Humans have inhabited Malta since about 5200 BC, when Stone Age hunters or farmers arrived from Sicily.

They built some of the oldest existing, free-standing structures in the world in the form of megalithic temples such as those at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra.

[2] After 2500 BC, Malta was depopulated but soon became the home of Bronze Age settlers, who settled in sites such as Borġ in-Nadur.

[3] Malta was later ruled by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines and Arabs before it was occupied by the County of Sicily in 1091.

The island then became part of the Kingdom of Sicily until it was given to the Order of Saint John along with Gozo and Tripoli (North Africa) in 1530.

The Order ruled Malta for over 250 years and built many great pieces of architecture, including the capital city Valletta.

It lies on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last ice age.

According to Eurostat, Malta Island is a single Larger Urban Zone nominally referred to as "Valletta".

[14] According to European Spatial Planning Observation Network, Malta is identified as Functional Urban Area (FUA).

[16] Also, according to the results of ESPON and EU Commission studies, "the whole territory of Malta constitutes a single urban region".

Once under British control, they came to depend on Malta Dockyard for support of the Royal Navy, especially during the Crimean War of 1854.

Malta's economy was boosted by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, as there was a massive increase of civilian shipping which entered the port.

Ships stopping at Malta's docks for refuelling helped the Entrepôt trade, which brought additional benefits to the island.

The economy was boosted again after World War II when the island needed to be rebuilt.Currently, Malta's major resources are limestone, a favourable geographic location and a productive labour force.

[19] The economy is dependent on foreign trade (serving as a freight trans-shipment point), manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles) and tourism.

Despite its size, Malta continues to attract international film productions from around the world and this is the best sign of confidence that a small country can get from foreign producers.

In preparation for Malta's membership in the European Union, which it joined on 1 May 2004, it privatised some state-controlled firms and liberalised markets.

For example, the government announced on 8 January 2007 that it was selling its 40% stake in MaltaPost, to complete a privatisation process which had been ongoing for the previous five years.

The management structure changed from having self-employed drivers driving their own vehicles to a service being offered by a single company through a public tender.

Today, Ta' Qali houses a national park, stadium, the Crafts Village visitor attraction and the Malta Aviation Museum.

This museum preserves several aircraft, including Hurricane and Spitfire fighters that defended the island in World War II.

Tourism infrastructure has increased dramatically over the years and a number of good-quality hotels are present on the island, although overdevelopment and the destruction of traditional housing is of growing concern.

Dual accreditation with the American-oriented Joint Commission is necessary if hospitals in Malta wish to compete with the Far East and Latin America for medical tourists from the United States.

[34] Still, Italian television channels from Italy-based broadcasters, such as Mediaset and RAI, reach Malta and remain popular.