Malta

Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It consists of a number of islands, with Malta and Gozo as the two main ones—south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two official languages are Maltese—recognised as the national language—and English. Valletta is the country's capital. Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country by area, ninth-most densely populated, and 166th most populated. It consists of a single urban region, because of which it is often described as a city-state. The island of Malta has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, during the Mesolithic period. Its location at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea has historically given it great geostrategic importance, with multiple powers having ruled the islands and shaped its culture and society. These powers include the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans in antiquity; the Arabs, Normans, and Aragonese during the Middle Ages; and the Knights Hospitaller, French, and British in the modern era. Malta came under British rule as a crown colony in the early 19th century and served as the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. It was sieged by the Axis powers during World War II and was an Allied base for its area. Malta gained independence in 1964, and established its current parliamentary republic in 1974. It has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since its independence, joining the European Union in 2004 and the eurozone monetary union in 2008. Malta's history of foreign rule and its proximity to both Europe and North Africa have influenced its art, music, cuisine, and architecture. The country has close historical and cultural ties to Italy, especially to the island of Sicily, with 66 per cent of Maltese people speaking or having significant knowledge of the Italian language. It was an early centre of Christianity, and Catholicism is the state religion, although the country's constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Malta is now a developed country with an advanced, high-income economy. It is heavily reliant on tourism, attracting travellers because of its warm climate, recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments.

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