Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. With a population of about 475,000 over an area of 316 km2 (122 sq mi), Malta is the world's tenth smallest and fifth most densely populated country. Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area at 0.8 km.2 The official languages are Maltese and English, with Maltese officially recognised as the national language and the only Semitic language in the European Union.
Valletta is the capital city of Malta. Located in the south east of the island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population in 2014 was 6,444, while the metropolitan area around it has a population of 393,938. Valletta is the southernmost capital of Europe.
The Nationalist Party is a Christian-democratic, conservative political party in Malta. It is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta, along with the governing Labour Party. The Nationalist Party is currently in opposition to the Labour Party.
Democratic Alternative, sometimes referred to as AD – The Green Party, is a green political party in Malta particularly dedicated to environmentalism.
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Eligibility varies by country, and the voting-eligible population should not be confused with the total adult population. Age and citizenship status are often among the criteria used to determine eligibility, but some countries further restrict eligibility based on sex, race, or religion.
Dingli is a village in the Northern Region of Malta, with a population of 3,608 as of March 2014. It is 13 kilometres from the capital Valletta and two kilometers from the nearest town, Rabat. The village lies on a plateau some 250 metres above sea level, which is one of the highest points of Malta. The area provides not only open sea views over the tiny, uninhabited isle of Filfla, but is also a good vantage point over Malta. From the cliffs there are also views of the nearby Buskett Gardens and Verdala Palace.
Qrendi is a small village in the Southern Region of Malta, with a population of 2752 people as of March 2014. It is located close to Mqabba Żurrieq and Siggiewi. Within its boundaries are two well-known Neolithic temples called Mnajdra and Ħaġar Qim. In this village two feasts are held annually. The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated either on the last Sunday of June or on the first Sunday of July, with the 15 August the titular feast of the Ascension of Our Lady. This feast is popularly known as the feast of Santa Maria.
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The politics of Malta takes place within a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Malta is the constitutional head of state. Executive Authority is vested in the President of Malta with the general direction and control of the Government of Malta remaining with the Prime Minister of Malta who is the head of government and the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Malta which consists of the President of Malta and the unicameral House of Representatives of Malta with the Speaker presiding officer of the legislative body. Judicial power remains with the Chief Justice and the Judiciary of Malta. Since Independence, the party electoral system has been dominated by the Christian democratic Nationalist Party and the social democratic Labour Party.
Since June 30, 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 localities, governed by local councils, Maltese: kunsilli lokali, meaning municipalities or borough. These form the most basic form of local government and there are no intermediate levels between it and the national level. The levels of the 6 districts and of the 3 regions serve statistical purposes.
The Labour Party, formerly known as the Malta Labour Party (MLP), is a social-democratic political party in Malta. Along with the Nationalist Party (PN), the Labour Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in Malta. Since the March 2013 general election, the party has been the governing party in the Maltese House of Representatives. The Labour Party is a member of the Party of European Socialists, and was a member of the Socialist International until December 2014.
Local elections were held in Malta on 12 March 2005. The Malta Labour Party won an absolute majority. Approximately 68% of the eligible voters turned up on election day. In Malta the vast majority of the electorate normally votes on election days, with turnout sometimes averaging above 92% for general elections.
Local council elections were held for 23 localities in Malta on 11 March 2006. Traditionally, this round of elections has given positive results to the Nationalist Party, with the biggest villages apart from Żabbar, being the traditional villages in which the Nationalist Party obtains best results. 88 per cent of the voting documents were collected.
Malta is subdivided in districts of localities in order to administer the country in regions rather than locality. The districts have no administrative significance as the local councils provide the first-tier divisions of the country.
Local elections were held in 22 localities in Malta on 10 March 2007. The last round of elections held in 2004, on the same day of the national election for the Maltese Members for the European Parliament (MEPs). Approximately 68% of the eligible voters turned up on election day. With the locality of Safi with the highest percentage (86%); and the locality of Swieqi with the lowest percentage (53%). The largest locality was that of Mosta and the smallest one was that of San Lawrenz, Gozo.
The coastline of Malta consists of bays, sandy beaches, creeks, harbours, small villages, cities, cliffs, valleys, and other interesting sites. Here, there is a list of these different natural features that are found around the coast of Malta.
General elections were held in Malta on 26 October 1996. Although the Malta Labour Party received the most votes, the Nationalist Party won the most seats. However, the Labour Party was awarded an additional four seats to ensure they had a majority in Parliament.
General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 8 March 2008 alongside local elections. The governing Nationalist Party won a narrow victory over the Malta Labour Party.
General elections were held in Malta on Saturday, 9 March 2013. The Labour Party won a majority of seats thus defeating the Nationalist Party, which had been in power since 1987, save a short period of less than two years between 1996 and 1998 when Labour was in government.
Malta adopted a new telephone numbering plan in 2001–2002, in which telephone numbers were expanded to eight digits for fixed line and mobile numbers. Previously, fixed line numbers were six digits, while mobile, mailbox and pager services were seven digits long.
Local elections were held in Malta on 6 June 2009, the same day of the European elections. The elections were held in 23 of the 68 Maltese localities. These 23 localities are: Imdina, Bormla, Rabat, Gozo, Żabbar, Birkirkara, Fgura, Gudja, Għarb, Għaxaq, Kalkara, Lija, Marsaskala, Mġarr, Msida, Imtarfa, Naxxar, Pietà, Malta, Rabat, Malta, San Ġwann, Sannat, Tas-Sliema, Tarxien, and Xgħajra.
Committees for Communities elections were held in Malta in 2010. The elections were held in eight hamlets on 27 March, with elections in a further eight on 5 June.
Post codes in Malta are seven-character strings that form part of a postal address in Malta. Post codes were first introduced in 1991 by the mail operator MaltaPost. Like those in the United Kingdom and Canada, they are alphanumeric.
In Malta most the main roads are in the outskirts of the localities to connect one urban area with another urban area. The most important roads are those that connect the south of the island with the northern part, like Tal-Barrani Road, Aldo Moro Street in Marsa and Birkirkara Bypass.
The Northern Region is one of five regions of Malta. The region includes the northwestern part of the main island of Malta. The region borders the Central and Southern Regions, and is also close to Gozo Region.
