Size and Area of Malta

Malta is both the name of a country and the name of the country’s main island. It is therefore essential to distinguish Malta as a state and Malta as the main island (the largest of the six islands of the Maltese archipelago).

The main island, which therefore shares its name with the country, measures 27 km (≈ 17 mi) at its greatest length (from southeast to northwest) and 14.5 km (≈ 9 mi) in width. Its total area is 246 km² (≈ 95 mi²).

Gozo, the second-largest island of the archipelago, located about 6 km (≈ 3.7 mi) northwest of the main island, is 14 km (≈ 8.7 mi) long and 7.3 km (≈ 4.5 mi) wide. Its total area is 67 km² (≈ 26 mi²).

Comino, the smallest of the three inhabited islands — famous for its Blue Lagoon and located between Malta and Gozo — measures 2.5 km (≈ 1.6 mi) in length and 1.5 km (≈ 0.9 mi) in width. Its total area is 3.5 km² (≈ 1.4 mi²).

In addition to the main island, Gozo, and Comino, the State of Malta has five other small islands. Some are little more than rocky outcrops: Manoel Island, Cominotto, Saint Paul (Selmunett), Fifla (Filfla), and the islet of Filfoletta.

Together, these five islands account for barely 0.5 km² (≈ 0.2 mi²) of surface area. The largest, Manoel Island — actually a peninsula — covers 0.18 km² (≈ 0.07 mi²).

The total area of Maltese territory is about 316 km² (≈ 122 mi²). This figure includes the main island, Gozo, Comino, and the other uninhabited islands. Malta is therefore one of the smallest countries in the world.

By area, Malta is the smallest member state of the European Union. In Europe, it is surpassed only by the micro-states of Monaco (2.02 km², ≈ 0.8 mi²), the Vatican – Holy See (0.44 km², ≈ 0.17 mi²), San Marino (61 km², ≈ 24 mi²), and Liechtenstein (160 km², ≈ 62 mi²).