Malta
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Valletta
- Population
- 521,828 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 316 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Languages
- Maltese (official) 90.1%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.9% (2005 est.)
- Religions
- Roman Catholic (official) more than 90% (2006 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)
- Currency
- euros (EUR)
- Life Expectancy
- 83.6 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .mt
- Climate
- Mediterranean; mild, rainy winters; hot, dry summers
- Terrain
- mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs
- Natural Resources
- limestone, salt, arable land
- Major Exports
- refined petroleum, integrated circuits, packaged medicine, ships, postage stamps/documents (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
With a civilization that dates back thousands of years, Malta boasts some of the oldest megalithic sites in the world.