Malta
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Malta is an island country in Europe.
Malta is located near the centre of the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily and north of Libya.
Its capital is Valletta. As one of the most densely populated countries in the world it has many cities and towns that merge into each other, of which the largest is possibly Sliema.
About 400,000 people live in Malta.
Malta has two official languages, Maltese and English.
Malta has its own currency, called the Maltese Lira, which is currently one of the heaviest currency units in the world.
People have lived in Malta since at least 5200 BC and the island has some key archaeological sites dating from early times.
Malta became prominent as the base of the Knights of St John, after their expulsion from Palestine and then Rhodes. The knights and the Maltese people heroically survived a great siege by the Turks and was thereafter richly endowed with fortifications and grand buildings by the knights. This history also left Malta as one of the most enthusiastically Roman Catholic countries in the world.
By 1800 the knights had become decadent and Napoleon easily captured Malta. However, the Maltese people found French rule oppressive and invited in the Royal Navy, leading to 200 years as a British colony and independent Commonwealth member. During the Second World War Malta was again besieged and the whole island was symbolically awarded the George Cross for heroism.
In 2004 Malta joined the European Union.
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Malta
