Malta

Capital: Valletta Population: 452,515 Official Languages: Maltese Time Zone: +1 / Summer +2 Dialing Code: +356

Government: Parliamentary republic Area: 316 km2 largest city: Birkirkara Currency : Euro ISO 3166 code: MT

Basic Info

Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. Gibraltar lies 1,755 km (1,091 mi) to the west and Alexandria 1,508 km (937 mi) to the east. Malta covers just over 316 km2 (122 sq mi) in land area, making it one of the world's smallest states. It is also one of the most densely populated countries worldwide. The de facto capital city of Malta is Valletta; the largest town, Birkirkara. The main island comprises many towns, which together form one Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with a population of 368,250 according to Eurostat. The country has two official languages: Maltese (the national language) and English.

Geography

Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean (in its eastern basin), some 80 km (50 mi) south of the Italian island of Sicily across the Malta Channel. Only the three largest islands – Malta (Malta), Gozo (Għawdex) and Comino (Kemmuna) – are inhabited. The smaller islands (see below) are uninhabited. The islands of the archipelago lie on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age. The archipelago is therefore situated in the zone between the Eurasian and African tectonic plates.

Climate

Malta has a Subtropical–Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa), with mild winters and warm to hot summers. Rain occurs mainly in winter, with summer being generally dry.

The average yearly temperature is 22–23 °C (72–73 °F) during the day and 15 °C (59 °F) at night. In the coldest month – January – the temperature ranges from 12 to 20 °C (54 to 68 °F) during the day and 7 to 12 °C (45 to 54 °F) at night. In the warmest month – August – the temperature ranges from 28 to 34 °C (82 to 93 °F) during the day and 19 to 24 °C (66 to 75 °F) at night. Generally – summer's/holiday season lasts to 8 months, starting from around mid-April with temperatures 19–23 °C (66–73 °F) during the day and 13–14 °C (55–57 °F) at night, ending in November with temperatures 17–23 °C (63–73 °F) during the day and 11–20 °C (52–68 °F) at night, although also in the remaining 4 months temperatures sometimes reach 20 °C (68 °F).

Amongst all capitals in the continent of Europe, Valletta – the capital of Malta has the warmest winters, with average temperatures of 15–16 °C (59–61 °F) during the day and 9–10 °C (48–50 °F) at night in the period January–February. In March and December average temperatures is around 17 °C (63 °F) during the day and 11 °C (52 °F) at night. Large fluctuations in temperature are rare. Also, Malta is one of the few places in Europe which are "green" all year round.

Religion

The Constitution of Malta declares Roman Catholicism as the state religion although entrenched provisions for the freedom of religion are made. Freedom House and the CIA World Factbook report that 98% of the population is Roman Catholic, though this figure is highly debatable.

Administrative divisions

01	Attard		36	Qrendi
02	Balzan		37	Rabat
03	Birgu		38	Safi
04	Birkirkara		39	San Giljan
05	Birzebbuga		40	San Gwann
06	Bormla		41	San Pawl il-Bahar
07	Dingli		42	Santa Lucija
08	Fgura		43	Santa Venera
09	Floriana		44	Siggiew
10	Gudja		45	Sliema
11	Gzira		46	Swieqi
12	Gharghur		47	Ta' Xbiex
13	Ghaxaq		48	Tarxien
14	Hamrun		49	Valletta
15	Iklin		50	Xghajra
16	Isla		51	Zabbar
17	Kalkara		52	Zebbug
18	Kirkop		53	Zejtun
19	Lija		54	Zurrieq
20	luqa		Gozo
21	Malta
22	Marsaskala		55	Fontana
23	Marsaxlokk		56	Ghajnsielem
24	Mdina		57	Gharb
25	Mellieha		58	Ghasri
26	Mgarr		59	kercem
27	Mosta		60	Munxar
28	Mqabba		61	Nadur
29	Msida		62	Qala
30	Mtarfa		63	Rabar
31	Naxxar		64	San Lawrenz
32	Paola		65	Sannat
33	Pembroke		66	Xaghra
34	Pieta		67	Xewkija
35	Qormi		68	Zebbug

See Also

Site Search

News

Random Articals

Weather

Join Our Newsletter

Send This Page to Friend

To Email this page to a friend

Online Contact

Go back to the previous page

Report
Missing / Incorrect
Information