Is Malta a country, or part of Britain or Italy?

It’s a fair question. English is everywhere, the traffic keeps left, the plugs are the ones you have at home, and the island sits just 93 km from Sicily with food that often tastes Italian. With clues like that, it’s easy to assume Malta is some leftover corner of Britain or an Italian island. It’s neither. It’s a sovereign country with more than 60 years of independence behind it, and here’s how it got there.

Yes, Malta is a country, and here’s since when

Malta became independent from the United Kingdom on 21 September 1964, the same year it adopted the constitution still in force, according to Spain’s foreign ministry. Ten years later, on 13 December 1974, it abolished the British monarchy and became a republic within the Commonwealth. Today, in the EU’s own words, it’s a single-chamber parliamentary republic where the president’s role is largely ceremonial and the prime minister heads the government. I explain how that system works in how Malta is governed.

Both dates, 21 September and 13 December, are national holidays. A third is tied to sovereignty too, 31 March, Freedom Day, marking the closure of the last British base in 1979.

Why do people think Malta is British?

Because for a long time it was. Napoleon took Malta in 1798 on his way to Egypt, but the French didn’t last. The Maltese asked the British for help, and the British blockaded the islands in 1800. British rule then ran until 1964. To me you can still see it in the left-hand driving, the three-pin plugs and English sitting alongside Maltese as an official language.

The Second World War tied the two countries even closer. Heritage Malta says the islands were among the most heavily bombed places in the world between 1940 and 1942. In 1942 George VI awarded Malta and its people the George Cross, and Malta was the first Commonwealth country to receive it. It has been on the flag since 1943. The full story, from the temples to the EU, is in the history of Malta.

And why do others think it’s Italian?

Because before the British, and before the Knights, it was tied to Sicily. The Maltese tourist board says that until 1530 the islands were an extension of Sicily. That year they passed to the Order of St John, which ruled for more than two and a half centuries and founded Valletta. I cover the Knights in the Knights of Malta. Since then, Malta has never belonged to an Italian state.

Island or country?

Here’s the other mix-up. Malta is both the name of the country and the name of its main island. The island of Malta covers 245 km², but the country as a whole is 316 km², because it includes Gozo, Comino and several islets, a split I set out in how big Malta is. Only three islands are inhabited. You can see how they fit together in where is Malta.

A full member of Europe

Malta joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, Schengen on 21 December 2007 and the euro on 1 January 2008. For a British visitor that means Schengen rules at the border, with visa-free stays capped at 90 days in any 180-day period, and paying in euros rather than pounds. Your GHIC covers medically necessary state healthcare, according to the Foreign Office. I cover EES registration at the border in is Malta in the EU. If you ask me, it’s that blend of Sicily, the Knights and Britain that makes Malta so fascinating, and it’s also why it feels familiar and foreign at the same time.

A state with its own rules

Being a country shows up in details that surprise visitors. The flag, for instance, is protected by its own rules. The Maltese government bans its use in advertising and on vehicles, and it may only be flown with the George Cross at the bottom as a signal of dire distress. The national symbol, meanwhile, is the Maltese Cross, the eight-pointed emblem of the Order of St John. And the national anthem, L-Innu Malti, has words by Dun Karm Psaila and music by Robert Sammut. They’re small signs of a country that, at 316 km², takes its sovereignty very seriously indeed. Another one few people know is that Valletta wasn’t named as capital in the Constitution until December 2025, and it sits with the rest in my Malta facts.