Geography

The geography of Malta is dominated by water. Malta is an archipelago of coralline limestone, located in the Mediterranean Sea, approximately 93 kilometres south of Sicily, Italy, and nearly 300 km north (Libya) and northeast (Tunisia) of Africa. Although Malta is situated in Europe, it is located farther south than African Tunis, capital of Tunisia, Algiers, capital of Algeria, Tangier in Morocco and alsoAleppo in Syria, and Mosul in Iraq in the Middle East. Only the three largest islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – are inhabited. Other (uninhabited) islands are: Cominotto, Filfla and the St.Paul's Islands. The country is approximately 316 km² (122 sq mi) in area. Numerousbays along the indented coastline of the islands provide good harbours. The landscape of the islands is characterised by high hills with terraced fields. The highest point, at 253 metres, is the Ta' Zuta on mainland Malta. The capital is Valletta

Climate

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Ta' Dmejrek 253 m (near Dingli)

Land use

arable land: 28.12%
permanent crops: 4.06%
other: 67.81% (2011)

Irrigated land

32 km² (2007)

Total renewable water resources

0.05 km³ (2011)

Environment - current issues

limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination.