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, and will begin to use the Euro as currency in 2008.

Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)
35 50 N, 14 35 E
Europe
total: 316 sq km ; land: 316 sq km ; water: 0 sq km
slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC
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)
0.07 cu km (2005)
Total: 0.02 cu km/yr (74%/1%/25%) ; Per capita: 50 cu m/yr (2000)
NA
very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination
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
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
401,880 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 34,559/female 32,707) ; 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 141,265/female 137,951) ; 65 years and over: 13.8% (male 23,802/female 31,596) (2007 est.)
total: 39 years ; male: 37.6 years ; female: 40.4 years (2007 est.)
0.413% (2007 est.)
10.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
8.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
2.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.057 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 1.024 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.753 male(s)/female ; total population: 0.987 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 3.82 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 4.29 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 3.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 79.15 years ; male: 76.95 years ; female: 81.47 years (2007 est.)
1.51 children born/woman (2007 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
name: Valletta ; geographic coordinates: 35 53 N, 14 30 E ; time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ; daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
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
chief of state: President Edward FENECH ADAMI (since 4 April 2004) ; head of government: Prime Minister Lawrence GONZI (since 23 March 2004) ; 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 (eligible for a second 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; House of Representatives vote - 33 out of 65 votes
unicameral House of Representatives (usually 65 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms; note - additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority) ; elections: last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held by August 2008) ; election results: percent of vote by party - PN 51.8%, MLP 47.5%, 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
Alternativa Demokratika/Alliance for Social Justice or AD [Harry VASSALLO]; Malta Labor Party or MLP [Alfred SANT]; Nationalist Party or PN [Lawrence GONZI]
NA
Australia Group, C, CE, CPLP (associate), EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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
chief of mission: Ambassador Mark MICELI-FARRUGIA ; chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 ; telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612 ; FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470 ; consulate(s): New York
chief of mission: Ambassador Molly BORDONARO ; embassy: 3rd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, VLT 01 ; mailing address: P. O. Box 535, Valletta, CMR01 ; telephone: [356] 2561 4000 ; FAX: [356] 21 243229





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 pharmaceuticals), and tourism. Economic recovery of the European economy has lifted exports, tourism, and overall growth. Malta adopted the euro on 1 January 2008.
$9.342 billion (2007 est.)
$5.816 billion (2007 est.)
3.4% (2007 est.)
$23,200 (2007 est.)
agriculture: 2.7% ; industry: 22.3% ; services: 74.9% (2003 est.)
164,000 (2006 est.)
agriculture: 3% ; industry: 22% ; services: 75% (2005 est.)
6.8% (2005 est.)
NA%
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%
28 (2005)
0.9% (2007 est.)
10.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
revenues: $3.316 billion ; expenditures: $3.368 billion (2007 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, pharmaceuticals, footwear, clothing, tobacco
NA%
2.106 billion kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
1.959 billion kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
18,600 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
18,210 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$411 million (2007 est.)
$3.403 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
machinery and transport equipment, manufactures
France 15.3%, Singapore 13.2%, US 13%, Germany 12.5%, UK 9.5%, Japan 4.9%, Hong Kong 4.2% (2006)
$4.212 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Italy 28%, UK 10.5%, France 8.7%, Germany 7.6%, Singapore 6.8%, US 5.6% (2006)

$3.522 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
$188.8 million (2005)
$NA
$NA
$4.097 billion (2005)
Maltese lira (MTL)
MTL
Maltese liri per US dollar - 0.3106 (2007), 0.37 (2006), 0.34578 (2005), 0.34466 (2004), 0.37723 (2003)
calendar year
$6.19 million (2004)
202,300 (2006)
346,800 (2006)
general assessment: automatic system satisfies normal requirements; fixed-line teledensity 50 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity about 90 per 100 persons ; domestic: submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands ; international: country code - 356; submarine cable connects to Italy; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
AM 1, FM 18, shortwave 6 (1999)
255,000 (1997)
5 (2006)
280,000 (1997)
.mt
21,386 (2007)
6 (2002)
127,200 (2005)

1 (2007)
total: 1 ; over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)




total: 2,227 km ; paved: 2,014 km ; unpaved: 213 km (2004)

total: 1,281 ships (1000 GRT or over) 25,213,650 GRT/41,033,203 DWT ; by type: bulk carrier 439, cargo 382, chemical tanker 125, combination ore/oil 2, container 65, liquefied gas 15, livestock carrier 1, passenger 15, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 132, refrigerated cargo 41, roll on/roll off 31, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 17 ; foreign-owned: 1,197 (Austria 1, Azerbaijan 3, Bangladesh 3, Belgium 10, Bulgaria 15, Canada 15, China 13, Croatia 12, Cyprus 15, Denmark 10, Estonia 7, France 4, Germany 67, Greece 448, Hong Kong 1, Iceland 7, India 3, Iran 24, Israel 21, Italy 45, Japan 3, South Korea 3, Latvia 36, Lebanon 12, Libya 3, Monaco 1, Netherlands 3, Norway 71, Pakistan 2, Poland 25, Portugal 3, Romania 10, Russia 66, Slovenia 3, Spain 1, Sweden 1, Switzerland 22, Syria 4, Turkey 143, Ukraine 28, UAE 10, UK 12, US 11) ; registered in other countries: 4 (Panama 2, Portugal 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007)
Marsaxlokk (Malta Freeport), Valletta

Armed Forces of Malta (AFM; includes air and maritime elements) (2005)
18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001)
males age 18-49: 90,651 ; females age 18-49: 87,047 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 74,525 ; females age 18-49: 71,333 (2005 est.)

0.7% (2006 est.)

none

minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe

