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 transformed itself into a freight transshipment point, a financial center, and a tourist destination. Malta became an EU member in May 2004.

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

35 50 N, 14 35 E

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

0 km

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

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm

Mediterranean; mild, rainy winters; hot, dry summers

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

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

limestone, salt, arable land

arable land: 31.25%
permanent crops: 3.13%
other: 65.62% (2005)

20 sq km (2003)

very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination

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

400,214 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 17.1% (male 35,264/female 33,368)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 139,890/female 136,767)
65 years and over: 13.7% (male 23,554/female 31,371) (2006 est.)

total: 38.7 years
male: 37.2 years
female: 40.1 years (2006 est.)

0.42% (2006 est.)

10.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

2.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 79.01 years
male: 76.83 years
female: 81.31 years (2006 est.)

1.5 children born/woman (2006 est.)

0.2% (2001 est.)

less than 500 (2003 est.)

less than 100 (2003 est.)

noun: Maltese (singular and plural)
adjective: Maltese

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

Roman Catholic 98%

Maltese (official), English (official)

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

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

republic

Valletta

none (administered directly from Valletta); note - local councils carry out administrative orders

21 September 1964 (from UK)

Independence Day, 21 September (1964)

1964 constitution; amended many times

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

18 years of age; universal

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 August 2008)
election results: percent of vote by party - PN 51.7%, MLP 47.6%, AD 0.7%; seats by party - PN 34, MLP 31

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

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 few domestic energy sources. The economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism. Continued sluggishness in the European economy is holding back exports, tourism, and overall growth.

$7.568 billion (2005 est.)

$4.909 billion (2005 est.)

1.5% (2005 est.)

$19,000 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 3%
industry: 23%
services: 74% (2003 est.)

160,000 (2005 est.)

agriculture: 3%
industry: 22%
services: 75% (2005 est.)

7.8% (2005 est.)

2.8% (2005 est.)

26.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

revenues: $2.503 billion
expenditures: $2.703 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

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

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

2.082 billion kWh (2003)

1.936 billion kWh (2003)

18,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

-$593 million (2005 est.)

$2.744 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

machinery and transport equipment, manufactures

US 15.7%, France 15.5%, Singapore 14.5%, UK 11.2%, Germany 10.8% (2004)

$3.859 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

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

Italy 25.4%, France 13.1%, UK 12%, Germany 8.9%, US 5.2%, Singapore 4.1% (2004)

$3.42 billion (2005 est.)

$188.8 million (2005)

Maltese lira (MTL)

calendar year

206,500 (2004)

306,100 (2004)

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)

AM 1, FM 18, shortwave 6 (1999)

6 (2000)

.mt

10,739 (2005)

301,000 (2005)

1 (2005)

total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2005)

total: 2,254 km
paved: 1,973 km
unpaved: 281 km (2003)

total: 1,148 ships (1000 GRT or over) 22,791,072 GRT/36,951,514 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 420, cargo 311, chemical tanker 93, combination ore/oil 3, container 57, liquefied gas 8, livestock carrier 1, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 13, petroleum tanker 144, refrigerated cargo 40, roll on/roll off 32, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 14
foreign-owned: 1,105 (Austria 1, Azerbaijan 2, Bangladesh 3, Belgium 11, Bulgaria 14, Canada 10, China 15, Croatia 11, Cyprus 5, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 3, Estonia 4, France 8, Germany 59, Greece 515, Hong Kong 2, Iceland 4, India 1, Indonesia 1, Iran 9, Israel 27, Italy 25, Japan 1, South Korea 5, Latvia 36, Lebanon 8, Monaco 4, Netherlands 5, Norway 43, Pakistan 1, Poland 27, Portugal 4, Romania 3, Russia 60, Slovenia 3, Spain 1, Sweden 3, Switzerland 21, Syria 6, Taiwan 1, Turkey 101, Ukraine 26, UAE 5, UK 6, US 4)
registered in other countries: 9 (Panama 2, Portugal 1, Russia 5, unknown 1) (2005)

Marsaxlokk, Valletta

Armed Forces of Malta (AFM; includes air and maritime elements) (2005)

none

minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe