Malta

Republic of Malta (English)

Repubblika ta' Malta (Maltese)

Repubblica di Melita (Italian)

Flag of Malta

3.4% English

1% Sicilian

2.9% Other

3.6% Protestantism

1.4% Sunni Islam

4.3% Other

**Malta** (Italian: *Melita*), officially the **Republic of Malta** (Maltese: *Repubblika ta' Malta*, Italian: *Repubblica di Melita*) is an island nation in southern Europe. It shares a maritime border with Italy and Tamazgha. The capital is located in Birgu, and the population is around 0.7 million.

## Information

Malta has been inhabited since the 10th century BC, with Phoenicians having lived in the island before the 2nd millennium. They are presumed to be responsible for the construction of megalithic temples across it’s islands. In 480 BC, the island was colonized by Carthage, and was heavily involved in the first and second Punic wars, and than was soon incorporated into the Roman Republic.

Sometime in the year 870, Aghlabid Arabs from the northern half of Tamazgha conquered the island group. With them, they brought over norias (waterwheels), and better agriculture practices. The years between the 400 and 500's saw the islands be visited by the Goths and Vandals. The year 909 saw the islands conquered again, this time by the Fatimids, and in 1091, the Normans made the muslim inhabitants of the island surrender, and converted then to Catholicism. The Normans were also responsible for the sacking and brief depopulation of the island of Gozo.

Since the 11th century, Malta fell under the control of Italy, and briefly the Knight’s Hospitaller, which still exists as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Starting in 1551, the island was raided by pirates from Algeria who would enslave and capture Malti people. A plague epidemic between 1675 and 1676 killed 8,000 people on Malta, though Gozo and Comino were spared. After the 16th century, many more fortresses were constructed to defend the islands from Algeria. Napoleon invaded Malta in 1798, though they left Gozo, briefly making it independent as the Gozitan Nation (Maltese: *In-Nazzjon Għawdxija*).

Following a rebellion against French rule, Malta became the Crown Colony of Malta (Maltese: *Kolonja tal-Gżira ta' Malta u d-Dipendenzi tagħha*) in 1813, serving as a way station for ships and the headquarters for Britain’s Mediterranean fleet. It was besieged by Italy and Germany during World War II, during the Siege of Malta. The British parliament passed the Malta Independence Act in 1964, giving Malta independence from the United Kingdom as the State of Malta, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and queen. The country officially became a republic in 1974.

On March 8, 2003, a referendum regarding Malta joining the European Union in 343,094 votes cast in favour and 197,628 against was conducted, and Malta officially joined on May 1, 2004. However, they chose to keep the Lira as their currency, given it’s status as the world’s most valuable currency. In recent years, Malta has been experiencing waves of migrants from Chad and Tamazgha, as well as Iraq to a lesser extent. The country has severely limited the flow of migrants, infuriating the EU.

Malta is a unitary republic whose parliamentary system and public administration are closely modelled on the British parliament. Malta has the second-highest voter turnout in the world after Singapore. Politics in Malta are divided between the left-leaning Labour Party and the centre-right Nationalist Party. The current president is Robert Abela, and the prime minister is Joseph Muscat. Malta has had a system of local government since 1993, based on the European Charter of Local Self-Government. The country is divided into five regions (one of them being Gozo), with each region having its own Regional Committee, serving as the intermediate level between local government and national government.

As of 2024, the population of Malta was 0.7 million, though it is expected to fall to 0.5 million in the next 50 years due to a low birthrate. 87.3% of the population is made up of ethnic Malti people, a Semitic group. Their language, Maltese is the only Semitic language used by the EU, and it is closely related to Tamazghan Arabic. 5.3% is of Italian descent, though an additional 1% is also of Sicilian descent, both groups immigrating to Malta in starting in the 11th century. A population of Britons, mostly English but also Scots make up 3.4% of the population. 86.7% is Catholic, introduced in Roman times,

The culture of Malta reflects various societies that have come into contact with the Maltese throughout the centuries, including neighbouring Mediterranean cultures, and the cultures of the nations that ruled Malta for long periods of time prior to its independence in 1964 Malta has always been a maritime nation, and for centuries, Maltese people had migrated many times to Italy, Hellas and various spots of northern Africa. The long, warm summer nights of Malta lend themselves to a vibrant nightlife, which is at odds with Malta's traditional conservatism.

Malta organises its own Malta Song Festival yearly since 1960. While Maltese music today is largely Western, traditional Maltese music includes what is known as *għana*. This consists of background guitar music, while a select few people take it in turns to argue a point in a sing-song voice. Maltese architecture has its origins in prehistory, and some of the oldest free-standing structures on Earth. The Roman period introduced highly decorative mosaic floors, marble colonnades, and classical statuary, remnants of which are beautifully preserved and presented in the Roman Domus, a country villa just outside the walls of Mdina.