Malta

Prehistory

Malta was first inhabited between 8000 and 6500 BC with the arrival of Mesolithic era hunter-gatherers, likely from Sicily.^[24] Neolithic farmers, also originating from Sicily, are thought to have arrived on the islands by around 5400 BC.^[25] Prehistoric settlements dating to the Early Neolithic era include the Għar Dalam cave site in the uppermost layers, associated with domesticated animals.^[26] The Neolithic population of Malta grew cereals, raised livestock and, like many other European civilisations, worshipped a mother goddess.^[27]

Later, the Maltese started to build megalithic temples. Around 3500 BC, these people built some of the world's oldest existing free-standing structures in the form of the Ġgantija temples on Gozo. Other early temples include those at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra. These temples are the oldest free standing megalithic structures in the world, constructed even before the Egyptian pyramids.^[28][24]

After 2500 BC, Malta was depopulated for multiple decades until an influx of Bronze Age immigrants, a culture that cremated its dead and introduced smaller structures called dolmens as tombs.^[29] They likely belonged to a different population from the builders of the previous temples. Due to the similarity of these dolmens to small constructions in Sicily, it is presumed that this newer population arrived from there.^[30]

Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans

Phoenician traders colonised the islands at some time after 1000 BC under the name of Ann (𐤀𐤍𐤍‎, ʾnn)^[31][32][33] as a stop on their trade routes from the eastern Mediterranean to the Strait of Gibraltar.^[34][35][36] Their seat of government was at Mdina,^[32][33] and their primary port at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour, which they called Maleth.^[31] After the fall of Phoenicia in 332 BC, the area came under the control of Carthage.^[35][37] During this time, the people of Malta primarily produced olives, carob, and textiles.^[37]

During the First Punic War, the island was conquered by the Roman general Marcus Atilius Regulus.^[38] After the failure of his expedition, the island returned to Carthaginian control, only to be conquered again during the Second Punic War in 218 BC by Tiberius Sempronius Longus, a Roman consul.^[38] Malta became a foederata civitas (federated state), meaning that it fell within the jurisdiction of the Roman province of Sicily and was exempted from tribute.^[39] Its capital was renamed Melita after the Greek and Roman name for the island.

Punic influence, however, remained in the islands.^[40][41] Local Roman coinage, which ceased in the 1st century BC,^[42] indicates the slow pace of the island's Romanisation, as the last locally minted coins bear inscriptions in ancient Greek and Punic motifs, showing Maltese resistance toward Greek and Roman culture.^[43] The Roman period also introduced highly decorative mosaic floors.^[44]

In 395, when the Roman Empire was divided for the last time at the death of Theodosius I, Malta and Sicily fell under the control of the Western Roman Empire.^[45] As that empire declined during Europe's Migration Period, Malta was conquered or occupied a number of times.^[42] In 454, the islands were subdued by the Vandals and the Ostrogoths (Germanic tribes) in 464.^[38] In 533, Belisarius, a Byzantine general, and his army went to conquer the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, and reunited the islands under Byzantine rule.^[38] Little is known about Byzantine Malta: the island depended on the theme of Sicily and had Greek governors and a small Greek garrison.^[38] Although the bulk of the population continued to consist of the old Latinised dwellers, Malta's religious allegiance oscillated between the pope and the patriarch of Constantinople.^[38] Byzantine rule introduced Greek families to the Maltese collective.^[46] Malta remained in the Byzantine Empire until 870, when it was conquered by the Arabs.^[38][47]

Arab period and the Middle Ages

Malta became involved in the Arab–Byzantine wars, and its conquest is linked with the Muslim conquest of Sicily that began in 827 after Admiral Euphemius killed Constantine V.^[48] The Muslim chronicler and geographer Ibn ʿAbd al-Munʿim al-Ḥimyarī recounts that, in 870, following a violent struggle against the defending Byzantines, the Arab invaders—first led by Halaf al-Hadim and later by Sawada ibn Muhammad—^[49]pillaged the island, destroying the most important buildings and leaving it practically uninhabited until it was recolonised by the Arabs from Sicily in 1048–1049.^[24]

Malta was a settlement for Banu Matkud,^[50] a vassalised tribal city state of the Berbers,^[51] from Misrata during both the Fatimid Caliphate and the Aghlabid dynasty.^[52] It is uncertain whether this new settlement resulted from demographic expansion in Sicily, a higher standard of living in Sicily, or the civil war that broke out among the rulers of Sicily in 1038.^[53] The Arab Agricultural Revolution introduced new irrigation, cotton, and some fruits.^{[citation needed]}

The Siculo-Arabic language from Sicily was adopted on the island, eventually evolving into the Maltese language.^[54]

Norman conquest

The Normans attacked Malta in 1091 as part of their conquest of Sicily.^[55] Their leader, Roger I of Sicily, was welcomed by the Christians, who were glad to re-convert to Christianity.^[56] Malta became part of the new Kingdom of Sicily, which also covered the southern Italian Peninsula. The Catholic Church was reinstated as the state religion, with Malta under the Archdiocese of Palermo, and some Norman architecture sprang up around Malta, especially in its previous capital, Mdina.

