Country · Europe
Malta
Republic of Malta
Malta is a country in Southern Europe. About 485 000 people live there, in an area of 316 square kilometres. Its capital city is Valletta.
Picture credit: KNOW MALTA by Peter Grima (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Berthold Werner (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Bybbisch94, Christian Gebhardt (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Malta?
Malta lies in Southern Europe, on the continent of Europe.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 989 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 253 km long.
It has no land neighbours — every border it has is with the sea.
How big is Malta?
Malta covers 316 square kilometres.
Luxembourg is about 8.2 times bigger.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 185th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 1 533.6 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Malta?
About 485 000 people live in Malta.
That is the 167th biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and Maltese.
They pay with the Euro (€).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 78 years.
The land of Malta
Its coast runs for about 253 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 13 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Malta different?
Dishes the country is known for: Pastizzi and Rabbit Stew.
Websites from here often end in .mt.
Malta and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about one lives in Malta.
It takes up less than a hundredth of one per cent of all the land in the world.
Within Europe the country ranks 41st of 45 by size, and 39th by population.
Nature and animals
The highest mountain in the country is Ta' Dmejrek, at 253 metres.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Malta compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 29 660 times as big as Malta: 9 372 610 km² against 316 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 769 times as big as Malta: 242 900 km² against 316 km². See both on one map
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Malta?
The capital of Malta is Valletta. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Malta?
About 485 000 people live in Malta, which makes it the 167th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is Malta?
Malta covers 316 square kilometres, making it the 185th largest country in the world. Luxembourg is about 8.2 times bigger.
What is the highest mountain in Malta?
The highest mountain in Malta is Ta' Dmejrek, 253 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
Are there rivers in Malta?
Malta has no permanent river. The ground is porous, so rain sinks straight in or runs to the sea in channels that stay dry most of the year. The water comes from rain tanks, wells or desalination plants.
Which continent is Malta in?
Malta is in Europe, in the part called Southern Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
Last checked: · How these pages are made