MALTA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 320 km2; land area: 320 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 140 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation;
Exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry
summers
Terrain: mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal
cliffs
Natural resources: limestone, salt
Land use: arable land 38%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures
0%; forest and woodland 0%; other 59%; includes irrigated 3%
Environment: numerous bays provide good harbors; fresh water very
scarce--increasing reliance on desalination
Note: strategic location in central Mediterranean, 93 km south
of Sicily, 290 km north of Libya
PEOPLE
Population: 356,427 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)
Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 79 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 2.0 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Maltese (sing. and pl.); adjective--Maltese
Ethnic divisions: mixture of Arab, Sicilian, Norman, Spanish,
Italian, English
Religion: Roman Catholic 98%
Language: Maltese and English (official)
Literacy: 84% (male 86%, female 82%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1985)
Labor force: 126,135; government (excluding job corps) 37%,
services 26%, manufacturing 22%, training programs 9%, construction 4%,
agriculture 2% (1989)
Organized labor: about 40% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Republic of Malta
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Valletta
Administrative divisions: none (administration directly from
Valletta)
Independence: 21 September 1964 (from UK)
Constitution: 26 April 1974, effective 2 June 1974
Legal system: based on English common law and Roman civil law; has
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
National holiday: Freedom Day, 31 March
Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Cabinet
Legislative branch: unicameral House of Representatives
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court and Court of Appeal
Leaders:
Chief of State--President Vincent (Censu) TABONE (since 4 April
1989);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. Edward (Eddie) FENECH
ADAMI (since 12 May 1987); Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Guido DE MARCO
(since 14 May 1987)
Political parties and leaders:
Nationalist Party, Edward FENECH ADAMI;
Malta Labor Party, Karmenu MIFSUD BONNICI
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Representatives--last held on 9 May 1987 (next to be
held by May 1992);
results--NP 51.1%, MLP 48.9%;
seats--(usually 65 total, but additional seats are given to the party
with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority; current
total 69) MLP 34, NP 31 before popular vote adjustment; MLP 34, NP 35
after adjustment
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Salvatore J. STELLINI;
Chancery at 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 462-3611 or 3612; there is a Maltese Consulate General in New York;
US--Ambassador Sally J. NOVETZKE; Embassy at 2nd Floor, Development
House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, Valletta (mailing address is P. O.
Box 535, Valletta); telephone 356 240424, 240425, 243216, 243217,
243653, 223654
Flag: 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
Overview: Significant resources are limestone, a favorable
geographic location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only
about 20% of its food needs, has limited freshwater supplies, and has no
domestic energy sources. Consequently, the economy is highly dependent on
foreign trade and services. Manufacturing and tourism are the largest
contributors to the economy. Manufacturing accounts for about 27% of GDP,
with the electronics and textile industries major contributors. In 1989
inflation was held to a low 0.9%. Per capita GDP at $5,500 places Malta
in the middle-income range of the world's nations.
GDP: $1.9 billion, per capita $5,500 (1988); real growth rate 6.4%
(1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.9% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 3.7% (1989)
Budget: revenues $1,020 million; expenditures $1,230 million,
including capital expenditures of $380 million (1990 est.)
Exports: $866 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--clothing, textiles, footwear, ships;
partners--Italy 30%, FRG 22%, UK 11%
Imports: $1,328 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--food, petroleum, machinery and semimanufactured goods;
partners--Italy 30%, UK 16%, FRG 13%, US 4%
External debt: $90 million, medium and long-term (December 1987)
Industrial production: growth rate 19.2% (1989); accounts
for 27% of GDP
Electricity: 328,000 kW capacity; 1,110 million kWh produced,
2,990 kWh per capita (1989)
Agriculture: accounts for 3% of GDP; overall, 20% self-sufficient;
main products--potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes,
citrus, cut flowers, green peppers, hogs, poultry, eggs; generally
adequate supplies of vegetables, poultry, milk, pork products; seasonal
or periodic shortages in grain, animal fodder, fruits, other basic
foodstuffs
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-81), $172
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $333 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $76 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $48 million
