Malta is an island country in southern Europe. An archipelago located in the Mediterranean, 80 km from Sicily, 284 km from Tunisia and 333 km from Libya, it is the smallest member state of the European Union. The country has two official languages, Maltese and English. Italian, the official language until 1934, is quite widespread, known at least at a basic level by 62% of Maltese. Its particular geographical area has made the island a strategic place for millennia, where Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Templars, French and English have alternated, making the country a jumble of cultures and a place rich in history and architecture. Also for this reason, Malta is a country that lives mainly on tourism and boasts 3 UNESCO sites; tourism has in fact increased significantly in recent years and with it the structures used for this purpose. Malta's major resources are limestone, a favorable geographical position in the middle of the Mediterranean and a very productive workforce. Malta produces around 20% of its own needs, has limited drinking water resources and no energy sources available on its territory. At an industrial level, the textile and electronic sectors are also important. Malta is a parliamentary republic founded on representative democracy, whose parliamentary and public administration system is modeled on the Westminster system. Malta's purely Mediterranean climate is characterized by hot, sunny and dry summers and temperate but rainy and windy winters. Malta is also one of the sunniest countries in Europe, with over 300.000 hours of sunshine per year. Its currency is the euro.