Malta

Republic of Malta Repubblika ta' Malta  (Maltese)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: L-Innu Malti The Maltese Hymn MENU 0:00
Location of  Malta  (green circle) – in Europe  (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (light green)  –  [Legend]
Capital	Valletta 35°54′N 14°31′E
Largest city	Birkirkara
Official languages	Maltese Maltese Sign Language[1] English
Common languages	Italian[2] (spoken and understood by 66% of the population)
Ethnic groups(2011[3])	95.17% Maltese 4.83% Non-Maltese[a]
Religion	Roman Catholic Church
Demonym	Maltese
Government	Unitary parliamentaryrepublic
• President	Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
• Prime Minister	Joseph Muscat
Legislature	House of Representatives
Independence from the United Kingdom
• State of Malta	21 September 1964
• Republic	13 December 1974
Area
• Total	316[4] km2 (122 sq mi) (186th)
• Water (%)	0.001
Population
• 2014 estimate	445,426[5] (171st)
• 2011 census	416,055[3]
• Density	1,410[3]/km2(3,651.9/sq mi) (7th)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$19.721 billion[6]
• Per capita	$45,127[6]
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$13.329 billion[6]
• Per capita	$30,500[6]
Gini (2014)	27.7[7] low · 15th
HDI (2015)	0.856[8] very high · 33rd
Currency	Euro (€)[b] (EUR)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the	left
Calling code	+356
Patron saints	Paul the Apostle, Saint Publius and Agatha of Sicily[9]
ISO 3166 code	MT
Internet TLD	.mt[c]
Website www.gov.mt
^ Maltese nationals as referred to in the 2011 census.[3] ^ Maltese lira before 2008. ^ Also .eu, shared with other European Unionmember states.

Coordinates: 35°53′N 14°30′E

Malta (/ˈmɒltə, ˈmɔːl-/ ( listen); Maltese: [ˈmɐltɐ]), officially known as the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a Southern European island countryconsisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea.^[10] It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia,^[11] and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya.^[12] At over 316 km² (122 sq mi),^[4] and with a population of just under 450,000,^[5] Malta is one of the world's smallest^[13][14][15] and most densely populatedcountries. Malta's capital city is Valletta, which at 0.8 km², is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area; its largest city and chief economic center is Birkirkara.^[16] Malta has two official languages, Maltese and English, with the former also recognized as the national language. Maltese is the only Semitic language to be officially recognized in the European Union.

Malta has been inhabited since around 5900 BC. Its location in the centre of the Mediterranean^[17] has historically given it great strategic importance as a naval base, with a succession of powers — including the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, Knights of St. John, Turkish, French, and British — having contested and ruled the islands.^[18] Most of these foreign influences have left some sort of mark on the country's ancient culture.

Malta became a British colony in 1815, serving as a critical way station for ships and the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. It played an important role in the Allied war effort during the Second World War, and was subsequently awarded the George Cross for its bravery in the face of an Axis siege.^[19] The George Cross continues to appear on Malta's national flag.^[20] Following intense negotiations, the British Parliament passed the Malta Independence Act in 1964, giving Malta independence from the United Kingdom as the State of Malta, with Elizabeth II as its head of state and queen.^[21] The country became a republic in 1974. It has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since independence, and joined the European Union in 2004; in 2008, it became part of the Eurozone.

Malta has a long Christian legacy and its Archdiocese is claimed to be an apostolic see because, according to Acts of the Apostles,^[22] St Paul was shipwrecked on "Melita", now widely taken to be Malta. Catholicism is the official religion in Malta. Article 40 of the Constitution states that "All persons in Malta shall have full freedom of conscience and enjoy the free exercise of their respective mode of religious worship."^[23][24]

Malta is a popular tourist destination with its warm climate, numerous recreational areas, and architectural and historical monuments, including three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum,^[25] Valletta,^[26] and seven megalithic temples, which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world.^[27][28][29]

Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia Република Македонија (Macedonian) Republika Makedonija
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  Денес над Македонија Denes nad Makedonija ("Today over Macedonia")
Location of  Republic of Macedonia  (green) in Europe  (dark grey)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Skopje 42°0′N 21°26′E
Official languages	Macedonian[1]
Official regional languages	Albanian Turkish Romani Serbian[2]
Ethnic groups(2002)	64.2% Macedonians[3] 25.2% Albanians 3.9% Turks 2.7% Romani 1.8% Serbs 2.2% other / unspecified
Demonym	Macedonian
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Gjorge Ivanov
• Prime Minister	Zoran Zaev
Legislature	Sobranie
Independence from SFR Yugoslavia
• Declared	8 September 1991
• Officially recognized by the United Nations	8 April 1993
Area
• Total	25,713 km2(9,928 sq mi) (145th)
• Water (%)	1.9
Population
• 2017[4] estimate	2,103,721 est.[4]
• 2002 census	2,022,547[3]
• Density	80.1/km2 (207.5/sq mi) (122nd)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$33.196 billion[5]
• Per capita	$15,977[5]
GDP (nominal)	2016 estimate
• Total	$12.292 billion[5]
• Per capita	$5,916[5]
Gini (2016)	33.6[6] medium
HDI (2015)	0.748[7] high · 82nd
Currency	Macedonian denar(MKD)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the	right
Calling code	+389
Patron saint	Saint Clement of Ohrid[8]
ISO 3166 code	MK
Internet TLD	.mk .мкд

Macedonia (/ˌmæsɪˈdoʊniə/ ( listen); Macedonian: Македонија, translit. Makedonija, IPA: [makɛˈdɔnija]), officially the Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian: Република Македонија, translit. Republika Makedonija IPA: [rɛˈpublika ˌmakɛˈdɔnija] ( listen)), is a country in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993, but, as a result of an ongoing dispute with Greece over the use of the name "Macedonia", was admitted under the provisional description the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia^[9][10] (sometimes abbreviated as FYROM and FYR Macedonia), a term that is also used by international organizations such as the European Union,^[11]the Council of Europe,^[12] and NATO.^[13]

A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia has borders with Kosovo^[a] to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west.^[14] It constitutes approximately the northwestern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia, which also comprises the neighbouring parts of northern Greece and smaller portions of southwestern Bulgaria and southeastern Albania. The country's geography is defined primarily by mountains, valleys, and rivers. The capital and largest city, Skopje, is home to roughly a quarter of the nation's 2.06 million inhabitants. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25 percent, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, and others.

This region's history dates back to antiquity, beginning with the kingdom of Paeonia, probably a mixed Thraco-Illyrian polity.^[15] In the late sixth century BC, the area was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire, then annexed by the Kingdom of Macedonia in the fourth century. The Romans conquered the region in the second century BC and made it part of the much larger province of Macedonia. Τhe area remained part of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, and was often raided and settled by Slavic peoples beginning in the sixth century of the Christian era. Following centuries of contention between the Bulgarian, Byzantine and Serbian empires, it gradually came under Ottoman dominion from the 14th century. Between the late 19th and early 20th century, a distinct Macedonian identityemerged, although following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, the modern territory of Macedonia came under Serbian rule. In the aftermath of the First World War (1914–1918), it became incorporated into the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which after the Second World War was re-established as a republic (1945) and which became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963. Macedonia remained a constituent socialist republic within Yugoslavia until its peaceful secession in 1991.

Macedonia is a member of the UN and of the Council of Europe. Since 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership. Although one of the poorest countries in Europe, Macedonia has made significant progress in developing an open, market-based economy.