Map taken from lonelyplanet.com
About the Country:
OFFICIAL
NAME:Malta
CAPITAL: Valletta
SYSTEM OF
GOVERNMENT: Unitary
Multiparty Republic
AREA:
320 Sq Km (124 Sq Mi)
ESTIMATED 2000
POPULATION: 378,900
LOCATION
& GEOGRAPHY:
Malta
is 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. The islands are generally low lying with no mountains or
rivers and the coastlines of Malta and Gozo are well indented with
numerous bays and rocky coves. Major Cities (pop. est.); Birkirkara
21,800, Qormi 19,900, Hamrun 13,700, Sliema 13,500, Valletta 9,100 (1994).
Land Use; pastures and agricultural-cultivated 41%, other 59% (1993).
CLIMATE:
Malta has a
typical Mediterranean climate characterized by a dry summer season and a
mild rainy winter season with occasional fog from November to March.
Average annual precipitation is 559 mm (22 inches) and occurs almost
entirely between October and April. Average temperature ranges in Valletta
are from 10 to 14 degrees Celsius (50 to 57 degrees Fahrenheit) in January
to 23 to 29 degrees Celsius (73 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit) in August.
CURRENCY: The
official currency is the Lira (ML) divided into 100 Cents, which is in
turn divided into 1,000 Mils
ECONOMY:
Gross National
Product; USD $2,606,000,000 (1992). Public Debt; USD $921,700,000 (1994).
Imports; ML 830,920,000 (1993). Exports; ML 518,326,000 (1993). Tourism
Receipts; USD $653,000,000 (1993). Balance of Trade; ML -226,900,000
(1994). Economically Active Population; 139,868 or 38.2% of total
population (1993). Unemployed; 4.2% (1993).
