Maltese eight-pointed cross; national colors: red, white.
Title | "L-Innu Malti" (The Maltese Anthem) |
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Lyric/music | Dun Karm PSAILA/Robert SAMMUT |
Date of Independence | 21 September 1964 (from the UK) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 21 September (1964); Republic Day, 13 December (1974) |
Legal system | mixed legal system of English common law and civil law based on the Roman and Napoleonic civil codes; subject to European Union law |
International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
Constitution | |
History | Many previous; latest adopted 21 September 1964 |
Amendments | Proposals (Acts of Parliament) require at least two-thirds majority vote by the House of Representatives; passage of Acts requires majority vote by referendum, followed by final majority vote by the House and assent of the president of the republic; amended many times, last in 2020 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of Malta |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 5 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | President Myriam Spiteri DEBONO (since 4 April 2024) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Robert ABELA (13 January 2020) |
Cabinet | Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister |
Elections/appointments | president indirectly elected by the House of Representatives for a single 5-year term; election last held on 27 March 2024 (next to be held by March 2029); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president for a 5-year term; deputy prime minister appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister |
Election results | 2024: Myriam SPITERI DEBONO (PL) elected president; House of Representatives vote - unanimous 2019: George VELLA (PL) elected president; House of Representatives vote - unanimous |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Unicameral House of Representatives or Il-Kamra Tad-Deputati, a component of the Parliament of Malta (65 seats statutory, 79 for 2022-2027 term; members directly elected in 5 multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) |
Elections | Last held on 26 March 2022 (next to be held in 2027) |
Election results | Percent of vote by party - PL 55.1%, PN 41.7%, other 3.2%; seats by party - PL 38, PN 29; composition as of February 2024 - men 57, women 22, percentage women 27.9%; note - due to underepresentation by women in the combined general on 26 March and two casual elections on 7 and 12 April (10 seats or 14.9%), an additional 12 seats were awarded because their percentage did not meet the 40% threshold required by the Malta Constitution or the General Elections Amendment Act 2021 |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Court of Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 3 judges); Court of Criminal Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges) |
Judge selection and term of office | Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president, usually upon the advice of the prime minister; judges of both courts serve until age 65 |
Subordinate courts | Civil Court (divided into the General Jurisdiction Section, Family Section, and Voluntary Section); Criminal Court; Court of Magistrates; Gozo Courts (for the islands of Gozo and Comino) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Godfrey C. XUEREB (since 19 April 2023) |
Chancery | 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
Telephone | [1] (771) 213-4050 |
FAX | [1] (202) 530-9753 |
Email address and website | [email protected] The Embassy (gov.mt) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Constance J. MILSTEIN (since October 27, 2022) |
Embassy | Ta' Qali National Park, Attard, ATD 4000 |
Mailing address | 5800 Valletta Place, Washington DC 20521-5800 |
Telephone | [356] 2561-4000 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://mt.usembassy.gov/ |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 3 (all cultural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | City of Valletta; Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum; Megalithic Temples of Malta |
Want to know more about Malta? Check all different factbooks for Malta below.