Malta

Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago which is 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. The two official languages are Maltese and English; Maltese is recognised as the national language. The country's capital is Valletta, which is the smallest capital city in the European Union by both area and population. With a population of about 574,000 spread over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the world's tenth-smallest country by area, the ninth-most densely populated, and the 166th most populated. Various sources consider the country to consist of a single urban region, for which reason 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 in the centre of the Mediterranean has historically given it great geostrategic importance, with multiple powers having ruled the islands and shaped its culture and society. These 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 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 North Africa and the Mediterranean. 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, and it joined 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. Malta has close historical and cultural ties to Sicily. Malta was an early centre of Christianity, and Catholicism is the state religion, although the country's constitution guarantees freedom of conscience and religious worship. Nowadays, Malta is a developed country with an advanced, high-income economy. It is heavily reliant on tourism, attracting travellers with its warm climate, recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments.

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