1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
313 km2; 45% agricultural, negligible amount forested, remainder urban, waste, or other (1965) WATER
Coastline
140 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 25 nm)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
mixture of Arab, Sicilian, Norman, Spanish, Italian, British
Labor force
125,000 (November 1977); 32% services (except government), 18% government (except job corps), 5% job corps, 26% manufacturing, 6% agriculture, 3% construction, 5% utilities and drydocks; 3.3% registered unemployed
Language
English and Maltese
Literacy
about 83%; compulsory education introduced in 1946
Nationality
noun—Maltese (sing, and pl.); adjective—Maltese
Organized labor
approximately 40% of labor force
Population
376,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.6%
Religion
98% Roman Catholic
Government
Branches
executive, consisting of Prime Minister and Cabinet; legislative, comprising 65-member House of Representatives; independent judiciary
Capital
Valletta
Communists
less than 100 (est.)
Elections
at the discretion of the Prime Minister, but must be held before the expiration of a five-year electoral mandate; last election December 1981 Political parties and leaders: Nationalist Party, Edward Fenech Adami; Malta Labor Party, Dominic Mintoff Voting strength (1981 election): Labor, 34 seats (48%); Nationalist, 31 seats (51%)
Government leaders
President Agatha BARBARA, Prime Minister Dominic MINTOFF
Legal system
based on English common law; constitution adopted 1961, came into force 1964; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Member of
Commonwealth, Council of Europe, FAO, G-77, GATT, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMCO, IMF, ITU, IWC (International Wheat Council), NAM, UN, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
National holiday
Republic Day, 13 December
Official name
Republic of Malta
Political subdivisions
2 main populated islands, Malta and Gozo, divided into 13 electoral districts (divisions)
Suffrage
universal over age 18; registration required
Type
parliamentary democracy, independent republic within the Commonwealth since December 1974
Economy
Agriculture
overall, 20% self-sufficient; generally adequate supplies of vegetables, poultry, milk and pork products; seasonal or periodic shortages in grain, animal fodder, fruits, and other basic foodstuffs; main products—potatoes, cauliflowers, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, cut flowers, green peppers, hogs, poultry, eggs; 2,680 calories per day per capita
Budget
(1982) projects $551 million in expenditures, $547 million in revenues
Electric power
135,000 kW capacity (1981); 1.55 billion kWh produced (1981), 1,550 kWh per capita
Exports
$483 million (f.o.b., 1980); clothing, textiles, ships, printed matter
Fiscal year
1 January-31 December
GNP
$945 million (1979), $2,720 per capita; 62% private consumption, 23% gross investment; 16% government consumption,—1% net foreign sector; in 1978 real GDP growth was 11% (1979); 12.5% (1971-76 average)
Imports
$938 million (c.i.f., 1980)
Major industries
ship repair yard, clothing, building industry, food manufacturing, textiles, tourism
Major trade partners
70% EC-nine (21% UK, 21% West Germany, 16% Italy); 5% US (1979)
Monetary conversion rate
1 Maltese pound=US$2.8963 (average 1980)
Shortages
most consumer and industrial needs (fuels and raw materials) must be imported
Communications
Airfields
1 with permanent-surface runways, 2,440-3,659 m
Civil air
8 major transport aircraft, including 3 leased in
Highways
1,285 km total; 1,173 km paved (asphalt), 77 km crushed stone or gravel, 35 km improved and unimproved earth
Ports
1 major (Valletta), 2 minor
Telecommunications
modern automatic telecom system centered in Valletta; 78,900 telephones (25.3 per 100 popl.); TV, 2 AM, and 5 FM stations; 1 coaxial submarine cable
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1982, $13.5 million; about 2.4% of central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 80,000; 66,000 fit for military service
Supply
various facilities and equipment turned over by the UK in 1965; has received 2 patrol boats, small arms, and mortars from Libya; vehicles and engineer equipment from Italy