Because of the strategic importance of the islands, they were particularly coveted, and it was during this time that the men of Malta were militarised to fend off attempted conquest. King Tancred made Malta a fief and installed a count of Malta in 1192. The early counts were privateers of Genoese ancestry.^[39]

The kingdom passed on to the Hohenstaufen German dynasty from 1194 until 1266. As Emperor Frederick II began to reorganise the Sicilian kingdom, Western culture and religion started to exert their influence more intensely.^[57] Malta was declared a county and a marquisate, but its trade was destroyed and for a long time it remained solely a fortified garrison.^[58]

A mass expulsion of Arabs occurred in 1224, and the entire male Christian population of Celano, Italy in Abruzzo was deported to Malta in the same year.^[39] In 1249, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II decreed that all remaining Muslims be either expelled from Malta^[59] or compelled to convert.^[60][61] In 1266, the kingdom passed to the French Capetian House of Anjou,^[62] but high taxes made the dynasty unpopular in Malta, due in part to Charles of Anjou's war against the Republic of Genoa, and the island of Gozo was sacked in 1275.^[39]

Crown of Aragon and the Knights of Malta

Malta was ruled by the Catalan House of Barcelona, the ruling dynasty of the Crown of Aragon, from 1282 to 1409,^[63] with Aragon aiding Malta in the Sicilian Vespers in the naval battle in Grand Harbour in 1283.^[64] Relatives of the crown ruled Malta until it formally passed to the Crown of Aragon.

Early in the Aragonese ascendancy, the sons of the monarchs received the title Count of Malta. During this time, much of the local nobility was created, but by 1397 the bearing of the title of count reverted to a feudal basis with two families fighting over the distinction. This led King Martin I of Sicily to abolish the title, but it returned a few years later. The Maltese, led by the local nobility, rose up against Count Gonsalvo Monroy although they voiced their loyalty to the Sicilian Crown, which impressed King Alfonso V of Aragon to the extent that he did not punish Malta, and chose never to grant the title to a third party, moving it back under the crown's control.^[39]

On 23 March 1530,^[65] the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V gave the islands to the Knights Hospitaller under the leadership of the French Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam,^[66][67] for which they had to pay an annual tribute of a Maltese falcon.^{[68][69][70][71]} These knights, a military religious order also known as the Order of Saint John and later as the Knights of Malta, had been driven from the Greek island of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522.^[72] The Knights ruled Malta until 1798.^[73] During this period, the island's strategic and military importance grew as the Knights' efficient fleet launched attacks from this new base, targeting the shipping lanes of the Ottoman territories around the Mediterranean.^[73][74]

Led by the French Jean Parisot de Valette, the Knights withstood the Siege of Malta by the Ottomans in 1565^[67] with the help of Portuguese, Spanish, and Maltese forces.^[75][76] After the siege, the Knights increased Malta's fortifications, particularly in the inner-harbour area, where the new city of Valletta was built.^[77]

French period and British conquest

The Knights' reign ended when Napoleon captured Malta on his way to Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798. From 12 to 18 June 1798, Napoleon resided at the Palazzo Parisio in Valletta.^[78][79][80] He reformed Maltese administration with the creation of a government commission, 12 municipalities, a public finance administration, abolition of feudal rights and slavery, and freedom to all Turkish and Jewish slaves.^[81][82] On the judicial level, a family code was framed and 12 judges nominated.

Public education was also organised along principles set by Napoleon, providing for primary and secondary education.^[82][83] He then sailed for Egypt, leaving a substantial garrison in Malta.^[84]

The French forces left behind became unpopular in Malta, mainly due to their being anti-Catholic. French financial and religious policies so angered the Maltese that they rebelled, forcing the French to depart. Great Britain, along with Naples and Sicily, sent ammunition and aid to the Maltese, and Britain also sent a navy to blockade the islands.^[82]

On 28 October 1798, British Captain Alexander Ball completed negotiations with the French garrison on Gozo for a transfer of Malta to the British. The British then transferred the island to the locals that day, and Malta was administered by Archpriest Saverio Cassar on behalf of Ferdinand III of Sicily. Gozo remained independent until Cassar was removed by the British in 1801.^[85]

The French General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois surrendered his forces in 1800.^[82] Maltese leaders thereupon gave the main island to Alexander Ball, asking that it become a British dominion, with the Maltese creating a Declaration of Rights in which they agreed to come "under the protection and sovereignty of the King of the free people, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland".^[82][86]

British Empire and World War II

In 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris, Malta officially became a part of the British Empire.^[82] Between 1915 and 1918, during World War I, Malta became known as "the Nurse of the Mediterranean," due to the large number of wounded soldiers who were accommodated there.^[87]

On 7 June 1919, the Maltese public rioted in response to a cost-of-living crisis, but British troops eventually managed to suppress the riots with four fatalities. The event, known as Sette Giugno (Italian: the 7th of June) is commemorated every year on that date, becoming one of Malta's five "National Days".^[88][89] Until World War II, Maltese politics was dominated by the Language Question.^{[90][clarification needed]}

Prior to World War II, Valletta had been the location of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean fleet headquarters. Over Winston Churchill's objections,^[91] however, the command was moved to Alexandria, Egypt, in 1937 out of fear that Valletta was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe.^[91][92][93] Indeed, because of its being a British colony as well as situated close to Sicily and Axis shipping lanes, Malta was bombarded by the Italian and German air forces. During the war, Malta played an important role for the Allies. It was used by the British to launch attacks on the Italian Navy and as a submarine base and as a listening post, intercepting German radio messages including Enigma traffic.^[94]

The Maltese defence during the second siege of Malta moved King George VI to award the George Cross to Malta collectively on 15 April 1942. Some historians argue that the award caused Britain to incur disproportionate losses in defending Malta, as British credibility would have suffered if Malta had surrendered, as occurred during the Battle of Singapore.^[95] A depiction of the George Cross now appears on the flag of Malta and the country's coat of arms.^[96]

Independence and Republic

Malta gained independence as the State of Malta on 21 September 1964. Under its 1964 constitution, Malta initially retained Elizabeth II as queen of Malta and therefore head of state, with a governor-general exercising executive authority on her behalf. In 1971, however, the Malta Labour Party led by Dom Mintoff won the general elections, resulting in Malta's declaration of itself as a republic within the Commonwealth on 13 December 1974. A defence agreement was signed soon after, re-negotiated in 1972, and expired on 31 March 1979 (Freedom Day).^[97] Upon its expiry, the British base closed and lands formerly controlled by the British were given over to the Maltese government.^[98]

After the departure of the remaining British troops in 1979, the country intensified its participation in the Non-Aligned Movement, adopting a policy of neutrality in 1980.^[99] In that same year, three of Malta's sites, including the capital Valletta, were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In 1989, Malta was the venue of a summit between United States and Soviet leaders George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, which precluded the end of the Cold War.^[100] A referendum on Malta's joining the EU was held on 8 March 2003, with 53.65 percent in favour,^[101] after which Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004 and the eurozone on 1 January 2008.^[102][103]

Climate

Malta's climate is Mediterranean (Köppen climate classification Csa),^[115][116] with mild winters and warm summers. Rain occurs mainly in autumn and winter.^[117]

The average temperature is around 19 °C (66 °F), with 23 °C (73 °F) during the day and 15 °C (59 °F) at night. In the coldest month, January, the typical maximum temperature ranges from around 15 °C (59 °F) during the day and minimum 9 °C (48 °F) at night. In the warmest month, August, the typical maximum temperature ranges from around 31 °C (88 °F) during the day and 22 °C (72 °F) at night. In March and December average temperatures are around 17 °C (63 °F) during the day and 11 °C (52 °F) at night.^[118] Snow is rare, although it has occurred.^[119][120]

The average annual sea temperature is 20 °C (68 °F), from 15 °C (59 °F) in February to 26 °C (79 °F) in August. In the six months from June to November, the average sea temperature exceeds 20 °C (68 °F).^{[121][122][123]} The annual average relative humidity is high, averaging 75 percent and ranging from 65 percent in July to 80 percent in December.^[124]

Hours of sunshine duration total around 3,000 per year, from an average 5.2 hours of sunshine per day in December to an average above 12 hours in July.^[125]

Urbanisation

According to Eurostat, Malta is composed of two larger urban zones nominally referred to as Valletta (the main island of Malta) and Gozo, with the main urban area covering the entire main island.^[132][133] The core of the urban area, the greater city of Valletta, had a population of 205,768 in 2015.^[134] According to Eurostat's data from 2020, the metropolitan region covered the whole island and had a population of 480,134.^[132][135] According to the United Nations^{[clarification needed]}, about 95 percent of of Malta's area was urban and growing annually.^[136] According to ESPON and EU Commission^{[clarification needed]} studies, "the whole territory of Malta constitutes a single urban region".^[137] It is sometimes referred to as a city-state,^{[138][139][140]} but also sometimes ranked as a city or metropolitan area.^[141]

With an area of 316 sq km (122 sq mi), Malta is one of the world's most densely populated countries.^{[citation needed]}

Cities

Cambridge O-Level

Valetta^[c], built after the Ottoman invasion of Malta in 1565, has been Malta's capital since 1570. When the Knights Hospitaller were removed by the French, Maltese revolt led the British to seize it.^[142]

Saint Paul's Bay^[d] is Malta's most populous council.^[e] Remains of beehouses, thermae, and roads show that it was a part of Roman Malta. Later, the Knights Hospitaller built towers and batteries, such as Wignacourt Tower and Arrias Battery, both of which are still standing today.^[143]

Flora

Malta contains 4.6 sq km (1.8 sq mi) of naturally regenerating forest, characterised by mature trees with a height of 2 to 5 m (7 to 16 ft). The overall area occupied by trees is estimated to be 32 sq km (12 sq mi), which constitutes approximately 1.44 percent of the total land area of the archipelago. The most common indigenous tree species are the willow (Salix alba); poplar (Populus alba); olive (Olea europaea); carob (Ceratonia siliqua); oak (Quericus ilex and Quercus rotundifolia); Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis); laurel (Laurus nobilis); and fig (Ficus carica). The most common non-native trees are eucalyptus, acacia, date palm, and opuntia^{[clarification needed]}.^[144][145]

The Maltese islands are also home to a wide diversity of indigenous, sub-endemic, and endemic plants.^[146] They feature many traits typical of a Mediterranean climate, such as drought resistance. Endemic plants include the national flower widnet il-baħar (Cheirolophus crassifolius); sempreviva ta' Malta (Helichrysum panormitanum subsp. melitense); żigland t' Għawdex (Hyoseris frutescens); and ġiżi ta' Malta (Matthiola incana subsp. melitensis). Sub-endemic plants include kromb il-baħar (Jacobaea maritima subsp. sicula) and xkattapietra (Micromeria microphylla).^[147]

Malta's biodiversity is severely endangered by habitat loss, invasive species, and human intervention.^[148]

Geology

The Maltese archipelago is located on the African plate, on a shallow water continental platform. It lies about 200 km (125 mi) to the south of the subduction boundary between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate.^[149]

The mainly sedimentary rocks also consist of a large amount of limestone, which has been used as a material for many buildings on the island.^[150]

Administrative divisions

Malta has had a system of local government since 1993,^[163] according to the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The country is divided into six regions, each region having its own council to serve as the intermediate level between local and national government.^[164] These regions are divided into local councils, of which there are currently 68^{[citation needed]}. The six districts ^{[clarification needed]} serve primarily statistical purposes.^[165]

Each council is comprised of councillors: five to 13, depending on the population they represent. A mayor and a deputy mayor are elected from among, and by, the councillors. The executive secretary, who is appointed by the council, is the head. Councillors are elected every four years through the single transferable vote. Due to system reforms, no elections were held before 2012; but since then, elections have been held every two years for an alternating half of the councils.^[166]

Military

The Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) have the stated objectives of maintaining a military organisation to defend Malta's integrity efficiently by emphasising the maintenance of Malta's territorial waters and airspace integrity.^[167]

The AFM engage in combatting terrorism; fighting illicit drug trafficking; immigrant operations; anti-illegal fishing operations; surveillance of sensitive locations; and search-and-rescue (SAR) services in an area of around 250,000 sq km (97,000 sq mi) extending from east of Tunisia to west of Crete.^[168]

In 2020, Malta signed the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.^[169][170]

Human rights

Malta is regarded as one of the world's most LGBT-supportive countries,^[171][172] and was the first European Union member to prohibit conversion therapy.^[173] The country also constitutionally bans discrimination based on disability.^[174]

Maltese legislation recognises both civil and canonical (ecclesiastical) marriages. Annulments by the ecclesiastical and civil courts are unrelated and not necessarily mutually endorsed. Malta voted in favour of divorce legislation in a referendum on 28 May 2011.^[175]

Abortion in Malta is illegal, the only European Union member other than Poland with near-total bans on the procedure. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.^[176] On 21 November 2022, the Labour Party-led government proposed a bill that "introduces a new clause into the country's criminal code allowing for the termination of a pregnancy if the mother's life is at risk or if her health is in serious jeopardy", which passed in June 2023 with amendments restricting the exception to situations where the woman's life is at risk.^[177][178]{{{1}}}

Currency and finance

Malta's two largest commercial banks are Bank of Valletta and HSBC Bank Malta.^[196] Digital banks such as Revolut have also increased in popularity.^[197]

The Maltese government entered the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) on 4 May 2005, and adopted the euro as the country's currency on 1 January 2008.^[198] Maltese euros feature the Maltese cross on €2 and €1 coins; the coat of arms of Malta on the €0.50, €0.20 and €0.10 coins; and the Mnajdra Temples on the €0.05, €0.02 and €0.01 coins.^[199]

Malta has produced collectors' coins, which stopped being legal tender in 2010. These coins continued a national practice of minting commemorative coins.^[200]

^[201]From 1825 until the introduction of the euro in 2008, the country's currency was the Maltese lira, also called the pound. Before that, a mix of foreign currencies was often used.^[202][203]

