Our cultural and Geo political landscape
Our official language is English and Maltese
Currency: Euro
Crime rate / 0.94 Per cent as of 2015
Public transport / Public bus system of a reasonable level of service however it is not perfect due to the size of Malta not large enough to have a bus lane everywhere thereby rarely being on time.
National Health Service / Highly recommended from WHO of our handling of Covid-19 beating the virus within 9 weeks with only 4 deaths. Very High level of free healthcare for EU nationals whilst non-EU can access the same service through private insurance
Population / local approx 441, 543 / Expats / 50,000
Distances Total 320 square kilometres allowing us very short travel times thus improving your quality of life
Food / Mix of English breakfast, Italian pasta and local fresh fish / An excellent choice for foodies.
Lifestyle / Mediterranean …. Malta s eclectic mix of cultures throughout its history has influenced its future with British, Arabic and Mediterranean touches are very vivid in society. We are a very happy race according to statistics.
Events, musical, arts and culture / A great improvement as Malta was selected at the European capital of culture for 2018 / check out www.visitmalta.com and www.visitgozo.com
Economic growth / 7 per cent of 2018 figures
Education High level of education available both public and private schools and The University of Malta besides many other tertiary education level providers
Tourism 2019 / Approximately 3 million 2018 with plans to double the size of the airport, open a hotel at the airport and double that figure by 2030
Weather Beautiful 300 days of sunshine
Government / Democratic
Unemployment 0 2019 we have large labour shortages which we got from overseas
Enriched in History
Malta s history dates back to 5900 BC. The first inhabitants were Sicilian farmers in Ggantija (Gozo). This Templar complex was created by two temples represents the oldest example of the megalithic temples in Malta dating back to a period to 3600 BC. Hagar Qim is a copper age temple which was built in 2700 BC. Hal Saflieni Hypogeum is a template complex is composed on three underground levels that push up to 12 m deep.
The Great Siege of Malta took place in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire tried to invade Malta. At that period in history, the Knights Hospitaller only had 2000 soldiers in Malta and 400 Maltese men, women and children withstood the siege against over 10,000 Turks and repelled the invaders. This was Malta s only victory in its history in war.
Throughout our history, Malta has been occupied by the Byzantine Empire, the British Empire, The Knights of St.John who built the world heritage site Valletta. The Byzantine Empire for hundreds of years has strongly influenced our Maltese language and always being late for appointments. We took our religion from The Roman Empire being 95 per cent Roman Catholic till 2010 until we became multicultural. We also have 355 churches one for each day of the year this gave us this sense of helping one another. Sicilians influenced our food.
In more recent history we were under the British who gave us the English Pound, our national language, English breakfast and driving on the wrong side of the road. Malta gained its political Independence from Britain on the 21st of September 1964. On the 21st September 1964, Malta had become an independent nation to much enjoyment from the locals after thousands of years of foreign rule. Malta joined the EU on 1st May 2004 together with Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia in what is considered the largest EU enlargement ever
Malta outstanding historic scenes are the Valletta port entrance with the fortified bastions and Valletta backdrop. Mdina, Malta s previous capital city which is a small scale version of Valletta in the centre of Malta s highest point to defend against the enemies. The three cities alongside the port in the south are breathtaking and the Cittadella in Gozo too.
The Current Government Policy and Strategy
The present government is its second legislation is a socialist centre government which is the Malta Labour Party. They are a socialist government which is very pro-business acknowledging the facts that the government needs to pick up taxes and social security and VAT to provide free healthcare, pensions, free childcare and even stipends to attend school. Since Malta joined the European Union there has been a huge overhaul of our roads network bringing it in line with European standards. Our public transport system has been privatised and the taxi industry has seen participation from large international players offering first-class service. There has been a shift towards maritime transportation also in our port, to Gozo and Comino.
