MALTA ( Repubblika ta' Malta )

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. With a population of about 475,000 over an area of 316 km² (122 sq mi), Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area at 0.8 km² (0.31 sq mi). The official and national language is Maltese, which is descended from Sicilian Arabic that developed during the Emirate of Sicily, while English serves as the second official language. Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean (in its eastern basin), some 80 km (50 mi) from southern Italy across the Malta Channel. Only the three largest islands – Malta (Malta), Gozo (Għawdex) and Comino (Kemmuna) – are inhabited. The islands of the archipelago lie on the Malta plateau, a shallow shelf formed from the high points of a land bridge between Sicily and North Africa that became isolated as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age. The archipelago is located on the African tectonic plate.  Malta was considered an island of North Africa for centuries.

Malta became a British colony in 1813, serving as a way station for ships and the headquarters for the British Mediterranean Fleet. It was besieged by the Axis powers during World War II and was an important Allied base for operations in North Africa and the Mediterranean. The British Parliament passed the Malta Independence Act in 1964, giving Malta independence from the United Kingdom as the State of Malta, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and queen. The country became a republic in 1974. It has been a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations since independence, and joined the European Union in 2004; it became part of the eurozone monetary union in 2008. According to the WWF, the territory of Malta belongs to the ecoregion of "Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands and Scrub".

The postal history of Malta began in the early modern period, when pre-adhesive mail was delivered to foreign destinations by privately owned ships for a fee. The earliest known letter sent from Malta during the rule of the Order of St John is dated 1532. The first formal postal service on the islands was established by the Order in 1708, with the post office being located at the Casa del Commun Tesoro in Valletta. The first postal markings on mail appeared later on in the 18th century. 

The postal service was reformed in 1798 during the French occupation of Malta, and the islands were taken over by the British in 1800. In the early 19th century, two separate post offices were established in Malta: the Island Post Office and the Packet Office, with the latter forming part of the British Post Office. Their operations were amalgamated in 1849, and British postage stamps began to be used in Malta in August 1857. Malta's first postage stamp – the Halfpenny Yellow – was issued in 1860 for use on local mail, while letters sent to foreign destinations continued to be franked with British stamps. Postage due stamps were issued between 1925 and the 1990s. In 1995, the private limited company Posta Limited was set up to run the postal service. The public limited company MaltaPost took over in 1998, and was gradually privatized between 2002 and 2008. 

The public limited company MaltaPost p.l.c. was established on 16 April 1998, and it took over operations of Malta's postal service on 1 May of the same year. On 31 January 2002, MaltaPost was partially privatized when the government sold 35% to Transend Worldwide Ltd, a subsidiary company of New Zealand Post. In September 2007 the government sold 25% of its shareholding in MaltaPost to Lombard Bank, which effectively became the majority shareholder in the company with 60% shareholding. The other 40% were sold to the public in January 2008.

The covers sent on August 22, 2015 and received on September 08,2015.

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