Malta

Background:

Great Britain formally acquired possession of Malta in 1814. The island staunchly supported the UK through both World Wars and remained in the Commonwealth when it became independent in 1964. A decade later Malta became a republic. Since about the mid-1980s, the island has become a freight transshipment point, financial center, and tourist destination. Malta is scheduled to become an EU member in May 2004.

Geography Malta

Location:
Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)

Geographic coordinates:
35 50 N, 14 35 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 316 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 316 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
196.8 km (does not include 56.01 km for the island of Gozo)

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive fishing zone: 25 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
contiguous zone: 24 NM

Climate:
Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers

Terrain:
mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Ta'Dmejrek 253 m (near Dingli)

Natural resources:
limestone, salt, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 31.25%
permanent crops: 3.13%
other: 65.62% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
NA

Environment - current issues:
very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration

People Malta

Population:
396,851 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 18.1% (male 36,891; female 34,912)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 137,259; female 134,611)
65 years and over: 13.4% (male 22,691; female 30,487) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 38 years
male: 36.6 years
female: 39.5 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.42% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
10.09 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
7.93 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
2.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.74 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 3.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 4.45 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.68 years
male: 76.51 years
female: 80.98 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.49 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Maltese (singular and plural)
adjective: Maltese

Ethnic groups:
Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians, with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)

Religions:
Roman Catholic 98%

Languages:
Maltese (official), English (official)

Literacy:
definition: age 10 and over can read and write
total population: 92.8%
male: 92%
female: 93.6% (2003 est.)

Government Malta

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Malta
conventional short form: Malta
local short form: Malta
local long form: Repubblika ta' Malta

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Valletta

Administrative divisions:
none (administered directly from Valletta); note - Local Councils carry out administrative orders

Independence:
21 September 1964 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 21 September (1964)

Constitution:
1964 constitution substantially amended on 13 December 1974 and again in 1987

Legal system:
based on English common law and Roman civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Eddie FENECH ADAMI (since 4 April 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Lawrence GONZI
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
elections: president elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term; election last held 29 March 2004 (next to be held by April 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president for a five-year term; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister
election results: Eddie FENECH ADAMI elected president; percent of House of Representatives vote - 33 out of 65 votes

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Representatives (usually 65 seats; note - additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held by April 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - PN 51.7%, MLP 47.6%, AD 0.7%; seats by party - PN 34, MLP 31

Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

Political parties and leaders:
Alternativa Demokratika/Alliance for Social Justice or AD [Harry VASSALLO]; Malta Labor Party or MLP [Alfred SANT]; Nationalist Party or PN [Edward FENECH ADAMI]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
C, CE, EBRD, EU (new member), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John LOWELL
consulate(s): New York
FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470
telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612
chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony H. GIOIA
embassy: 3rd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, Malta VLT 01
mailing address: P. O. Box 535, Valletta, Malta
telephone: [356] 21-235-960
FAX: [356] 2124-3229

Flag description:
two equal vertical bands of white (hoist side) and red; in the upper hoist-side corner is a representation of the George Cross, edged in red

Economy Malta

Economy - overview:
Major resources are limestone, a favorable geographic location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only about 20% of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies, and has no domestic energy sources. The economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism. Malta is privatizing state-controlled firms and liberalizing markets in order to prepare for membership in the European Union. The island remains divided politically, however, over the question of joining the EU. Continued sluggishness in the global economy is holding back exports, tourism, and overall growth.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $7.082 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
0.8% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3%
industry: 23%
services: 74% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.8% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
160,000 (2002 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
industry 24%, services 71%, agriculture 5% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate:
7% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.5 billion
expenditures: $1.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)

Industries:
tourism; electronics, ship building and repair, construction; food and beverages, textiles, footwear, clothing, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
1.768 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
1.644 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Agriculture - products:
potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, cut flowers, green peppers; pork, milk, poultry, eggs

Exports:
$2.175 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactures

Exports - partners:
Singapore 17.3%, US 11.4%, UK 9.4%, Germany 9.2%, France 7.3%, China 6.5%, Italy 5.9% (2002)

Imports:
$2.761 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured and semi-manufactured goods; food, drink, and tobacco

Imports - partners:
Italy 18.2%, France 12%, South Korea 11.3%, UK 7.5%, Germany 5.3%, Singapore 5.3%, Japan 4.9%, US 4.6%, Spain 4.2% (2002)

Debt - external:
$130 million (1997)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA

Currency:
Maltese lira (MTL)

Currency code:
MTL

Exchange rates:
Maltese liri per US dollar - 0.38 (2003), 0.43 (2002), 0.45 (2001), 0.44 (2000), 0.4 (1999)

Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

Communications Malta

Telephones - main lines in use:
207,300 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
276,900 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: automatic system satisfies normal requirements
domestic: submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands
international: country code - 356; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 18, shortwave 6 (1999)

Radios:
255,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
6 (2000)

Televisions:
280,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.mt

Internet hosts:
7,355 (2002)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2002)

Internet users:
82,900 (2002)

Transportation Malta

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 2,254 km
paved: 1,972 km
unpaved: 282 km (2000)

Waterways:
none

Ports and harbors:
Marsaxlokk, Valletta

Merchant marine:
total: 1,176 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 25,102,401 GRT/41,176,791 DWT
foreign-owned: Australia 4, Austria 6, Bangladesh 3, Belgium 13, Bulgaria 19, Canada 8, China 14, Croatia 9, Cyprus 6, Denmark 4, Estonia 1, Finland 1, France 1, Germany 52, Greece 603, Hong Kong 3, Iceland 5, India 4, Indonesia 2, Iran 4, Israel 20, Italy 24, Japan 3, South Korea 2, Latvia 25, Lebanon 6, Madagascar 1, Monaco 14, Netherlands 5, Nigeria 1, Norway 32, Pakistan 1, Poland 30, Portugal 3, Romania 8, Russia 69, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 2, Slovenia 3, Switzerland 30, Syria 4, Taiwan 1, Turkey 108, Ukraine 22, United Kingdom 2, United States 8
registered in other countries: 18 (2003 est.)
by type: bulk 468, cargo 251, chemical tanker 46, combination bulk 8, combination ore/oil 8, container 74, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large load carrier 1, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 210, refrigerated cargo 40, roll on/roll off 35, short-sea/passenger 6, vehicle carrier 15

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Malta

Military branches:
Armed Forces: Land Forces (including Air Squadron and Maritime Squadron), Revenue Security Corps

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 99,324 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 79,128 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$33.3 million (2003)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.7% (2003)

Transnational Issues Malta

Disputes - international:
none

Illicit drugs:
minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe