Malta – essential facts

• Malta, with an area of approximately 246 square kilometres, is the largest of the cluster of islands forming the Maltese Archipelago, which is situated in the centre of the Mediterranean Sea;
• Malta gained independence from the British in 1964, although it remains part of the Commonwealth, and became a Republic a decade later, in 1974;
• Malta became a member of the European Union on May 1st 2004;
• Malta’s national language is Maltese, which is also one of the two official languages  - the other being English – which are recognised by the Constitution of Malta.  Italian is spoken by a large fraction of Malta’s 400,000 inhabitants;
• Malta adopted the Euro on 1 January 2008;
• The Maltese legal system is a reflection of the cross-currents which have influenced Malta’s history and also European history as a whole.  The Roman Civil Law and English Common Law systems have interacted to shape the Maltese legal system.