Malta is formally known as the Republic of Malta, an island country in the European Union containing an island chain in the Mediterranean Sea, and also considered part of Southern Europe. It lies 80 kilometres (50 mi) south of Sicily (Italy), 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and also 333 kilometres (207 mi) north of Libya. The official languages are Maltese as well as English, and also 66% of the current Maltese population is at the very least conversational in the Italian language.

Malta has been occupied because roughly 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically offered it fantastic strategic significance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having actually contested and ruled the islands, consisting of the Phoenicians as well as Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and also British, amongst others. A lot of these international influences have left some kind of mark on the nation’s old culture.

With a population of regarding 516,000 over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the world’s tenth-smallest nation in area and also 4th most densely populated sovereign nation. Its resources is Valletta, which is the smallest nationwide resources in the European Union by location as well as populace.

According to the data from 2020 by Eurostat, the Practical Urban Area and also cosmopolitan area covered the entire island and also has a population of 480,134, as well as according to the United Nations, ESPON and also EU Compensation, “the whole territory of Malta constitutes a single urban region”. Malta significantly is referred to as a city-state, as well as also noted in positions concerning cities or metropolitan areas. Malta is one of both island countries in the Mediterranean, in addition to Cyprus.

Malta ended up being a British colony in 1813, working as a way terminal for ships and also the head office for the British Mediterranean Fleet. It was besieged by the Axis powers throughout World War II as well as was an important Allied base for operations in North Africa and also the Mediterranean. The British parliament passed the Malta Self-reliance Act in 1964, giving Malta freedom from the United Kingdom as the State of Malta, with Elizabeth II as its queen. The nation came to be a republic in 1974. It has actually been a member state of the Republic of Nations and also the United Nations since self-reliance, and signed up with the European Union in 2004; it entered into the eurozone monetary union in 2008.

Malta has had Christians since the time of Very early Christianity, however was predominantly Muslim while under Arab rule, at which time Christians were endured. Muslim guideline finished with the Norman intrusion of Malta by Roger I in 1091. Today, Catholicism is the state religious beliefs, yet the Constitution of Malta guarantees liberty of conscience as well as spiritual worship.

Malta is a vacationer location with its cozy environment, many entertainment locations, as well as building and historic monuments, including 3 UNESCO Globe Heritage Sites: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, Valletta, as well as seven megalithic temples which are some of the earliest free-standing structures worldwide.