Tourism

Malta is a popular tourist destination, with 1.6 million tourists per year as of 2015,^[204] three times more tourists than residents. In 2017, there were over 2.3 million tourists,^[28] mainly from Britain, Italy, Australia, and the United States.^[28] Tourism contributes around 11.6 percent of Malta's GDP.^[205]

In recent years, Malta has advertised itself as a medical tourism destination,^[206] and a number of health tourism providers are developing the industry. However, no Maltese hospital has undergone independent international healthcare accreditation. Malta is popular with British medical tourists in particular.^[207]

Science and technology

Malta signed a co-operation agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) for more intensive co-operation in its projects.^[208] The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) is the civil body responsible for the development of science and technology on an educational and social level. Most science students in Malta graduate from the University of Malta and are represented by S-Cubed (Science Student's Society), the University Engineering Students Association (UESA ), and the ICTSA (University of Malta ICT Students' Association).^[209][210] Malta was ranked 27th among the world's countries in terms of capacity for and success in innovation in the Global Innovation Index in 2025.^[211][212]

Transport

Malta has a high level of motorisation. According to the National Statistics Office, the number of licensed motor vehicles per 1,000 residents was 778 in 2023.^[213] In early 2026, 38 percent of car sales were electric, as the country subsidises low-emissions transport.^[214] Malta had 3,096 km (1,924 mi) of road, of which 444 km (276 mi) were classified as of 2021as "other rural unpaved roads".^[215] Due to British colonial rule, traffic in Malta is on the left.^[216][217]

Buses are a common method of public transport in Malta.^[218] Its vintage buses operated on the Maltese islands up to 2011, becoming popular tourist attractions.^[219]

The Maltese bus service underwent extensive reform in July 2011, changing from having self-employed drivers drive their own vehicles to a service offered by a single company through a public tender.^[220] That tender was won by Arriva Malta, which introduced a brand new bus fleet built by King Long customised for service by Arriva Malta, including a smaller fleet of articulated buses brought in from Arriva London. Arriva Malta also operated two smaller buses solely for an intra-Valletta route and 61 9-metre (___ ft) buses used to ease congestion on high-density routes. Overall, Arriva Malta operated 264 buses.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 January 2014, Arriva ceased operations in Malta, having been nationalised as Malta Public Transport.^[221][222] The government then chose Autobuses Urbanos de León (an Alsa subsidiary) as the country's preferred bus operator in October 2014.^[223] From October 2022, the bus system has been free of charge for Maltese residents.^[224] As of 2021, an underground Malta Metro was being planned^{[clarification needed]}, with a projected total cost of €6.2 billion.^[225]

Malta International Airport (Ajruport Internazzjonali ta' Malta) is the only airport serving the Maltese islands. It was built on the land formerly occupied by the RAF Luqa air base. There is also a heliport, located on Gozo.^[226]

From 1 April 1974^[227] to 30 March 2024,^[228] the national airline was Air Malta, based at Malta International Airport and serving 35 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.^[229] On 31 March 2024, however, KM Malta Airlines took over as Malta's national airline.^[228]

Communications

The mobile penetration rate in Malta exceeded 100 percent by the end of 2009, reaching 102.1 percent.^[230] Malta's mobile sector has used GSM, UMTS (3G), and LTE (4G) technologies.^[231] In early 2012, the government called for a national fibre-to-the-home (FttH) network to be built.^[232]

Energy

Until 1995, Malta relied mainly on coal for electricity generation. In 1992, a new power station was built on the Delimara peninsula in Marsaxlokk. Originally, in 2015, the Delimara Power Station used oil for electricity generation, but tconverted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2017. The power station also includes two gasoil-fired plants, which are used as standby power generation capacity during emergencies or lack of other power sources. Since 2015, the Malta–Sicily interconnector has allowed Malta to be connected to the European power grid and import a significant share of its electricity.^[233] In 2024, Malta consumed 3106 gigawatt hours (GWh), of which 970 GWh were imported through the interconnector.^[234]

Of Malta's electricity in 2023, 11 percent was from domestic renewable generation, almost all solar power.^[234] There are efforts to boost this renewable generation share to 25 percent by 2030 by building offshore wind farms and increasing battery storage.^[235] A waste-to-energy plant that runs off biogas generated by organic waste is planned to contribute further to the electricity grid as a source of net carbon-neutral energy.^[236]

Languages

The Maltese language (Maltese: Malti) is one of the two constitutional languages of Malta and is considered the national language. The second official language is English, and hence laws are enacted both in Maltese and English. However, Article 74 of the Constitution states that "if there is any conflict between the Maltese and the English texts of any law, the Maltese text shall prevail."^[151] Many speakers of English use a local dialect, Maltese English.^[247] Maltese Sign Language is also used in the country.^[248]

