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Malta is a 316 sq km (122 sq mi) archipelago of three inhabited islands between Sicily and North Africa, and almost every widely repeated fact about it has a number attached that can be checked. The 18 facts below each carry that number, the body that publishes it and what it changes about a visit, because a country with 588,254 residents and four million visitors a year is easier to plan around when the figures are current. Several of the facts most travel guides still print about Malta stopped being true years ago, and those are flagged as they come up.
1. Malta is the smallest country in the European Union
Malta covers 316 sq km (122 sq mi), which makes it the smallest EU member state by area, smaller than the Isle of Man. Malta is also the most densely populated country in the EU: the National Statistics Office put the resident population of Malta and Gozo at 588,254 at the end of 2025, up 2.4 percent in a year, which works out at roughly 1,860 people per square kilometre. For a visitor that density is the single most useful fact on this page, because it explains why driving anywhere near Valletta at 8am takes three times as long as the map says and why the island feels busy in places that look empty on a map.
2. Malta had more than four million visitors in 2025
Malta recorded 4,022,310 inbound tourists in 2025, an increase of 12.9 percent on the year before, according to the National Statistics Office. Malta therefore hosts close to seven visitors for every resident across a year, which is one of the highest ratios in Europe. Those arrivals cluster heavily between April and October, so the practical consequence is a choice: April, May, October and November give the same sights with a fraction of the queue, while July and August put you in the middle of the peak. Ferry queues at ÄŠirkewwa for Gozo and Comino are where the number turns from a statistic into a lost morning.
3. Malta has used the euro since 2008
Malta adopted the euro on 1 January 2008, when the currency replaced the Maltese lira at the fixed rate of €1 to MTL 0.429300 set by the European Central Bank. Malta is in the eurozone and in the Schengen area, so there is no currency to change and no border check arriving from another Schengen country. Prices on menus, tickets and bus fares are all in euro. Anything you read quoting Maltese lira is at least 18 years out of date, and any guide that lists Malta among Europe’s non-euro countries is simply wrong.
4. Maltese is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet
Maltese descends from the Sicilian Arabic spoken on the islands from the 9th century, and it is the only Semitic language written in the Latin script. Maltese is also the only Semitic language among the European Union’s official languages, a status it gained when Malta joined the EU in 2004. Layers of Sicilian, Italian, French and English vocabulary sit on top of that Arabic grammar, which is why the language sounds like Arabic with Italian words in it. English is the second official language, a legacy of British rule from 1800 to 1964, and it is used in government, business and education, so no visitor needs a phrasebook.
5. Malta has 359 churches, not 365
Malta and Gozo hold 359 churches between them, 313 on Malta and 46 on Gozo, of which 78 are parish churches. The often-repeated line that Malta has 365 churches, one for every day of the year, is a tidy story rather than a count, and if you read it in a guidebook the guidebook has not checked. The density is remarkable enough without rounding it: 359 churches on 316 sq km means one roughly every square kilometre. Village feasts, the festi, are built around these parish churches and run mostly from June to September, so the church calendar is also the fireworks calendar.
6. Malta is 83 percent Roman Catholic, not 98 percent
Malta’s 2021 census found that 373,304 residents aged 15 and over, or 82.6 percent, identified as Roman Catholic. Among Maltese citizens aged 15 and over the figure rises to 96.4 percent, which is where the higher numbers in circulation come from, but the 98 percent claim that appears on many Malta facts pages does not match any published census result. Roman Catholicism is Malta’s state religion under the constitution, and it shapes the calendar of public holidays and the parish feasts more than it shapes anything a visitor has to observe.
7. Divorce has been legal in Malta since 2011
Malta legalised divorce in 2011 after a referendum on 28 May that year, and parliament passed the law that July. Malta was the last EU member state to introduce divorce, which is why so many older travel articles still describe it as illegal there. Same-sex marriage followed in 2017. If you are reading an article that lists “divorce is banned” among its facts about Malta, that article has not been updated in over a decade, and it is worth doubting whatever else it says.
8. Malta drives on the left
Malta drives on the left, one of only three countries in the European Union to do so, alongside Ireland and Cyprus, and the habit dates from British rule that began in 1800 and outlasted independence in 1964. Road signs follow British shapes and colours. Roads are narrow, junctions are often unsigned in practice and local driving is assertive, so the left-hand rule is less of a problem than the width of the lanes. Hire cars are right-hand drive as in the UK, and a full guide to driving in Malta covers the parking rules and the roundabout etiquette that catch people out.
