I would suspect that Cyprus and Malta, like Northern Ireland, may have used 230V for quite some time as they're small countries and are hardly going to import appliences from the UK. I bet that the majority of appliences arrive in Cyprus and Malta with schuko plugs fitted which are cut off and replaced.
230V/400V is just a nominal voltage. It was a fairly sensible regulatory sollution to a technical problem.
Isn't there some varience in the USA / Canada line voltages too?
I've seen them written as anything from 110 - 125V 60hz.
some old American equipment seems to be rated 100V (Same as modern-day Japan) which would indicate to me that line voltages have increased.