Maltese is a Semitic language descended from the now-extinct Sicilian-Arabic (Siculo-Arabic) dialect from southern Italy that developed during the Emirate of Sicily.^[249] The Maltese alphabet consists of 30 letters based on the Latin alphabet.^[250]

In 2022, the Malta National Statistics Office stated that 90 percent of the Maltese population had at least a basic knowledge of Maltese, 96 percent of English, 62 percent of Italian, and 20 percent of French.^[251] This widespread knowledge of second languages makes Malta one of the EU's most multilingual countries. A study collecting public opinion on what language was "preferred" found that 86 percent of the population preferred Maltese, 12 percent English, and 2 percent Italian.^[252] Italian television channels from Italy-based broadcasters, such as Mediaset and RAI, reach Malta and remain popular.^{[252][253][254]}

Religion

The predominant religion in Malta is Catholicism, established in the second article of the Constitution of Malta as the state religion, and it is also reflected in various elements of Maltese culture, although there are entrenched provisions for the freedom of religion.^[151]

Malta is one of the Church's few ecclesiatical jurisdictions that are also apostolic sees because of their connection to the apostles of Jesus Christ or to one of their close associates. In the Bible, the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 28) tells of an episode around 60 AD related to St. Paul's being shipwrecked on the island of "Melite", which many biblical scholars identify with Malta.^[257] Saint Publius is said to have been Malta's first bishop.^[258]

There is a considerable minority of Orthodox Christians in Malta: 16,457, as of the 2021 census.^[259] This number may include both Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians. There are a small number of parishes belonging to each autocephalous Church, typically one for each. Greek, Russian, Serbian, Romanian, and Bulgarian Orthodox parishes are located around Malta, mainly in Valletta.^{[260][261][262][263]}

Most congregants of the local Protestant churches are not Maltese; their congregations mainly draw on vacationers and British retirees living in the country. There are also a Seventh-day Adventist church in Birkirkara and a New Apostolic Church congregation founded in 1983 in Gwardamangia.^[264] There are approximately 600 Jehovah's Witnesses.^[265] Latter-day Saints is also represented with 241 members in one congregation in Mosta.^[266]

The Jewish population of Malta reached its peak in the Middle Ages under Norman rule. In 1479, Malta and Sicily came under Aragonese rule, the Alhambra Decree of 1492 forced all Jews to leave the country. Today, there are two Jewish congregations.^[264]

The 2021 census recorded 17,454 Muslims, of which 1,746 were Maltese citizens. Zen Buddhism and the Baháʼí Faith claim some 40 members.^[264]

In a survey by Malta Today, the overwhelming majority of the Maltese population adheres to Christianity (95.2 percent), with Catholicism the main denomination at 93.9 percent. 4.5 percent of the population declared themselves either atheist or agnostic, one of Europe's lowest figures.^[267] According to a Eurobarometer survey in 2019, 83 percent of the population identified as Catholic.^[268]

The number of atheists doubled from 2014 to 2018. The 2015 edition of the annual Freedom of Thought Report from the International Humanist and Ethical Union asserted Malta was in the category of "severe discrimination", alongside seven other EU countries. In 2016, following the abolishment of blasphemy law, however, Malta was shifted to the category of "systematic discrimination", the same as most EU countries.^[269]

Migration

Although historically a land of emigration, Malta had a significant increase in net migration since the early 21st century, with the foreign-born population increasing nearly eightfold between 2005 and 2020. Most of Malta's foreign community consists of active or retired British nationals and their dependents, centred in Sliema and surrounding suburbs. Other smaller foreign groups include Italians, Libyans, and Serbians, many of whom have assimilated into the Maltese nation.^[270]

Since the late 20th century, Malta has become a transit country for migration routes from Africa towards Europe.^[271] As a member of the European Union and the Schengen Agreement, Malta is bound by the Dublin Regulation to process all claims for asylum by those asylum seekers entering EU territory for the first time in Malta.^[272] However, irregular migrants who land in Malta are subject to a compulsory detention policy, being held in several camps organised by the Armed Forces of Malta, including those near Ħal Far and Ħal Safi. The compulsory detention policy has been denounced by several non-governmental organisations (NGOS), and in July 2010, the European Court of Human Rights found that Malta's detention of migrants was arbitrary, lacking in adequate procedures to challenge detention, and in breach of its obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.^[273][274] On 8 September 2020, Amnesty International criticised Malta for "illegal tactics" in the Mediterranean, against immigrants who were attempting to cross from North Africa. The reports claimed that the government's approach might have led to avoidable deaths.^[275]

In January 2014, Malta started granting citizenship for a €650,000 contribution plus investments, contingent on residence and criminal background checks.^[276] This "golden passport" citizenship scheme has been criticised as a fraud.^[277] Concerns as to whether the Maltese citizenship scheme is allowing an influx of such individuals into the greater European Union have been raised by both the public as well as the European Council on multiple occasions.^[278] On 29 April 2025, the European Court of Justice ruled that Malta may no longer sell citizenship through its "golden passport" scheme.^[279]

