Malta

• Mediterranean;
• mild, rainy winters;
• hot, dry summers

• limited natural freshwater resources;
• increasing reliance on desalination;
• deforestation;
• wildlife preservation

party to:

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

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) inhabited;
• numerous bays provide good harbors;
• Malta and Tunisia are discussing oil exploration on the continental shelf between their countries, although no commercially viable reserves have been found as of 2017

noun:

Maltese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Maltese

at birth:

1.04 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.85 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Malta

conventional short form:

Malta

local long form:

Repubblika ta' Malta

local short form:

Malta

etymology:

the ancient Greeks called the island "Melite" meaning "honey-sweet" from the Greek word "meli" meaning "honey" and referring to the island's honey production

name:

Valletta

geographic coordinates:

35 53 N, 14 30 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

etymology:

named in honor of Jean de Valette, the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (crusader knights), who successfully led a defense of the island from an Ottoman invasion in 1565

history:

many previous; latest adopted 21 September 1964

amendments:

• proposals (Acts of Parliament) require at least two-thirds majority vote by the House of Representatives;
• passage of Acts requires majority vote by referendum, followed by final majority vote by the House and assent of the president of the republic;
• amended many times, last in 2016

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Malta

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President George VELLA (since 4 April 2019)

head of government:

Prime Minister Robert ABELA (13 January 2020)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by the House of Representatives for a single 5-year term;
• election last held on 2 April 2019 (next to be held by April 2024);
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president for a 5-year term;
• deputy prime minister appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister

election results:

• George VELLA (PL) elected president;
• House of Representatives vote - unanimous;
• Joseph MUSCAT (PL) reappointed prime minister

description:

• unicameral House of Representatives or Il-Kamra Tad-Deputati, a component of the Parliament of Malta (normally 65 seats but can include at-large members; members directly elected in 5 multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms);
• note - the parliament elected in 2013 had 69 seats;
• an additional two seats were added in 2016 by the Constitutional Court to correct for mistakes made in the 2013 vote-counting process

elections:

last held on 3 June 2017 (next to be held in 2022); note - Prime Minister MUSCAT called for early elections amid corruption allegations

election results:

• percent of vote by party - PL 55%, PN 43.7%, other 1.3%;
• seats by party - PL 37 PN 30;
• note - PN was awarded two additional seats for a total of 30 in accordance with the proportionality provisions specified in the constitution;
• PD candidates ran under the PN list;
• composition - men 57, women 10, percent of women 14.9%

highest courts:

• Court of Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges);
• Constitutional Court (consists of 3 judges);
• Court of Criminal Appeal (consists of either 1 or 3 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Court of Appeal and Constitutional Court judges appointed by the president, usually upon the advice of the prime minister;
• judges of both courts serve until age 65

subordinate courts:

• Civil Court (divided into the General Jurisdiction Section, Family Section, and Voluntary Section);
• Criminal Court;
• Court of Magistrates;
• Gozo Courts (for the islands of Gozo and Comino)

• Democratic Party (Partit Demokratiku) or PD [Godfrey FARRUGIA]
• Labor Party (Partit Laburista) or PL [Joseph MUSCAT]
• Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista) or PN [Adrian DELIA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Keith AZZOPARDI (since 17 September 2018)

chancery:

2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 462-3611 through 3612

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-5470

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Gwendolyn "Wendy" GREEN (since August 2020)

telephone:

[356] 2561-4000

embassy:

Ta' Qali National Park, Attard, ATD 4000

mailing address:

5800 Valletta Place, Dulles, VA 20189

FAX:

[356] 2561-4183

• 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;
• according to legend, the colors are taken from the red and white checkered banner of Count Roger of Sicily who removed a bi-colored corner and granted it to Malta in 1091;
• an uncontested explanation is that the colors are those of the Knights of Saint John who ruled Malta from 1530 to 1798;
• in 1942, King George VI of the UK awarded the George Cross to the islanders for their exceptional bravery and gallantry in World War II;
• since independence in 1964, the George Cross bordered in red has appeared directly on the white field

name:

"L-Innu Malti" (The Maltese Anthem)

lyrics/music:

Dun Karm PSAILA/Robert SAMMUT

note: adopted 1945; written in the form of a prayer

Fitch rating:

A+ (2017)

Moody's rating:

A2 (2019)

Standard & Poors rating: A- (2016)

agriculture:

1.6%

industry:

20.7%

services:

77.7% (2016 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

• machinery and mechanical appliances;
• mineral fuels, oils and petroleum products;
• pharmaceutical products;
• books and newspapers;
• aircraft/spacecraft and parts;
• toys, games, and sports equipment

• mineral fuels, oils and products;
• electrical machinery;
• aircraft/spacecraft and parts thereof;
• machinery and mechanical appliances;
• plastic and other semi-manufactured goods;
• vehicles and parts

• 2 publicly owned TV stations, Television Malta broadcasting nationally plus an educational channel;
• several privately owned national television stations, 2 of which are owned by political parties;
• Italian and British broadcast programs are available;
• multi-channel cable and satellite TV services are available;
• publicly owned radio broadcaster operates 3 stations;
• roughly 20 commercial radio stations (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

13 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 180

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

2,576,898 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

5.14 million mt-km (2018)

total:

2,254 km (2001)

paved:

1,973 km (2001)

unpaved:

281 km (2001)

urban:

1,422 km (2001)

non-urban:

832 km (2001)

major seaport(s):

Marsaxlokk (Malta Freeport), Valletta

container port(s) (TEUs):

Marsaxlokk (3,150,000) (2017)

• the small inventory of the Armed Forces of Malta consists of equipment from a mix of European countries, particularly Italy, and the US;
• since 2010, Italy and the US are the only providers of military equipment to Malta (2019 est.)