Malta - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Malta. The country is an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors. Mother's mean age at first birth is 29.3 years (2020 est.) (Note: data refers to the average of the different childbearing ages of first-order births), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 8 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Geographical data of Malta
| Location | Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy) |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 35 50 N, 14 35 E |
| Map references | Europe |
| Tarrain | mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs |
| Natural Resources | limestone, salt, arable land |
| Natural Hazards | occasional droughts |
| Irrigated Land | 39 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 0 km |
| Border Countries | |
| Coastline | 196.8 km (excludes 56 km for the island of Gozo) |
| Climate | Mediterranean; mild, rainy winters; hot, dry summers |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 316 sq km |
| Water Area | 0 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly less than twice the size of Washington, D.C. |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Contiguous zone | 24 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Exclusive fishing zone | 25 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Ta'Dmejrek on Dingli Cliffs 253 m |
| Lowest point | Mediterranean Sea 0 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 27.3% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 24.4% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 3% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 1.4% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 71.2% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
Most of the population lives on the eastern half of Malta, the largest of the three inhabited islands
People and Society
In Malta, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 0.51% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 9.4 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 4.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.51 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.74 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 63.2% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | |
| Education expenditures | |
| Net Migration rate | 4.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Maltese | Maltese (singular and plural) |
| Languages | Maltese (official) 90.1%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.9% (2005 est.) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic (official) more than 90% (2006 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 14.5% (male 35,034/female 33,181) |
| 15-64 years | 62.4% (male 151,836/female 141,248) |
| 65 years and over | 23.1% (2024 est.) (male 50,153/female 58,278) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 53.7 (2024 est.) |
| Youth dependency ratio | 21.4 (2024 est.) |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 32.4 (2024 est.) |
| Potential support ratio | 3.1 (2024 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 43.5 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 42.4 years |
| Female | 44.7 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 94.9% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 213,000 VALLETTA (capital) (2018). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.04 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.07 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.86 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 4.3 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 83.6 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 81.5 years |
| Female | 85.8 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 8.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 2.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 2.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 2.51 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 22.1% (2025 est.) |
| Male | 23.9% (2025 est.) |
| Female | 20.2% (2025 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Malta
Want to know more about Malta? Check all different factbooks for Malta below.
