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Malta Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Malta
Capital Valletta
Area 316 sq km
122 sq mi
Malta: Flag and Anthem
Malta: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 401,880 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 0.41 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 421,239 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 395,639 (2007 estimate)
Population density 1,272 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
3,294 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 92 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 8 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Birkirkara 22,435 (2004 estimate)
Qormi 18,547 (2004 estimate)
Mosta 18,070 (2004 estimate)
Żabbar 15,134 (2004 estimate)
Rabat 12,877 (1997 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Maltese 96 percent
British 2 percent
Other (including Sicilian, French, Spanish, and Italian) 2 percent
Languages
Maltese (official), English (official), Italian
Religious affiliations
Roman Catholic 95 percent
Nonreligious 1 percent
Other 4 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 79.2 years (2007 estimate)
Female 81.5 years (2007 estimate)
Male 77 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 4 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 342 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 208 people (2003)
Literacy rate
Total 93.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 94.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 92.4 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 4.6 percent (2002-2003)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 11 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 18 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government Parliamentary democracy
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution
1964 constitution substantially amended on 13 December 1974
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 2,237 (2004)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 2.1 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $5.6 billion (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $13,803.40 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 3.2 percent (1993)
Industry 34.9 percent (1993)
Services 62 percent (1993)
Employment
Number of workers 169,612 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 2 percent (2003)
Industry 30 percent (2003)
Services 67 percent (2003)
Unemployment rate 7.9 percent (2003)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $1,277 million (2001)
Total expenditure $1,377 million (2001)
Monetary unit
1 euro (€), consisting of 100 cents
Major trade partners for exports
United States, Germany, Singapore, France, and United Kingdom
Major trade partners for imports
Italy, France, Singapore, Japan, and United Kingdom
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 100 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 669 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 501 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 568 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 178 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 130 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 633 (2003)
Paved road as a share of total roads 88 percent (2003)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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