Malta: 21 things to know before you go

Malta has two official languages: Maltese (Malti) and English.

Maltese (Malti) is the national language, spoken by nearly 83% of the inhabitants. English, on the other hand, is the language of business, commerce, and tourism, and is spoken by more than 90% of the inhabitants.

Malta was part of the British Empire for 164 years; thus, the English language has remained one of the country’s two official languages.

Malta is therefore one of the popular destinations for students wishing to learn English. Every year, nearly 56,000 students come to take a language course in Malta.

The total area of the Maltese islands is only 316 km². The small Mediterranean archipelago located just a short distance from Sicily is therefore the smallest state in the European Union.

The largest island, the main island, is also called Malta. It is only 27 km long and 15 km wide.

Another feature inherited from British occupation is that cars drive on the left on all the islands of the archipelago. Thus, the steering wheel is on the right side of the cars.

Malta is also the second country in Europe in terms of the number of motor vehicles per capita, after Luxembourg. The island is congested with nearly 445,711 vehicles on the road. Traffic in Malta is very dense and drivers tend to speed. It is therefore necessary to be cautious when driving, as well as when walking across the road.

First, Malta’s capital, Valletta, has the distinction of being on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1980.

Visit Valletta is an essential stop when traveling to Malta. Valletta is an open-air museum with more than 320 monuments, including exceptional buildings such as St. John’s Co-Cathedral.

Malta also has two other historical sites listed on the World Heritage List: the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and the Seven Megalithic Temples of Malta. These are two archaeological sites dating from the Neolithic period and thousands of years old.

With its 563,433 inhabitants, Malta is the least populous country in the European Union. It is outnumbered by Luxembourg with 666 430 inhabitants and Cyprus with 1.3 million inhabitants. However, the Maltese population has experienced a very strong increase over the past ten years, growing by nearly 30%.

Population counts in Malta should be taken with caution. Malta is both a highly touristic destination and popular with expatriates. Tourists on extended stays, students enrolled in a language school, and many expatriates are not counted, which actually inflates the number of people truly present on the island.

Malta is one of the countries with the highest number of inhabitants of foreign origin. In 2023, more than 25.3% of Malta’s inhabitants are of foreign origin.

Among the nationalities of foreign nationals most present in Malta are those of Italian origin (around 14,000 residents), English origin (around 10,600 residents), Indian origin (around 7,800 residents), and Philippine origin (around 7,500 residents).

Malta joined the European Union on May 1, 2004 and subsequently chose to join the Eurozone on January 1, 2008. The former Maltese lira was thus replaced by the Euro. The island nation is one of the 20 member states of the eurozone, the common monetary area.

The island’s natural water reserves are very limited. The country has no lakes, springs, or rivers on its territory, and the groundwater beneath the island is partly contaminated by seawater.

The only solution for the country to meet the growing needs of its inhabitants and travelers is to desalinate seawater. Tap water is therefore produced through this desalination process. Tap water in Malta is potable, but heavily chlorinated, which can make it hard to digest and give it a pronounced taste. When traveling in Malta, it is often recommended to drink bottled water.

Since Malta is an archipelago, the majority of travelers arrive by plane. However, contrary to popular belief, the Malta International Airport is not located in Valletta. It would be impossible to land a plane in the middle of the fortified city’s ramparts.

The Malta International Airport is located in the town of Luqa, in the center of the island and 8 km from the capital. Therefore, when planning a trip to Malta, there is no need to search for flights to Valletta.

The Mediterranean climate is one of the reasons for Malta’s popularity as a travel destination. The weather in Malta is mild in winter and reaches high temperatures in summer. Malta experiences less than 60 rainy days per year, compared to Paris, which has about 170 rainy days per year.

Summers in Malta are very hot and marked by the arrival of the Sirocco. The very dry Saharan wind quickly raises the island’s temperatures from June onward. Rain is often absent throughout the summer in the archipelago. Winters, on the other hand, are relatively mild with a few rainy episodes. It is also possible to swim year-round in the archipelago, which pleases visitors traveling in Malta.

The small Mediterranean archipelago was long a strategic point; the islands represented the maritime lock of the Mediterranean, a region that had to be conquered before any expansion.

Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Malta during a swift incursion on his way to his Egyptian campaign. The island was occupied by French troops from 1798 to 1800, before being handed over to the British Empire. The arrival of Napoleonic troops marked the exile and the end of the Knights of the Order of Malta.

