_#_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
_#_Communists: fewer than 100 (est.)
_#_Member of: C, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, PCA,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_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)
_#_Industries: tourism, electronics, ship repair yard, construction,
food manufacturing, textiles, footwear, clothing, beverages, tobacco
_#_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
_#_Currency: Maltese lira (plural--liri); 1 Maltese lira (LM) = 100
cents
_#_Exchange rates: Maltese liri (LM) per US$1--0.3004 (January 1991),
0.3172 (1990), 0.3483 (1989), 0.3306 (1988), 0.3451 (1987), 0.3924
(1986), 0.4676 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
_*_Communications
_#_Highways: 1,291 km total; 1,179 km paved (asphalt), 77 km crushed
stone or gravel, 35 km improved and unimproved earth
_#_Ports: Valletta, Marsaxlokk
_#_Merchant marine: 415 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,005,791
GRT/8,644,369 DWT; includes 3 passenger, 8 short-sea passenger, 160
cargo, 5 container, 2 passenger-cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3
vehicle carrier, 1 barge carrier, 6 refrigerated cargo, 9 chemical
tanker, 8 combination ore/oil, 2 specialized tanker, 1 liquefied gas,
79 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 104 bulk, 11 combination
bulk; note--a flag of convenience registry; China owns 1 ship, USSR owns
7, Cuba owns 7, and Vietnam owns 1
_#_Civil air: 7 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
_#_Telecommunications: modern automatic system centered in Valletta;
163,800 telephones; stations--9 AM, 4 FM, 2 TV; 1 submarine cable;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Armed Forces, Maltese Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 94,081; 75,222 fit for military
service
_#_Defense expenditures: $21.9 million, 1.3% of GDP (1989 est.)
_%_
_@_Man, Isle of
(British crown dependency)
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 588 km2; land area: 588 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 113 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm;