Malta quick facts and figures

Country's full name

Republic of Malta (Repubblika ta' Malta)

Capital city

Valletta

Population

493,559

Official languages

Maltese and English

Time zone

GMT +1

Currency

Euro (€), Malta joined the eurozone January 1, 2008

GDP per Capita (€) at market prices

43,301 (2019 estiamte)

Location

93 km south of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunisia.

International Dialing Code

+356

Area

Malta is 316 sq km and is composed of three major islands:

• Malta Island 246 sq km (94.9 square miles).
• Gozo 67 sq km (25.9 square miles).
• Comino 3 sq km (1.1 square miles).
• There are also some minor uninhabited islands.

Terrain

Mostly low, rocky, with dissected plains and many coastal cliffs

Climate

Mediterranean climate with mild, rainy winters and hot dry summers. Sunny climate with a daily average of 6 hours sunshine in mid-winter to more than 12 hours in summer. Annual rainfall is 23 inches and falls mostly between October and March.

Average temperature

Dec - Feb 13.2°c
June - Aug 25.8°c

Main economic sectors

Tourism, high value added manufacturing, life sciences and pharmaceuticals, ICT, financial services, education and training, creative arts, aviation, maritime.

Main trading partners

Italy, Germany, France, UK, USA, Turkey, Greece, China and Libya.

Labour force

255,297 (2019)

Unemployment

c. 3.4%

Arriving tourists

22,598,690 (2018)

Religion

Main religion is Roman Catholic, but other religions are also followed.

Head of State

President - George Vella

Head of Government

Prime Minister - Dr Joseph Muscat

Ruling Party

Labour Party

Administrative divisions

The country is administered directly from the capital Valletta. However, there are 68 local councils.

Electricity Supply

Conforms to UK standards (230 volts AC, 50 Hz). UK-style three-pin plugs and sockets are used.

Weights & Measures

Metric

Internet

Domain suffix for Malta is .mt

Rankings

WEF Global Competitiveness Report (38 out of 141 countries)

• 26th - Health
• 25th - Technological readiness
• 1st - Macroeconomic Stability
• 40th - Product market
• 33th - Skills
• 41th - Institutions
• 47th - Infrastructure
• 73th - Business dynamism
• 31st - Labour market
• 32st - Financial system
• 37st - Innovation capability

National Holidays

• March 31 - Freedom Day (Jum il-Ħelsien)
• June 7 - Sette Giugno
• September 8 - Victory Day (Jum il-Vitorja)
• September 21 - Independence Day (Jum l-Indipendenza)
• December 13 - Republic Day (Jum ir-Repubblika)

Public Holidays

• January 1 - New Year's Day (L-Ewwel tas-Sena)
• February 10 - Feast of Saint Paul's Shipwreck in Malta (San Pawl Nawfragu) - the apostle is the patron saint of Malta
• March 19 - Feast of Saint Joseph (San Ġużepp)
• Friday before Easter - Good Friday (Il-Ġimgħa l-Kbira)
• May 1 - Worker's Day (Jum il-Ħaddiem)
• June 29 - Feast of Saint Peter & Saint Paul, patron saints (L-Imnarja)
• August 15 - Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady (Santa Marija)
• December 8 - Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Il-Kunċizzjoni)
• December 25 - Christmas Day (Il-Milied)