In the 19th century, most of the emigration from Malta was to North Africa and the Middle East, although rates of return migration to Malta were high.^[280] In the 20th century, most emigrants went to destinations in the New World, particularly to Australia, Canada, and the United States. Post World War II, Malta's Emigration Department would assist emigrants with the cost of their travel. Between 1948 and 1967, 30 percent of the population emigrated.^[280] Between 1946 and the late 1970s, over 140,000 people left Malta on the assisted passage scheme, with 57.6 percent migrating to Australia, 22 percent to the United Kigdom, 13 percent to Canada, and 7 percent to the United States.^[281] As of 2026, around 18,000 people emigrate from Malta each year and around 31,000 people immigrate.^[282]

Education

Primary schooling has been compulsory since 1946, and secondary education up to the age of 16 was made compulsory in 1971. The state and the Catholic Church provide education free of charge, both running a number of schools in Malta and Gozo. As of 2006^[update], state schools are organised into networks known as colleges and incorporate kindergarten, primary schools, and secondary schools.

Malta also has a number of private schools, including St. Catherine's High School, Pembroke, which offers an International Foundation Course for students wishing to learn English before entering mainstream education. As of 2008^[update], there were two international schools, Verdala International School and QSI Malta. The state pays a portion of the teachers' salary in Church schools.^[283]

Primary school lasts six years in Malta.^[284] Pupils sit for O-level examinations at the age of 16, and may opt to continue studies at a sixth form college for two years.^[285][286]

Both Maltese and English are used in instruction at the primary and secondary school level, as well as being compulsory subjects. Although public schools tend to use both languages in a balanced manner, private schools prefer to use English in instruction, as do also most of the departments of the University of Malta, a decision that has been criticised for limiting the capacity and development of the Maltese language.^[252] Most university courses, however, are in English.^[287][249] The adult literacy rate was 99.5 percent as of 2013.^[288]

Of the total number of pupils in Malta who study a first foreign language at the secondary level, 51 percent take Italian whilst 38 percent take French. Other language choices include German, Russian, Spanish, Latin, Chinese, and Arabic.^[252][289] Malta is also a popular destination to study English, attracting over 83,000 students in 2019.^[290]

Health

Malta has both a public healthcare system, which is free, and a private one.^[291][292] There is a strong general practitioner-delivered primary care base, and the public hospitals provide secondary and tertiary care. The Maltese Ministry of Health advises foreign residents to take out private medical insurance.^[293]

Customs

A 2010 Charities Aid Foundation study found that the Maltese were the world's most generous people, with 83 percent contributing to charity.^[294]

Maltese folktales include various stories about mysterious creatures and supernatural events. These were most comprehensively compiled by the scholar and pioneer in Maltese archaeology Manwel Magri^[295] in his core criticism "Ħrejjef Missirijietna" ("Fables from our Forefathers"). This collection of material inspired subsequent researchers and academics to gather traditional tales, fables, and legends from all over the archipelago.^[296]

Festivals and traditions

Local festivals, similar to those in Southern Italy, are commonplace in Malta and Gozo, celebrating weddings, christenings and, most prominently, saints' days. The largest festa is possibly that of the Assumption of Mary, celebrated in eight parishes on 15 August and in two other parishes the following Sunday.^[297] Carnival (Maltese: il-karnival ta' Malta) has had an important place on the cultural calendar. Held during the week leading up to Ash Wednesday, it typically includes masked balls, fancy dress and grotesque mask competitions, lavish late-night parties, a colourful ticker-tape parade of allegorical floats presided over by King Carnival (Maltese: ir-Re tal-Karnival), marching bands, and costumed revellers.^[298]

Rural Malta shares in common with the Mediterranean society a number of superstitions regarding fertility, menstruation, and pregnancy, including the avoidance of cemeteries leading up to childbirth, and avoiding the preparation of certain foods during menses. Pregnant women are encouraged to satisfy their food cravings, out of fear that their unborn child would bear a representational birthmark (Maltese: xewqa, literally "desire" or "craving"). Maltese and Sicilian folk tradition includes beliefs thought to predict the sex of an unborn child, such as using the moon cycle, the way the baby is carried, or the motion of a ring suspended over the abdomen.^[299]

Traditionally, Maltese newborns were baptised as soon as possible.^[300] At baptismal feasts, traditional sweets and liqueurs associated with the occasion included biskuttini tal-magħmudija, torta tal-marmorata, and rożolin.^[299]

Traditional Maltese weddings included a procession from the bride's home to the parish church, often accompanied by singers performing il-ġilwa beneath a decorated canopy.^[301] Historically, Maltese women wore the għonnella, a traditional form of dress.^[302]

Art

Near the end of the 15th century, Maltese artists, like their counterparts in Sicily, came under the influence of Antonello da Messina, introducing Renaissance concepts to decorative arts in Malta.^[303]

