![]() Ĭatholicism is the state religion, but the Constitution of Malta guarantees freedom of conscience and religious worship. Malta is also closely tied historically and culturally to Italy and specifically Sicily, with between 62 to 66 percent of Maltese people speaking or having significant knowledge of the Italian language, which was one of the official languages of Malta until 1934. It has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since independence, and joined the European Union in 2004 it became part of the eurozone monetary union in 2008. The British parliament passed the Malta Independence Act in 1964, giving Malta independence, with Elizabeth II as its queen. It was besieged by the Axis powers during World War II and was an important Allied base for operations in North Africa and the Mediterranean. ![]() Malta became a British colony in 1813, serving as the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. Muslim rule ended with the Norman invasion of Malta by Roger I in 1091. While Christianity has been present since the time of the early Christians, Malta was predominantly a Muslim country under Arab rule in the Middle Ages. 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, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Knights of St. ![]() Malta has been inhabited since approximately 5900 BC. Malta increasingly is referred to as a city-state. According to the United Nations, ESPON and EU Commission, "the whole territory of Malta constitutes a single urban region". According to 2020 data by Eurostat, the Functional Urban Area and metropolitan region covered the whole island and has a population of 480,134. Its capital is Valletta, the smallest national capital in the European Union by area and population. With a population of about 519,000 over an area of 316 km 2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the tenth-smallest country by area and fifth most densely populated sovereign country. The official languages are Maltese and English, and the nation's capital is Valletta. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Sicily (Italy), 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. It consists of an archipelago between Italy and Libya. Malta ( / ˈ m ɒ l t ə/ ⓘ MOL-tə, / ˈ m ɔː l t ə/ MAWL-tə, Maltese: ), officially the Republic of Malta ( Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in Southern Europe, located in the Mediterranean Sea. eu, shared with other European Union member states ^ Maltese nationals as referred to in the 2021 census.
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