59 free Malta trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Malta is a speck in the central Mediterranean, 80 km south of Sicily, that has been fought over by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, the Knights of St John, Napoleon and the British. It now has the EU's smallest capital, its own Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, and a flag carrying a British medal. This quiz covers all of it: the three inhabited islands, Valletta and Mdina, the Ġgantija temples that predate the pyramids, St Paul's shipwreck, the Great Siege of 1565, the George Cross of 1942, independence in 1964, the republic of 1974 and the euro in 2008. Culture gets equal weight: the Maltese language and its Siculo-Arabic roots, pastizzi and stuffat tal-fenek, Cisk beer and Kinnie, Caravaggio's Beheading of St John, the village festa and Carnival, driving on the left, and why the Knights paid rent in falcons. Easy questions ask which sea Malta sits in; hard ones want the highest point, the year the Arabs conquered the islands and the name of the national poet. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on Malta, Valletta, the Great Siege, the flag and Maltese cuisine, and each question carries the sentence that supports it.
30 of 59 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Malta lies in which sea?
The Mediterranean
The archipelago is 80 km south of Italy and about 284 km east of Tunisia.
Q 02What is the capital of Malta?
Valletta
It is the smallest capital in the European Union by both area and population.
Q 03Besides Malta itself, which two islands of the archipelago are inhabited?
Gozo and Comino
Gozo is the more rural second island; Comino sits between the two.
Q 04What are Malta's two official languages?
Maltese and English
If the two texts of a law conflict, the constitution says the Maltese version prevails.
Q 05The Maltese language descends from which extinct dialect?
Siculo-Arabic
It is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet, with 30 letters.
Q 06Malta is roughly how far from Italy?
80 km
Sicily is the closest neighbour; Tunisia lies 284 km to the west.
Q 07The Ġgantija temples on Gozo, built around 3500 BC, are notable as what?
Some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world
They were raised before the Egyptian pyramids.
Q 08Which biblical figure was shipwrecked on Malta around AD 60, according to the Acts of the Apostles?
St Paul
Saint Publius is said to have become the island's first bishop.
Q 09The Arabs conquered Malta from the Byzantines in which year?
870
The island was left almost uninhabited until Arabs from Sicily resettled it in 1048-49.
Q 10Which Norman leader attacked Malta in 1091 and is credited by legend with the colours of its flag?
Roger I of Sicily
The tale that he tore off part of his red-and-white banner is a myth, but it inspired the modern flag.
Q 11In 1530, Charles V handed Malta to the Knights Hospitaller in exchange for what annual tribute?
A Maltese falcon
The Knights had been driven from Rhodes by the Ottomans in 1522.
Q 12Which Grand Master led the Knights during the Great Siege of 1565 and gave his name to the new capital?
Jean de Valette
He laid the foundation stone of the fortified city on 28 March 1566.
Q 13Which Ottoman sultan sent the fleet that besieged Malta in 1565?
Suleiman the Magnificent
He had already ejected the Knights from Rhodes in 1522.
Q 21Which two leaders held a 1989 summit in Malta that heralded the end of the Cold War?
George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev
Malta had adopted a policy of neutrality in 1980.
Q 22Malta joined the European Union in which year?
2004
It adopted the euro four years later, on 1 January 2008.
Q 23What was Malta's currency before the euro?
The Maltese lira
Before 1825 the islands had used the scudo.
What symbol appears on Malta's €1 and €2 coins?
Q 14How long did the Great Siege of Malta last?
Nearly four months
It ran from 18 May to 8 September 1565, and 8 September is still a national holiday.
Q 15Which French general captured Malta from the Knights in 1798 on his way to Egypt?
Napoleon Bonaparte
He stayed only a week, at the Palazzo Parisio, but abolished feudal rights and slavery.
Q 16Malta formally became part of the British Empire under which 1814 treaty?
Paris
During World War I the island earned the nickname 'Nurse' for treating so many wounded soldiers.
Q 17Which award did the British king give to the whole island of Malta in April 1942?
The George Cross
It now appears on the flag and coat of arms.
Q 18The Maltese flag is unique among national flags for featuring what?
English-language text
The words 'For Gallantry' appear on the medal in the canton.
Q 19Malta gained independence from Britain on which date?
21 September 1964
It kept Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta until becoming a republic ten years later.
Q 20Which Labour prime minister led Malta to declare itself a republic in 1974?
Dom Mintoff
The last British forces left in 1979, a date marked as Freedom Day.
The Maltese cross
The Mnajdra Temples decorate the smallest copper coins.
Q 25What is the highest point in Malta?
Ta' Dmejrek at 253 m
There are no permanent rivers or lakes on the islands.
Q 26Malta's population of about 574,000 lives on how much land?
316 sq km
That makes it the tenth-smallest country in the world and one of the most densely populated.
Q 27What was Malta's ancient capital, and seat of the Phoenician government?
Mdina
Its Phoenician port was at Cospicua on the Grand Harbour, which they called Maleth.
Q 28On which tectonic plate does Malta sit?
African
The islands are the high points of a drowned land bridge between Sicily and North Africa.
Q 29Which side of the road do Maltese drivers use?
The left
The habit is a legacy of British colonial rule.
Q 30The traditional Maltese fenkata is a meal centred on which meat?
Rabbit
Stuffat tal-fenek may have begun as symbolic defiance of the Knights' hunting restrictions.