Our tourism industry has seen an overhaul of its quality being offered with ITS training facility necessary for all Tourism based industries such as hotels, bars and restaurants. The interior decor and many buildings have been restored such as in Valletta and Cittadella Gozo making them 5 stars. This has all impacted the real estate industry in Malta with internationally renowned architects being used for the state of the art buildings such as Zaha Hadid and Renzo Piano.
We have also diversified our economy through selling Malta residence programmes, creating new sectors in medical and recreational cannabis, cryptocurrencies, AI and private hospitals. We have Opened Barts Medical school in Gozo, Privatising Stewart’s healthcare our old hospital, bringing investment from the Chinese into our energy sector. Our other main industries are construction and real estate, financial services with over 50 banks in Malta and Malta is the centre of the Internet Gaming world.
Social reforms on civil liberties such as divorce, gay marriage, abortion and drug use have been implemented. Putting Malta at the forefront in the world for civil rights. Malta has some of clearest seas in the world with very calm Mediterranean sea and no sharks or whales makes it a pleasure to swim. The government has invested in new beaches making them sandy, boardwalks and landscaping.
We have some issues with the European Union from The Venice Commission report in which we have been in breach of not checking on financial and institutionalised fraud and corruption. We have been given a checklist of issues which need to be resolved in order to get in line into European standards. In response in January 2020, the old Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was forced to resign however the same political party remained in power with a new young Prime Minister Robert Abela.
Other issues we are facing are illegal immigration and missing EU environmental targets for climate change. As Malta is only 300 kilometres from Libya which has been under civil unrest since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2010. This has seen a large influx of Africans flee the country towards Malta and Italy. The issue is that there has been very little assistance from the European Union whilst the Government OF Malt has to carry the burden albeit with little resources and size. We also have had large scale construction projects since we joined the European Union which has seen our carbon footprint explode. With more people, more cars, more waste more demand for energy. The environment had taken a backseat compared to the flourishing economy however we have been financially penalised for missing or targets. This coupled with the emergence of the environmentalists has seen it come to the forefront with Prime Minister Abela.
The future is bright
Pro-business environment
Malta s low tax regime, English language as the official language, being part of the European Union and the use of the Euro make it an attractive island for investment and living. What we lack in natural resources we make up for through sheer determination, ambition, high rate of education levels and our history of being invaded by many countries have improved our resolve to succeed. We also have a history of trade dating back to the Phoenicians which is ingrained in our social fabric. Our small size gives us the advantage to innovate and create policy and new industry at a lighting pace.
Reform of the Police corps
The negative aspect of being a small island is that the family environment creates nepotism. The saying goes that everyone knows everyone mentality. This affects the job of the police corps and there results in obtaining justice. Due to pressure from the European Union Malta has had to reform the way it selects the Police Commissioner who is selected by an independent board. This allows him/her the autonomy to achieve results for the good of the nation rather than the Prime Minister. Furthermore, investments have been made into resources such as the Police stations, police cars, uniforms and training. This is highly important for any democratic state to function.
Reform of the justice system
Likewise, the Chief justice and attorney general were previously chosen by the Prime Minister however the new one has been agreed upon by a majority in Parliament thereby enjoying the confidence of the general public. The rule of law in Malta and the Courts of Malta had not been updated since the 1980 s. There are a number of upgrades being done to speed up the process of court cases and if your case is cancelled or delayed you receive SMS to inform you. There is a list of points which are being discussed to modernise the system which will be implemented in 2021.
Environment
As part of its electoral promise, the current government has pledged a greener future for all. There are current investments in improving national parks throughout the islands, planting more trees and landscaped roundabouts. After Malta had 10 years of heavy investment the environmentalists have grown in stature and power which has resulted in a new greener future. As Malta has 300 days of sunshine we are using solar panels from grants by the government of Malta to try and hit out environmental European targets. There are also plans in place to move into a fully electric country for cars by 2040. There is also a heavy investment in national waste management recycling facilities to minimise our carbon footprint.