Since we are in a global pandemic and most of us probably have not travelled abroad for over a year now I thought I should bring "abroad" to you. In my last “Destination” article I introduced the tropical country Barbados and now we are travelling from Barbados to Malta. Have you ever been to Malta? Do you have a suggestion of a country I should write about in the next “Destination” article? Let me know in the comments.
The Republic of Malta, or more commonly known as just Malta, are two small islands that together create a country located in southern Europe. Malta, which is the 10th smallest country in area in the world, has an area of 316 square kilometres and a population of around 515 000. The capital city of Malta is called Valletta and is the smallest national capital in the European Union by its area at only 0.8 square kilometres. Valletta is also a part of the UNESCO world heritage list. The biggest town in Malta is called St. Paul’s Bay and is located in the northern parts of Malta. Malta has two official languages; Maltese (which is originating from Sicilian Arabic) and English. Italian and Sicilian have previously served as official languages.
In 1813 Malta became a British colony and served as the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. In 1964 the Malta Independence Act passed the British parliament which made Malta independent from the United Kingdom but it still had Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and queen. Malta has been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since its independence in 1964. In 1974 Malta became a republic and joined the European Union in 2004 and has been a part of the Eurozone since 2008, which means the official currency in Malta is Euro.
Malta is a popular tourist destination with around 1.6 million tourists per year when there isn’t a global pandemic… That’s three times more tourists than there are residents in the entire country. However, an increasing number of locals are now travelling abroad on holiday.
The parliament of Malta is the constitutional legislative body in Malta and the parliament building is located in the capital. The house of representatives of Malta and the President of Malta are the two legislative bodies which mean both the house of representatives and the president can create new law suggestions. Malta had a Senate from 1921 to 1933 but then moved on to only having one chamber. It’s the members of the house of representatives that together appoint a president who will serve for a five-year term. The house of representatives consists of 67 seats and the Labour Party has a majority of the seats with 36 seats while the opposition is, mostly, consisting of the Nationalist Party with 28 seats and two Independent Democrats. The current president, who is the 10th president of Malta, is George Vella and his term ends on April 4th 2024. Malta has had two female presidents during its 47 years as a republic.
Malta has a Mediterranean climate which means it’s mild winters and summers. The rain season in Malta is generally in autumn and winter and summers are usually dry. The yearly average temperature is, during the warm months, around 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and around 15.5 degrees Celsius (59.9 degrees Fahrenheit) during the night. During the colder months, it’s around 12-18 degrees Celsius (54-64 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and around 6-12 degrees Celsius (43-54 degrees Fahrenheit) during the night. The warmest months in Malta is July and August with an average highest temperature around 31.5-31.8 Celsius (88.7-89.2 Fahrenheit). Malta rarely experiences snow, the last time they had snowfall was in 2014 in different locations across Malta.
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