9. There are almost as many vehicles as people
Malta had 463,734 licensed motor vehicles at the end of June 2026, of which 73.1 percent were passenger cars, according to the National Statistics Office. Set against 588,254 residents, that is close to four vehicles for every five people, and the stock has been rising by tens of thousands a year. The visible result is traffic: the road network was laid out for a fraction of that number, and journeys between towns during the morning and evening peaks take far longer than distance suggests. Plan sightseeing in geographical clusters rather than criss-crossing the island, and use the harbour ferries where they exist.
10. Malta is the only country awarded the George Cross
King George VI awarded the George Cross to the people of Malta on 15 April 1942, in recognition of their endurance under bombardment, and Malta remains the only country ever to receive it. The medal was formally presented on 13 September 1942 and was added to Malta’s flag in 1943, where it still sits in the upper hoist corner. The original George Cross is on display at the National War Museum inside Fort St Elmo in Valletta, so it is a thing you can actually go and look at rather than only read about.
11. Malta was one of the most heavily bombed places of the Second World War
The Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica flew roughly 3,000 bombing raids over Malta in two years and dropped about 6,700 tons of bombs on the Grand Harbour area alone. Malta’s position between Sicily and North Africa made its harbours and airfields the hinge of the Mediterranean supply war, which is why the islands absorbed that weight of attack for their size. The physical evidence is still everywhere: rock-cut shelters under Valletta, the bomb that pierced the dome at Mosta without exploding, and whole streets rebuilt in the 1950s in a plainer stone than the baroque around them.
12. Malta has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Malta holds three UNESCO World Heritage Sites in an area smaller than most European cities: the city of Valletta, the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum and the Megalithic Temples of Malta. Valletta was inscribed for its 16th-century fortified plan and its density of historic buildings. The Hypogeum is an underground burial complex cut into rock and is the one site that has to be booked far ahead, because Heritage Malta admits only small groups to protect the chambers. The Megalithic Temples listing covers six temple complexes across Malta and Gozo, and the popular cultural attractions in Malta guide sets out which of them are worth a half day each.
13. Ä gantija on Gozo is older than Stonehenge and the pyramids
The Ä gantija temples on Gozo date to between 3600 and 3200 BC, which places them before Stonehenge and before the Egyptian pyramids. Ä gantija is the earliest of Malta’s megalithic temples and one of the oldest free-standing stone structures anywhere, built with limestone blocks that in places exceed 5 m (16.4 ft). The name means “giantess” in Maltese, from a local story that a giantess carried the stones. It sits near Xagħra on Gozo, so seeing it means a ferry crossing and a Gozo day rather than a detour from Valletta.
14. Valletta was built from nothing on a grid, starting in 1566
Valletta was laid out on a strict grid across the Sciberras peninsula, and its foundation stone was set on 28 March 1566, months after the Ottoman siege of 1565 ended. Grand Master Jean Parisot de Valette commissioned the city and it carries his name. The military engineer Francesco Laparelli drew the plan, complete with a water supply and drainage designed in from the start, and the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar carried it out after Laparelli’s death. The grid is still the street plan you walk today, which is why Valletta is one of the easiest European capitals to navigate without a map and one of the steepest to walk across.
15. Malta gets around 3,000 hours of sunshine a year
Malta averages close to 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, from above 5 hours of sunshine a day in December to above 12 hours a day in July. Winter is mild and wet rather than cold, with most rain falling between October and March, and summer is dry and hot. The practical reading is that Malta works as a sightseeing destination all year and as a swimming destination from roughly June to October. Sea temperatures peak in August and stay swimmable well into autumn, which is why the shoulder months suit anyone who wants both a swim and an empty beach in Malta.
16. Malta is the only EU country that still opens a spring hunting season
Malta opened a three-week spring hunting season on 13 April 2026 for quail and turtle dove, under a derogation from the EU Birds Directive that no other member state uses. The derogation dates from Malta’s 2004 accession terms and has drawn repeated legal challenges from the European Commission and from BirdLife Malta. For a walker this matters in one specific way: the countryside in the second half of April carries hunters and hides, and some rural paths are effectively unwelcoming. Coastal walks and the archaeological sites are unaffected.
17. Protected land is about 14 percent, and protected sea is far larger
Natura 2000 sites cover more than 43.6 sq km of Malta’s land, roughly 13.8 percent of the total land area, according to Malta’s Environment and Resources Authority. The marine picture is very different: Natura 2000 marine sites around the islands cover about 4,138 sq km, close to 35 percent of Malta’s waters. Any Malta facts page claiming that 20 or 29 percent of the land is protected has mixed the land and sea figures together. The protected areas include Filfla, Fungus Rock off Gozo and the Għadira and Majjistral nature parks, and several are open to walk in.