The British imprint is the most visible on the archipelago, but French culture long influenced the life of the island and remains very present. The two most emblematic masters who marked the Order of Malta and the country, Philippe de Villiers de L’Isle-Adam and Jean de Valette, were French.

Malta’s capital, Valletta, inherited its name from the knight Jean de La Valette, Grand Master of the Order of Malta from 1557 to 1568 and hero of the Great Siege of Malta. Jean de La Valette initiated the construction of the current capital on Mount Xiberras (now Valletta). He oversaw the construction of monumental fortifications to protect the harbor from a new Ottoman invasion.

Malta is one of the most Catholic countries in the world, a legacy of the influence of the Knights of the Order. Malta’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion; however, Catholicism has been enshrined as the state religion.

Currently, 82.6% of the Maltese population is Catholic. Islam, Orthodoxy, and other religions are practiced by nearly 12.3% of Malta’s inhabitants, while 5.1% are atheists. The percentage of Catholics has dropped significantly in recent years, previously being 95%, a decline largely explained by the massive immigration in recent years to the archipelago.

Churches have been erected in every corner of the archipelago. The popular saying goes that there are more churches in Malta than there are days in the year. Indeed, Malta has over 365 churches and chapels as well as four cathedrals (St. John’s Co-Cathedral, St. Paul’s Pro-Cathedral, the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Mdina, and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Gozo).

This unique concentration of religious buildings was constructed during the years of the Order of Malta’s rule.

Saint Paul's Bay, with its 32,042 inhabitants, is the most populous city in Malta. It now surpasses the cities of Birkirkara, Mosta, Sliema, and St. Julian’s.

Valletta, with fewer than 6,000 inhabitants, lags far behind; the capital is becoming increasingly deserted year after year.

The island of Malta, with a population exceeding half a million inhabitants over an area of only 316 km², is one of the countries with the highest population densities in the world.

With a density of 1,783 inhabitants per km², Malta is among the 10 most densely populated countries in the world.

The Maltese archipelago officially consists of eight islands.

The four inhabited islands of Malta are: Malta (as the main island), Gozo, Comino, and Manoel Island. Comino and Manoel do not really have residents but rather guardians. Manoel Island can also be considered a peninsula, as it is connected to the town of Gżira by a bridge.

The four uninhabited islands of Malta are: Cominotto (Kemmunett), Filfla, and the two St. Paul's Islands. The two St. Paul's Islands are separated by a narrow stretch of sea only a few meters wide.

The influence of the former affiliation with the British Empire is still very visible on the island; however, Malta adopted the standardized metric system as early as 1972.

Distances are therefore expressed in meters (and not in yards) and in kilometers (and not in miles). Speed is also expressed in kilometers per hour. Weight is expressed in grams or kilograms, and liquids in liters.

The Maltese archipelago is a European reference for its prehistoric sites, an aspect often overlooked by tourists traveling to Malta.

The island has several exceptional megalithic sites. Seventeen sites are listed, comprising thirty-three megalithic temples built during the Neolithic period between 5200 and 2500 BC.

The temples of Ħaġar Qim, Ġgantija, and Tarxien are among the most visited archaeological sites.

Malta has become a popular tourist destination in Europe. In just 10 years, tourism on the island has doubled. Every year, nearly 3.5 million visitors arrive in Malta, attracted by its seafront, its landscapes, its few sandy beaches, and its history.

Tourism activity on the island is now both one of the primary economic resources and the main structural challenge for local authorities.

The arrival of mass tourism has radically changed life on the island and now raises many questions about resource management, as well as the ecological and environmental preservation of the island.

A sad record, Malta is the European country with the highest obesity rate.

Obesity in Malta affects 28.7% of adults and has become a serious public health issue. In Malta, obesity is estimated to cost the state between 36 and 56 million euros each year, according to PwC.

Malta is the most conservative country in the European Union regarding abortion. Abortion in Malta is still prohibited. The laws on abortion in Malta have been slightly relaxed since June 2023; the Maltese Parliament adopted a law allowing termination of pregnancy only if the woman’s life is in danger and the fetus is not viable. In all other cases, abortion remains illegal and subject to criminal penalties.

Malta’s law on abortion or voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVG) is the strictest in Europe. Abortion in Malta is illegal; it is a crime punishable by three years in prison. The people of Malta, still very attached to conservative Christian values, consider abortion a taboo subject.

Malta’s national motto is “Virtute et Constantia”, translated as “Courage and Constancy”. The Maltese flag also bears the inscription “For Gallantry”, which means “for bravery”.