intertops is not in europe
website says Malta
<small>(
help·
info)</small>, officially the
Republic of Malta (
Maltese:
Repubblika ta' Malta), is a small and densely populated
European microstate island, comprising an
archipelago of
seven islands, three of which are inhabited. Situated in
Southern Europe, 93 km (58 mi) off the coast of
Sicily (
Italy), it is located in the
Mediterranean Sea, giving the country a warm,
Mediterranean climate, while a further 288 km (179 mi) to the island's south is
Libya.<sup id="cite_ref-0" class="reference">
[1]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference">
[2]</sup> The nation's
de facto capital city is the historic
Valletta. Throughout much of its history, Malta has been considered a crucial strategic location due in large part to its position in the Mediterranean Sea.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">
[3]</sup> It was held by several ancient cultures including
Sicilians,
Romans,
Phoenicians,
Byzantines and others. The island is commonly associated with the
Knights of St. John who ruled it. This, along with the historic
Biblical shipwreck of
St. Paul on the island, ingrained the strong
Roman Catholic legacy which is still the official and most practised
religion in Malta today.
The country's official languages are
Maltese and
English, the latter a legacy from Malta's period as a
British colony – the
United Kingdom is the most recent outside ruling power. Malta gained
independence in
1964 — it was the last European nation to declare independence between the
end of World War II until the
Fall of Communism — and is currently a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations, as well as the
European Union which it joined in 2004. Malta is a
developed country with the
35th highest GDP per capita, the 28th-highest
quality-of-life index, and the
34th-highest Human Development Index rating in the world.
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