18. The name Malta probably means honey
The most widely accepted origin of the name Malta is the Greek Melitē, from meli meaning honey, which the Romans rendered as Melita. A second theory traces it to the Phoenician Maleth, meaning haven or harbour, which fits a trading island with two deep natural harbours. Both origins are still argued. The honey connection has a living counterpart: Malta has its own endemic honey bee, Apis mellifera ruttneri, and Maltese wild thyme honey is harvested in July when the garigue is in flower. Buying a jar is the one souvenir on the island that connects directly to its name.
Which facts about Malta are out of date?
Four claims that appear on most Malta facts pages are wrong or stale, and they are listed below in the order they cause the most confusion.
- “Divorce is illegal in Malta.” It has been legal since 2011. Malta was the last EU country to introduce it, which is why the claim survived so long.
- “98 percent of Maltese are Catholic.” The 2021 census recorded 82.6 percent of residents aged 15 and over, and 96.4 percent of Maltese citizens in that age group.
- “Malta has 365 churches, one for every day of the year.” The count is 359, split 313 on Malta and 46 on Gozo.
- “Malta uses the Maltese lira.” The lira was retired on 1 January 2008 when Malta joined the euro.
What language do they speak in Malta?
Maltese and English are both official languages in Malta, and almost everyone a visitor deals with speaks English. Maltese is the national language, spoken at home and in daily life, and it is a Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet. English carries over from British administration between 1800 and 1964 and is used in government, higher education, tourism and business. Italian is also widely understood, largely through decades of Italian television. No visitor to Malta needs to learn a phrase to get by, which is unusual for a Mediterranean island.
Is Malta expensive to visit?
Malta sits below Western Europe’s headline destinations and above most of Eastern Europe on cost. Accommodation is the item that moves most between seasons, roughly doubling between a November midweek and an August weekend in the same property, while eating cheaply is genuinely cheap: a pastizzi from a bakery is small change and a plate of ftira feeds two. Museums and heritage sites are modestly priced, mostly under €15.00 ($16, £13) per adult. Our breakdown of prices in Malta covers what a day actually costs.
Does Malta have castles?
Malta has no medieval castle in the storybook sense, and what it has instead are bastioned forts, fortified palaces and coastal watchtowers. Fort St Angelo in Birgu has the oldest core, the Cittadella on Gozo is free to walk into at any hour, and the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta is the most visited of them. Several of the buildings that appear on castle lists are shut to visitors, which our guide to castles in Malta sets out one by one.
What to sort out before you fly to Malta
Three things are worth settling before departure, and all three follow directly from the facts above. Accommodation moves fastest, because four million visitors a year against 588,254 residents means the good addresses in Valletta, Sliema and Mellieħa go early for the April to October window, so it pays to compare Malta hotels on Booking.com as soon as dates are fixed. A car is the other early decision, since Malta drives on the left and the automatics run out first at peak, and rates for a small car fall sharply outside July and August when you compare Malta car hire on DiscoverCars a few weeks ahead.
Data is the last one, and it splits by passport. EU visitors roam in Malta on their home allowance at no extra cost, while travellers from the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere outside the EU face carrier charges unless they arrive with a local plan already loaded, which is what an Airalo eSIM for Malta does on one phone before you leave home. Public holidays are the free variable: Malta closes properly on them, and the public holidays in Malta calendar is worth checking against your dates. For everything else about the three islands, start at the country page for Malta.
WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips
The 4 tips below come from checking this page’s figures against the National Statistics Office, Heritage Malta and BirdLife Malta in 2026, and each one changes a decision rather than a fact.
- Keep countryside walks out of the second half of April. Malta opened a three-week spring hunting season on 13 April 2026, covering quail and turtle dove, and it is the only such season in the European Union. Coastal paths and the archaeological parks are unaffected, but inland tracks carry hunters and hides for those weeks.
- Check the calendar before booking a museum day. Every Heritage Malta site is closed on 1 January, Good Friday and 24, 25 and 31 December, and last admission everywhere is 30 minutes before closing time. That includes the Grand Master’s Palace, Fort St Elmo and Fort St Angelo.
- See the George Cross at Fort St Elmo, not at the Palace. Malta’s George Cross, awarded on 15 April 1942 and presented that September, is displayed at the National War Museum inside Fort St Elmo in Valletta. People look for it in the Grand Master’s Palace and do not find it.
- Travel in the shoulder months if the numbers matter to you. Malta took 4,022,310 visitors in 2025 into a country of 588,254 residents, and those arrivals concentrate between April and October. May, October and November keep the weather workable and take the ÄŠirkewwa ferry queue and the Blue Lagoon crowd out of the equation.
About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the team covers Malta for independent travellers, including the hotels, car hire, tours and heritage sites worth booking across Malta, Gozo and Comino, updating this page when the official figures behind it are republished.
