Country Information
Full name: Republic of Malta
Population: 409,000 (UN, 2009) Malta was the smallest of the 10 countries to join the EU in May 2004
Capital: Valletta
Largest city: Birkirkara
Area: 316 sq km (122 sq miles)
Borders: Malta is a small island nation comprising an archipelago of five islands located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It consists of the islands of Malta, Gozo, Comino, Cominotto Filfa and St. Paul.
Major Languages: Maltese is the national language and a co-official language, alongside English. Italian is also spoken.
Major religion: The official religion is Roman Catholicism with 97% of the population Roman Catholic, while 1.2% are Anglican.
Form of government: Parlamentary Republic. Malta is a member of the European Union (since 2004) and the Commonwealth(since 1964). Malta is party to the Schengen Agreement (since 2007) and member of the eurozone (since 2008).
President: George Arbela (since 4 April 2009) The President is the constitutional head of state of the Republic of Malta. The President is elected by the Resolution of the unicameral House of Representatives (Maltese: Kamra tar-Rappreżentanti) for a five year term.
Prime Minister: Lawrence Gonzi (since 23 March 2004) The Prime Minister is by convention the leader of the victorious party. No term limits are imposed on the office.
Term Length: General Elections are held every five years at a maximum, but may be held sooner. Last Election 8 March 2008.
Monetary unit: Euro from 1 January 2008
Main exports: Tourism, electronics, the Malta Freeport (duty free container trans-shipment port), financial services, ICT, manufacturing industries, particularly pharmaceutical companies.
Major trading partners: UK, Italy, France, USA, Germany and the Benelux countries
Main source of income: Malta is a popular holiday destination and tourism is the nation's main source of income.
Most known for: Malta is known for its world heritage sites, most prominently the Megalithic Temples which are the oldest free-standing structures in Europe. The Temple at Ggantija on Gozo predates the Egyptian pyramids.
Did you know? At one time there was a land bridge between Malta and Sicily. Malta's capital city, Valletta, is named after Jean Parisot de la Valette, a Grand Master of the Knights of St John. Malta's Grand Harbour is one of the world's best natural deep-water harbours.
GNI per capita: US $16,680 (World Bank, 2008)
Internet domain: .mt
International dialling code: +356
Source: Country Profiles
BBC Country Overview http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1045691.stm
FCO http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/country-profile/europe/malta
Wikepedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Malta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malta
http://worldinfozone.com/facts.php?country=Malta |
