The duel
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
Malta: 315 km² (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How much coast is there?
Malta: 197 km (2026 edition) · Vatican City: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Malta’s highest peak towers 175 m above Vatican City’s
Malta: 253 m (2026 edition) · Vatican City: 78 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Malta: 25.4% (2024) · Vatican City: no data
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Malta: 579,704 (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How crowded is it?
Malta: 1,839 per km² (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How tall are the men?
Malta: 174.4 cm (2019) · Vatican City: no data
How tall are the women?
Malta: 163 cm (2019) · Vatican City: no data
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in Vatican City is 19 years older than in Malta
Malta: 40.3 years (2023) · Vatican City: 59.6 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Malta: 1.01 children per woman (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How many people are 65 or older?
Malta: 20.5% (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How many refugees does it host?
Malta: 14.3 per 1,000 (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How many official languages?
Malta and Vatican City are practically level
Malta: 2 (2026) · Vatican City: 2 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Malta: $27.8 billion (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How much is produced per person?
Malta: Int$72,210 (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How evenly is income shared?
Malta: 31.8 (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How many live on less than $3 a day?
Malta: 0.4% (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How many people are looking for work?
Malta: 2.9% (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How much goes to the military?
Malta: 0.4% (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How much does the central government collect in tax?
Malta: 24.1% (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How expensive is it?
Malta: 66% (2025) · Vatican City: no data
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
Malta: $3,623 (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How long do people live?
Malta: 83 years (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
Malta: 4.7 per 1,000 (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How many doctors are there?
Malta: 4.5 per 1,000 (2022) · Vatican City: no data
How many hospital beds are there?
Malta: 4.1 per 1,000 (2022) · Vatican City: no data
How common is suicide?
Malta: 6.1 per 100k (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How common is obesity?
Malta: 33.3% (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How many adults smoke?
Malta: 24.6% (2024) · Vatican City: no data
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
Malta: 6.44 (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How much do people drink?
Malta: 7.6 litres (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How much meat is on the menu?
Malta: 71.8 kg (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How much food is there per day?
Malta: 3,407 kcal (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How long do people work?
Malta: 1,848 hours (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How long do people go to school?
Malta: 12.4 years (2023) · Vatican City: no data
How many tourists visit?
Malta: 6.26 (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How many World Heritage sites?
Malta has 1 more World Heritage site than Vatican City (3 against 2)
Malta: 3 (2026) · Vatican City: 2 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
Malta: 0 (2026 edition) · Vatican City: no data
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
Malta: 94% (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How fast is home internet?
Malta: 275 Mbps (2026) · Vatican City: no data
Who has electricity at home?
Malta: 100% (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How many live in cities?
Malta: 96% (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How many phones per person?
Malta: 142 (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How much do they fly?
Malta: 4.12 (2023) · Vatican City: no data
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Malta: 1.5% (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
Malta: 3.2 t (2024) · Vatican City: no data
How green is the power grid?
Malta: 16% (2025) · Vatican City: no data
How clean is the air?
The air in Vatican City carries 22% more fine dust than in Malta
Malta: 11.1 µg/m³ (2024) · Vatican City: 13.5 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
Malta: 0.6 per 100k (2023) · Vatican City: 0 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Malta: 4.3 per 100k (2023) · Vatican City: no data
Climate
What the year feels like
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
