Malta
Malta is an island country in Europe. It is located near the center of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily. The capital of Malta is Valletta. About 400,000 people live in Malta. Malta is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Because of this, it has many cities and towns that grew into each other over time. The largest of these is possibly Birkirkara. With more growth, the cities and towns on the island will possibly soon grow into each other and become one big city.
Language.
Malta has two official languages, Maltese and English. Italian is often seen as a third language, because most Maltese television and literature is in Italian. Also, before 1936, Italian was the national language of Malta. Many Maltese people can speak Maltese, English, and Italian, and when talking to each other, change from language to language.
Money.
Malta had its own currency, called the Maltese Lira. The idea of the Lira came from Italy. It is sometimes called the Maltese Pound. This idea of the 'pound' came from the UK. The Maltese currency was one of the biggest currency units in the world.
However, Malta joined the Euro in 2008, and now uses this as its national money.
Malta is not using the Maltese money anymore because in the 2004 Malta became part of Europe, this made some changes example by changing the Maltese money into euros.
Malta is an island, but it's not alone because with it there are Gozo, Comino, and Manuel Island, among others.
History.
People have lived in Malta since at least 5200 BC. The island has some key archaeological locations dating from early times.
Malta became well known as the base of the Knights of St John. They moved to Malta after being forced to leave Palestine and then Rhodes, in Greece. The knights and the Maltese people survived a great attack by the Turks. The history of the knights at Malta created strong Roman Catholic beliefs in the country.
In the early 1800, Napoleon captured Malta. The Maltese people did not like the French rule. They invited the English Royal Navy to come to the island. This lead to 200 years as a British colony and independent Commonwealth member. During the Second World War, Malta was again attacked. The entire island was symbolically given the George Cross for heroism.
In 2004 Malta joined the European Union and in 2008 Malta joined the Euro.
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