Over the past few years, Malta received a lot of attention for its real estate market’s steady growth. This has positioned the country as an ideal location for foreign investors looking to buy property either as a holiday home or an investment. Before dipping into your pockets and looking into buying property in Malta, here are some quick facts about this country:
The Maltese islands are an archipelago situated half-way between Africa and Europe and is the perfect mid-way point between the two. The island group consists of Malta, Gozo, Comino, Filfla, St. Paul’s Islands, Manoel Island and several other smaller ones. Malta is 93km from Sicily and 300km from the North African Coast.
Malta is an independent sovereign country, having gained independence from the British in 1964 and the smallest in the EU, only covering 316 km². It is part of the Schengen territory, which promotes free trade and travel for its residents between member countries.
Malta is also affiliated through trade agreements, as part of its EU membership, with countries such as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
Malta is the eight most densely populated country in the world and its capital is the World Heritage City of Valletta. Annual tourist arrivals top more than 2,100,000, making it one of the top destinations for Europeans looking to soak up the sun year-round.
The official languages in Malta are Maltese and English. A lot of influences on the Maltese language have been inherited from Arabic, Latin, Italian, French and English.
Foreign nationals living in Malta enjoy the fantastic Mediterranean weather with an average of about 300 days of sunshine a year. Temperatures range from 12-20 degrees Celsius in the winter to scorching daytime temperatures of 34 to 42 degrees Celsius in the summer.
Malta’s currency is the Euro (€) and it is a full member state of the EU.