where is malta

Malta is an island country located in Southern Europe in the central Mediterranean Sea. It lies about 80 km (50 miles) south of the Italian island of Sicily, 284 km east of Tunisia, and 333 km north of Libya. Malta is an archipelago consisting mainly of three inhabited islands: Malta (the largest), Gozo, and Comino. The country is situated on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf between Sicily and North Africa, and is part of the African tectonic plate. The capital city is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area and population