU standards.

Industry: The industrial sector accounts for a significant portion of the GDP and employment. Electronic goods, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, apparel, and tobacco, are all produced in Malta. Mining is restricted to limestone, which is an important source of building material for the islands.

The most important industry is shipping, with Malta’s ports offering extensive dry-dock facilities, ship construction, and ship repair. The port of Valletta is a common stop for cruise ships and has ferry links with other Mediterranean ports.

Agriculture: Agriculture accounts for only a small percentage of the GDP and employment. Despite poor soil conditions, a variety of agricultural products are grown, often on terraced fields. They include grains such as wheat and barley; vegetables such as potatoes, cauliflower, and green peppers; fruit such as grapes, tomatoes, and citrus; and flowers. Poultry, swine, and dairy cattle are raised in small numbers.

Tourism: Over the last several decades, tourism has become Malta’s most dynamic sector. Services, of which tourism is a major part, account for the largest percentage of the GDP and employment. About 3.5 million tourists visited Malta in 2019. While the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 interrupted travel due to virus control restrictions, the National Statistics Office reported that 2,150,174 tourists visited between January and November 2022.

Though it is a small country, Malta offers an array of sites and activities and a sunny, mild climate. Some of the oldest ruins in the world are located on the islands in the form of megalithic temples cut from native limestone; other cultures, such as the Romans, left structures in later periods. There are also numerous well-preserved towns and villages dating from the medieval era. Valletta, a walled city, is renowned for its narrow streets, Norman churches, and Grand Port. Popular activities on and around the islands include scuba diving, hiking, and yachting.

Government

Malta was under the jurisdiction of Great Britain from 1814 until 1964, when it became independent but remained within the Commonwealth of Nations. Ten years later, Malta became a republic. Since 2004, it has been a member of the European Union.

Since 1974, Malta has been a parliamentary republic. The executive branch consists of a president who acts as head of state and a prime minister who acts as head of government. The president is elected by the House of Representatives to a five-year term. The prime minister is the leader of the party that wins the majority in parliamentary elections. They are assisted by a cabinet, which is chosen by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. The House of Representatives can withdraw support from the prime minister and the cabinet, thereby ending their term.

The unicameral legislature consists of the House of Representatives, a body normally consisting of sixty-five members who are elected to five-year terms by popular vote. The number of seats may vary. In order to guarantee a majority, seats are allotted proportionally along party lines.

The judicial branch is made up of the Court of Appeal, the Constitutional Court, the Court of Criminal Appeal, the Civil Court, the Criminal Court, the Court of Magistrates, and the Gozo Courts. Judges of the Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court are appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the prime minister and cannot serve past the age of sixty-five.

Malta is divided into sixty-eight localities (fifty-four in Malta proper and fourteen in Gozo), which are overseen by a local council. A mayor heads each council, which is elected by popular vote every three years. The local councils work closely with the central government.

Parties that have dominated the political scene in Malta include the Nationalist Party, which has a conservative ideology, the Malta Labor Party, which has a democratic socialist ideology, and the ADPD, which holds a strong environmental platform.

Interesting Facts

• Legend has it that Calypso’s cave, where the Greek mythological hero Odysseus was delayed for seven years in his return from the Trojan War, is on the coast of Gozo.
• The entire population of Malta received the George Cross in recognition of its resistance during World War II.
• The Maltese drive on the left-hand side of the road, as is done in Great Britain.
• The first Starbucks in Malta opened in 2019.
• In 2021 Malta became the first member country of the EU to legalize marijuana.

Bibliography

"Climate in Valletta, Malta." Weather & Climate, 2023, weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,valletta,Malta. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.

"Economic Impact Reports." World Travel and Tourism Council, 2020, wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact. Accessed 21 Sept. 2020.

Human Development Report 2021/2022. United Nations Development Programme,13th March 2024, hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf‗1.pdf. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.

"Inbound Tourism: November 2022." Malta National Statistics Office, 17 Jan. 2023, nso.gov.mt/inbound-tourism-november-2022/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2023.

"Malta." The World Bank, 2024, data.worldbank.org/country/malta. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025

"Malta." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2 Jan. 2025, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/malta/.Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.