A metal halide lamp comprises a refractory, light-transmitting airtight container defining therein a discharge space with an internal volume of not more than 0.1 cc, electrodes sealed in the container, opposing each other with a distance of not more than 5 mm interposed, and a discharge medium sealed in the container and including a metal halide material and a rare gas. The metal halide includes first and second halide materials. The first halide material contains scandium (Sc) and sodium (Na) halides. The second halide material contains at least one of indium (In) and zinc (Zn) halides. The discharge medium contains substantially no mercury. The load on the wall of the container in a stable state is 50 W/cm.sup.2 or more. A/B.ltoreq.0.21 where A represents the intensity of an impurity chromium (Cr) spectrum in lighting spectra, and B represents the intensity of a scandium (Sc) spectrum.