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.)