The Maltese Islands are situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, 93 kms to the South of Sicily (Italy), and 288 kms to the North of the African continent. Malta, the largest of the archipelago is the main island and the most populated. The capital city Valletta is situated on a peninsula within the main harbours, and is only a few kilometres away from Malta International Airport. Valletta is the main commercial and cultural centre of Malta hosting the Courts of Law and other administration offices of the Maltese Government. Gozo, the smaller of the islands is less densely populated with vast expanses of undeveloped and undisturbed countryside.
The population in Malta stands at about 410,000 inhabitants and its geographic location as well as its good and frequent connections by air and sea make it easily accessible from all major air and shipping ports. Malta became a member of the European Union in 2004 and has had the Euro as its currency since 2008. Malta has all year round pleasant weather conditions with an average temperature in the colder months of 13C and an average of 27C in the warmer months which makes it an all year round holiday destination.
Malta has its own language (Maltese), and most inhabitants speak English and Italian fluently mainly due to past British colonial and Italian cultural influences. The Maltese Islands do not have any natural resources or heavy industries, however some 7000 years of recorded history and the influences of the different foreign countries that occupied, or tried to occupy Malta in the past, leave it with a rich cultural heritage with Neolithic temples in Malta dating as far back as 5000BC.
Recent developments in Malta have seen large investments being made by the Maltese government in the Islands infrastructure, information technology, human resource training and development, and education.