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                                                                
                                                                                
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.)                    
                                                                                
