Population - 412,966 (Eurostat estimate for 2010).
Life expectancy: men - 78 years, women - 81 years.

Ethnic groups:  97% Maltese with a variety of minorities, the largest being retired UK citizens.

Language – Maltese (a semitic language) which replaced Italian as the official language in 1934.  88% also speak English and 66% also speak Italian.   Both Maltese and English are used in education and the majority of courses at the University of Malta are in English.

Religion – Roman Catholic - 98%.