Malta's artistic heritage grew under the Knights Hospitaller, who brought Italian and Flemish Mannerist painters to decorate palaces and churches of the islands. For many years, Mannerism continued to inform the tastes and ideals of local Maltese artists.^[303]

The arrival in Malta of Caravaggio, who painted at least seven works during his 15-month stay on these islands, further revolutionised local art. Two of Caravaggio's most notable works, The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome Writing, are on display in the Conventual Church of St. John, although the Baroque movement that followed had the most enduring impact on Maltese art and architecture. The vault paintings of the Calabrese artist Mattia Preti transformed the Conventual Church of St. John into a Baroque style. Melchior Gafà emerged as one of the top Baroque sculptors of the Roman School.^[304]

During the 17th and 18th centuries, Neapolitan and Rococo influences emerged in the works of the Italian painters Luca Giordano and Francesco Solimena, and these developments can be seen in the work of their Maltese contemporaries such as Gio Nicola Buhagiar and Francesco Zahra. The Rococo movement was greatly enhanced by the relocation to Malta of Antoine de Favray, who assumed the position of court painter to Grand Master Pinto in 1744.^[305]

Parliament established the National School of Art in the 1920s. During the reconstruction period that followed World War II, the emergence of the "Modern Art Group"—members of which included Josef Kalleya, George Preca, Anton Inglott, Emvin Cremona, Frank Portelli, Antoine Camilleri, Gabriel Caruana, and Esprit Barthet—greatly enhanced the local art scene. This group came together as an influential pressure group known as the Modern Art Group, which played a leading role in the renewal of Maltese art. Most of Malta's modern artists have in fact studied in art institutions in England, or on the continent, leading to a diversity of artistic expression that has remained characteristic of contemporary Maltese art. In Valletta, the National Museum of Fine Arts featured work from artists such as H. Craig Hanna.^[306] In 2018 the national collection of fine arts was put on display in the new National Museum of Art, MUŻA, at Auberge d'Italie in Valletta.^[307]

Music

Although Maltese music today is largely Western, traditional Maltese music includes what is known as għana. This sometimes consists of background folk guitar music, while a few people, generally men, take turns to argue a point in a sing-song voice.^[308] Since 1960, the Malta Song Festival has been organised annually.^[309]

Literature and media

Documented Maltese literature is over 200 years old, although a recently discovered love ballet shows activity from medieval times. Malta followed a Romantic literary tradition, culminating in the works of Dun Karm Psaila, Malta's national poet. Later poets like Ruzar Briffa and Karmenu Vassallo tried to estrange themselves from formal themes and versification.^[310]

Because of bilingualism, half the newspapers are published in English and the other half in Maltese. The Sunday newspaper It-Torċa ("The Torch"), published by a subsidiary of the General Workers' Union, is the widest Maltese-language paper. Its sister paper, L-Orizzont ("The Horizon"), however, is the Maltese daily with the largest circulation. There is a high number of daily or weekly newspapers—one for every 28,000 people. Advertising, sales, and subsidies are the three main methods of financing.^[311]

Malta has nine terrestrial television channels: TVM, TVMNews+, Parliament TV, One, NET Television, Smash Television, F Living, TVMSport+, and Xejk.^[312] The state and political parties subsidise most of the funding of these channels. TVM, TVMNews+, and Parliament TV are operated by Public Broadcasting Services, the national broadcaster, and members of the EBU. Media.link Communications Ltd., the owner of NET Television, and One Productions Ltd., the owner of One, are affiliated with the Nationalist and Labour parties, respectively. The rest are privately owned.

The Malta Broadcasting Authority has authority to supervise all local broadcasting stations and ensure their compliance with legal and licence obligations as well as preservation of due impartiality.^[313]

Cuisine

Maltese cuisine has strong Sicilian and Italian influences as well as influences of English, Spanish, Maghrebin, and Provençal cuisines. Food has been important historically in the development of a national identity, in particular the traditional fenkata (the eating of stewed or fried rabbit). Potatoes are also Maltese staples.^[314]

A variety of grapes are common in Malta, including Girgentina and Ġellewża. There is a large wine industry, with significant production of wines using these native grapes. A number of wines have achieved Protected Designation of Origin, with wines produced from grapes cultivated in Malta and Gozo designated as "DOK" wines (Denominazzjoni ta' l-Oriġini Kontrollata).^[315] Although beer is not a popular beverage in Malta, there is a common one called Cisk.^[28]

Sport

Football is one of Malta's most popular sports. Other popular sports include boċċi, horse racing, gostra, regatta, water polo, clay pigeon shooting, and motorsports.^[316]

In 2018, Malta hosted its first Esports tournament, "Supernova CS:GO Malta",^[317] a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament,^[318] and became the primary location for hosting the ESL Pro League.^[319]