Country Overview: Malta

Malta – officially ‘the Republic of Malta’ – is an island country found in the south of Europe (specifically, the Mediterranean Sea). The country is actually an archipelago consisting of three separate islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino.

Malta is a small country but one of immense historical significance. Its location in the central Mediterranean has historically made it of considerable strategic importance, and it has been occupied by a succession of powers over the years, including the Carthaginians, Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, French, British, and even the Knights Hospitaller.

Malta continues to be an important country in the modern era, despite its geographically small size. It boasts one of the best standards of living in the world, is a member of the EU, and is the only European country to offer a citizenship-by-investment program.

Pre-History

Malta has been inhabited by human beings since at least 5900 BC. Its first inhabitants – early farmers – used unsustainable agricultural techniques that rendered the soil unusable and the islands uninhabitable. They were thus uninhabited for almost two thousand years.

The islands were repopulated circa 3850 BC. Evidence of the civilization that inhabited the islands at that time is still visible today – they built the Megalithic Temples of Malta, some of the world’s oldest man-made structures. That civilization collapsed in approximately 2350 BC, and the islands were swiftly colonized by Bronze Age settlers shortly thereafter.

Antiquity

The Phoenicians conquered the islands circa 700 BC; they controlled the island for almost the next 500 years, finally losing them to the Roman Republic in 218 BC. The Romans would rule the archipelago for more than 800 years until the fall of the Empire threw its former territories into disarray. The Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire came to control them shortly thereafter.

The Middle Ages

Malta was taken from the Byzantines by the Aghlabids (a minor Arab dynasty) in 870 AD. It remained under Arab control until the 11^th century, when the Italo-Norman Council of Sicily conquered the islands in 1091 and began the process of Christianization there.

From that point on, the islands fell under the aegis of the Kingdom of Sicily and were ruled by successive feudal rulers, including the Aragonese and the Spanish. From the early 16^th century, the islands were administered by the Order of St. John (AKA the Knights Hospitaller) on behalf of the Kingdom of Sicily.

The Order repelled the Ottoman Empire in one of the most momentous Christian-Muslim battles of the Middle Ages, the Great Siege of Malta. The 500 Knights, along with 6000 foot soldiers, held the islands against a large invading force of Ottomans for four months, eventually repelling them. The siege is popularly credited with altering the European perception of the Ottomans as nigh-invincible.

Late Modern Period

The Order of St. John eventually lost the islands at the turn of the 19^th century; the First French Republic, under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, invaded and did what the Ottomans couldn’t do: expelled the Knights Hospitaller.

French rule only lasted two years; the Maltese rebelled and pushed the invaders back into the sea. They became a British protectorate shortly thereafter in 1813, and later a colony of the British Empire.

Malta became self-governing in 1921. It was the focus of repeated naval and aerial attacks by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during WWII, but the island managed to repel all attacks and hold firm. The island as a whole was awarded the prestigious George Cross by the King of England; this cross is now part of the national flag of Malta.

In 1964, Malta achieved independence from the British Empire. In 1974 it became a republic, and it joined the EU in 2004.

Malta’s political system is closely modelled on the Westminster system. It has the second highest-voter turnout in the world (excluding countries that practise mandatory voting).

Malta’s parliament is unicameral and consists of the President and the House of Representatives – though the position of ‘president’ is largely a ceremonial one, and has little bearing on political decisions.

House Representatives are elected by single transferable vote, meaning that each voter has the option to transfer their vote if their preferred candidate either loses, or is winning by such a margin that the voter’s ballot could be used elsewhere to boost the numbers of a second candidate that they prefer over others.

Malta has a de facto two-party system with two relatively centrist parties: the centre-left Labour Party, who are social democrats, and the conservative Nationalist Party. The Labour Party has been in power since 2013, with the Nationalist Party acting as the opposition. There are no other political parties currently represented in Malta.

Malta has an extremely strong economy, and is ranked 15^th in Europe in terms of purchasing power standard. Its economy is considered to be an advanced one by the IMF – one of only 33 countries in the world to hold this distinction.

Malta’s modern economy is buoyed by limestone quarrying, its productive labour force and its strong geographic location (which has historically ensured Malta’s popular use as a fuelling stopover).

Malta is not self-sufficient; it is only able to meet around 20% of its own food needs, with the rest being imported. It also has limited freshwater reserves due to the annual summer drought, and so is reliant upon imports of drinking water.

Malta joined the EU in 2004. In preparation for this, it privatized several public companies, such as shipyards, telecommunications, postal services, and Malta International Airport. This resulted in a huge influx of private capital into government hands.

As part of the EU, Malta uses the euro. Despite its high standard of living, Malta remains cheaper than many other advanced economies around the world; consumer prices in Valletta, the capital, are around 31% lower than in New York City, and rent is almost 67% lower. It’s also around 57% cheaper to buy a property.

Tourism is a big part of Malta’s modern-day economy. The country receives a staggering 1.6 million visitors per year, which equates to three annual tourists for every permanent resident of the country. It contributes around 15% of the country’s GDP, and so a lot of effort is put into sustaining the tourist industry and attracting new visitors to the islands.

Malta’s storied and cosmopolitan history makes for a deeply interesting tourist destination filled with countless things to see and do. Some of the most popular destinations include the various buildings left behind by the Knights Hospitaller, the numerous galleries and museums to be found throughout the country, and the many beaches and scenic walks to be found.

Malta is also, increasingly, a popular spot for medical tourism. This is due to the extremely affordable healthcare, as well as the fact that virtually all doctors on the archipelago speak excellent English – English is an official language of Malta, and many doctors trained in the UK. This makes medical tourism particularly attractive to Britons, who are often reassured by the fact that the doctors were trained in their home country.

Malta has, in recent years, been plagued by some very minor environmental issues that revolve chiefly around the output of harmful emissions in their ports, particularly Grand Harbour. Scientists have recently measured “dangerously high” levels of emissions in the harbour, prompting concerns over the potential impact on local wildlife and the air quality in and around the harbour.

Measures are being taken to combat the issue, with the EU’s International Maritime Office (IMO) designating the entire Mediterranean as Sulphur Emission Control Area. This will ensure cleaner seas and less air pollution.