), is a
Southern European island country comprising an
archipelago in the
Mediterranean Sea. It lies
80 km (50 mi) south of
Italy,
284 km (176 mi) east of
Tunisia, and
333 km (207 mi) north of
Libya. The country covers just over
316 km2 (122 sq mi), with a population of just under 450,000 (despite an extensive emigration programme since the Second World War), making it one of the world's
smallest and
most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is
Valletta, which at 0.8
km
2, is the smallest national capital in the
European Union. Malta has two official languages:
Maltese and
English.
Malta's location has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, and a succession of powers, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Moors, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, Knights of St. John, French and British, have ruled the islands.