| Malta | |||
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| — Constituent country in the United Kingdom — | |||
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| Motto: Virtute et constantia (Latin) ("Strength and persistence") |
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| Anthem: L-Innu Malti |
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| Capital | Valletta | ||
| Award of the George Cross to Malta | April 15, 1942 | ||
| Malta Representation Set 1957 | November 15, 1957 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Devolved government within a parliamentary constitutional monarchy | ||
| - King | Charles III | ||
| - Prime Minister | Robert Abela | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 316 km2 (122 sq mi) | ||
| Population | 519,562 | ||
| Time zone | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Malta is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy, Libya, and Tunisia, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers having contested and ruled the islands, including the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Romans, Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. John, French, and British, amongst others.
Native Maltese people make up the majority of the island. However, there are minorities, the largest of which are Britons, many of whom are retirees. The population of Malta as of July 2011 was estimated at 408,000. Malta is composed of two larger urban zones nominally referred to as "Valletta" (the main island of Malta) and "Gozo". The main urban area covers the entire main island, with a population of around 400,000. The core of the urban area, the greater city of Valletta, has a population of 205,768.
The economy of Malta is heavily reliant on tourism, and the country promotes itself as a Mediterranean tourist destination with its warmer climate compared to the rest of Europe, numerous recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum, Valletta, and seven megalithic temples which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world.
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