Malta

Location of Malta

Malta is an island state in the Mediterranean sea. It is located in the south of Sicily island, Italy, and the north of the African coast. Despite the country lies on the African Continental Plate, it is counted as an European country. Its area is 316 square kilometres.

Currency

Malta's currency is euro (EUR), as she is in the Eurozone in which she joined at 1st January 2008.

Type of government

Malta is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic. Its president is George Vella and the premier is Robert Abela.

National flag

The flag of Malta is a bicolour, with white on the hoist and red in the fly. On the upper left corner there is a cross which is known as The George Cross.

Capital

The capital of malta is Valleta.

Culture

Most of the Maltese are catholics (about 98%) and they are divided into two dioceses - Gozo and Malta. Education is compulsory for children from 5 to 16 years old and it's based on the British model. The Church manages plenty of schools in Malta and Gozo. The national sport of Malta is soccer. Its national language is Maltese, the only Semithian language in EU (on the video you can see how it sounds). The traffic is on the left just like Great Britain and India for example. In the 19th century Malta already has a long story of migration to different countries like Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Algeria and more. There is a big migration in the beginning of 20th century and again after World War 2 to the 80s. The chosen destinations are English speaking countries like USA, Great Britain, Australia, Canada.

Michael Mifsud - a famous Maltese soccer player

A traditional Maltese bus

Child Migrants' Memorial in Malta

National food

The maltese cuisine is very interesting. One of the most typical foods consumed in Malta is the Maltese sausage. It is extremely tasty and can be found in most restaurants on the island. It can be eaten raw, dried or baked. Another dish that is very popular is biglia. It is prepared by frying vegetable juliennes in oil, then adding beans and sauce. The most popular dessert in Malta is Treacle rings.

Maltese sausage

Maltese biglia

<--Treacle rings

Pop culture

The music of Malta ranges across a spectrum of genres such as traditional folk music, metal and various forms of electronica. Some of its popular artists are Gabriela N, Antonio Olivari, Bitterside, Chasing Pandora, Id-Dudi and many more.

Id-Dudi

Antonio Olivari

Chasing Pandora

Big cities

Big cities of Malta are Birkirkara, Mosta, Qormi and Zabbar. The largest city is Birkirkara. His population is 21 700 people. The area of city is 2,7 square kilometres.

Zabbar is the sixth largest city in the country,with a population of 15 400 people. Originally a part of Żejtun, Żabbar was graned the title of was granted the title of Città Hompesch by the last of the Grand Masters of the Order of St. John to reign in Malta, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim.

Qormi is a town in the southern part of Malta, southwest of Valletta in the center of the island. Its population is 16,324, making it the fifth largest city in Malta.

International social customs

Formal greetings begin and end with a handshake. A person’s title followed by their surname is common among new acquaintances. Only address a person by their first name when invited to do so. Among close family and friends, people tend to pat one another on the back, shoulder or arm. Older people may greet others with a nickname or a diminutive.

The most interesting places in the country

In Malta there are many natural landmarks and culture sights. On the Google map you can read about interesting natural and culture landmarks in Malta, such as the Blue Lagoon island and more.

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