President: George Abela Prime minister: Lawrence Gonzi
Population
2,646,314
409,836
Life Expectancy
77.280 years
79.850 years
Capital City
Kuwait
Valletta
Largest city
As Salimiyah (population: 147,649)
Birkirkara (population: 21,676)
Human Development Index
0.912
0.894
GDP per capita
$42,200 US
$25,800 US
Literacy Rate
93.3%
92.8%
Corruption Perception Index
4.3
5.8
Percentage of Women in Parliament
3.1%
8.7%
Wealthiest Citizens
Nasser Al-Kharafi & family ($8.1bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
2.200%
6.400%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished
Political System
constitutional emirate
republic
Independence date
19 June 1961 (from UK)
21 September 1964 (from UK)
Religions
Muslim 85% (Sunni 70%, Shia 30%), other (includes Christian, Hindu, Parsi) 15%
Roman Catholic 98%
Languages
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Maltese (official) 90.2%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.8% (2005 census)
Exports
oil and refined products, fertilizers
machinery and transport equipment, manufactures
External Debt
$41,730,000,000 $
$48,790,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Kuwaiti dinars (KD) per US dollar - 0.2679 (2008 est.), 0.2844 (2007), 0.29 (2006), 0.292 (2005), 0.2947 (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
5.300%
0.700%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
Location
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)
Area
17,818 km sq
316 km sq
Coastline
499 km
197 km
Climate
dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters
