Malta (; ), officially the Republic of Malta (), is a Southern European island country comprising an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The country covers just over , with a population of just under 450,000 (despite an extensive emigration programme since the Second World War), making it one of the world's smallest and most densely populated countries. The capital of Malta is Valletta, which at 0.8 km², is the smallest national capital in the European Union. Malta has two official languages: Maltese and English.