Fast Facts (courtesy of Lonely Planet)

3rd Edition - Published April 2007

Malta:

Population: 400,000

Area: 316sq km

Population density: 1266 people per sq km

Number of registered vehicles: 325,000

Number of mobile phone subscribers: 334,220

Inflation: 2.8%

Unemployment: 7.3%

Number of tourists per annum: 1.16million (465,000 from the UK)

Most popular name for males: Joseph (14,523 men named Joseph)

Most popular name for females: Mary (12,056 women named Mary)