President: George Abela Prime minister: Lawrence Gonzi
Population
10,767,827
409,836
Life Expectancy
80.050 years
79.850 years
Capital City
Athens
Valletta
Largest city
Athens (population: 729,137)
Birkirkara (population: 21,676)
Human Development Index
0.947
0.894
GDP per capita
$26,600 US
$25,800 US
Literacy Rate
96%
92.8%
Corruption Perception Index
4.7
5.8
Percentage of Women in Parliament
14.7%
8.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Spiro Latsis & family ($3.8bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
17.300%
6.400%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished
Political System
parliamentary republic
republic
Independence date
1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)
21 September 1964 (from UK)
Religions
Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7%
Roman Catholic 98%
Languages
Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)
Maltese (official) 90.2%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.8% (2005 census)
Exports
food and beverages, manufactured goods, petroleum products, chemicals, textiles
machinery and transport equipment, manufactures
External Debt
$583,300,000,000 $
$48,790,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6494 (2008 est.), 0.6795 (January 2008), Maltese liri per US dollar - 0.3106 (2007), 0.37 (2006), 0.34578 (2005), 0.34466 (2004), 0.37723 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
4.300%
0.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
4
0
Location
Southern Europe, bordering the Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, between Albania and Turkey
Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)
