]! ^! Great Britain formally acquired possession of Malta in 1814. The island staunchly supported the UK through both World Wars and remained in the Commonwealth when it became independent in 1964. A decade later Malta became a republic. Since about the mid-1980s, the island has transformed itself into a freight transshipment point, a financial center, and a tourist destination. Malta became an EU member in May of 2004. 
]" ^" Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy) ^# 35 50 N, 14 35 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 316 sq km `" 316 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 196.8 km (does not include 56.01 km for the island of Gozo) ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `J 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation `a 25 nm ^* Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers ^+ mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs ^, `% Mediterranean Sea 0 m `& Ta'Dmejrek 253 m (near Dingli) ^- limestone, salt, arable land ^. `' 28.13% `( 3.13% `) 68.74% (2001) ^/ 20 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 NA ^1 very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination _J `K Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `L none of the selected agreements ^2 the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration 
]# ^3 398,534 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 17.6% (male 36,056/female 34,097) `+ 68.8% (male 138,537/female 135,666) `, 13.6% (male 23,184/female 30,994) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 38.36 years `- 36.91 years `. 39.84 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.42% (2005 est.) ^7 10.17 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 8 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.06 male(s)/female `0 1.06 male(s)/female `+ 1.02 male(s)/female `, 0.75 male(s)/female `1 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 3.89 deaths/1,000 live births `- 4.38 deaths/1,000 live births `. 3.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 78.86 years `- 76.7 years `. 81.15 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.5 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.2% (2001 est.) ^? less than 500 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Maltese (singular and plural) `3 Maltese ^B Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians, with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock) ^C Roman Catholic 98% ^D Maltese (official), English (official) ^E `M age 10 and over can read and write `1 92.8% `- 92% `. 93.6% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Malta `5 Malta `V Repubblika ta' Malta `W Malta ^H republic ^I Valletta ^J none (administered directly from Valletta); note - Local Councils carry out administrative orders ^K 21 September 1964 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 21 September (1964) ^M 1964 constitution; amended many times ^N based on English common law and Roman civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Eddie FENECH ADAMI (since 4 April 2004) `7 Prime Minister Lawrence GONZI (since 23 March 2004) `8 Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister `9 president elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term; election last held 29 March 2004 (next to be held by April 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president for a five-year term; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister `: Eddie FENECH ADAMI elected president; percent of House of Representatives vote - 33 out of 65 votes ^Q unicameral House of Representatives (usually 65 seats; note - additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) `9 last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held by April 2008) `: percent of vote by party - PN 51.7%, MLP 47.6%, AD 0.7%; seats by party - PN 34, MLP 31 ^R Constitutional Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister ^S Alternativa Demokratika/Alliance for Social Justice or AD [Harry VASSALLO]; Malta Labor Party or MLP [Alfred SANT]; Nationalist Party or PN [Lawrence GONZI] ^T NA ^U Australia Group, C, CE, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (observer affiliate), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador John LOWELL `O 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612 `Q [1] (202) 387-5470 `g New York ^W `N Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires William GRANT `Z 3rd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, Malta VLT 01 `[ P. O. Box 535, Valletta, Malta, CMR01 `P [356] 2561 4000 `Q [356] 21 243229 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Major resources are limestone, a favorable geographic location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only about 20% of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies, and has no domestic energy sources. The economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism. Continued sluggishness in the European economy is holding back exports, tourism, and overall growth. ^Z $7.223 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 1% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $18,200 (2004 est.) ^] `; 3% `< 23% `= 74% (2003 est.) ^^ 160,000 (2002 est.) ^_ agriculture 5%, industry 24%, services 71% (1999 est.) ^` 7% (2003 est.) ^a NA% _! `> NA% `? NA% _" 2.9% (2004 est.) _P 26.4% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $2.27 billion `A $2.549 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _$ potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, cut flowers, green peppers; pork, milk, poultry, eggs _% tourism; electronics, ship building and repair, construction; food and beverages, textiles, footwear, clothing, tobacco _& NA% _' 2.15 billion kWh (2002) _( 2 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _, 20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _X $-241 million (2004 est.) _/ $2.625 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 machinery and transport equipment, manufactures _1 US 15.7%, France 15.5%, Singapore 14.5%, UK 11.2%, Germany 10.8% (2004) _2 $3.407 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery and transport equipment, manufactured and semi-manufactured goods; food, drink, and tobacco _4 Italy 25.4%, France 13.1%, UK 12%, Germany 8.9%, US 5.2%, Singapore 4.1% (2004) _Y $2.865 billion (2004 est.) _5 $130 million (1997) _6 NA _7 Maltese lira (MTL) _8 Maltese liri per US dollar - 0.3444 (2004), 0.3773 (2003), 0.4337 (2002), 0.4501 (2001), 0.4382 (2000) _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: 208,300 (2003) _; 290,000 (2003) _< `B automatic system satisfies normal requirements `C submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands `D country code - 356; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) _= AM 1, FM 18, shortwave 6 (1999) _> 6 (2000) _? .mt _@ 7,156 (2004) _A 120,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 2,222 km `E 2,000 km `F 222 km (2002) _C Marsaxlokk, Valletta _K `! 1,140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 25,102,401 GRT/41,176,791 DWT by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 438, cargo 303, chemical tanker 70, combination ore/oil 2, container 54, liquefied gas 8, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 13, petroleum tanker 162, refrigerated cargo 43, roll on/roll off 26, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 13 `S 1,080 (Austria 3, Azerbaijan 1, Bangladesh 3, Belgium 12, British 1, Bulgaria 18, Canada 9, China 15, Croatia 10, Cyprus 2, Czech Republic 2, Estonia 2, Finland 1, France 5, Germany 51, Greece 527, Hong Kong 1, Iceland 7, Iran 4, Israel 26, Italy 17, Japan 2, Latvia 30, Lebanon 6, Madagascar 1, Monaco 3, Netherlands 3, Norway 42, Pakistan 2, Poland 24, Portugal 4, Romania 5, Russia 64, Slovenia 3, South Korea 4, Sweden 3, Switzerland 32, Syria 6, Taiwan 1, Turkey 87, Ukraine 25, UAE 5, United Kingdom 8, United States 3) `\ 3 (2005) _D 1 (2004 est.) _E `! 1 `] 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Armed Forces of Malta (AFM; includes air and maritime elements) (2005) _M 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2001) _] males age 18-49: 90,651 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 74,525 (2005 est.) _N $31.1 million (2004) _O 0.7% (2004) 
]) _H none _I minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe 