Locked-in Syndrome
About Malta
Malta
I regularly look at the site's statistics and among all the data there is a list of countries of visitors. Obviously Malta is included but not at first place - U.S. A. is always first followed by Malta and then all sorts of countries from all over the world. My friend Linda Wheeler suggested that I should put a map of where Malta is as most people have never heard of it. I liked the idea and below are maps and some data about Malta:
The country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration.
| Location: | Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy) |
| Geographic Co-ordinates | 50 N, 14 35 E |
| Area | Total: 316 sq km |
| Land | 316 sq km |
| Water | 0 sq km |
| Size comparison | Slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries | 0 km |
| Coastline | 196.8 km Does not include 56.01 km for the island of Gozo) |
| Maritime claims | Territorial sea: 12nm |
| Continental shelf | 200 m depth Or to the depth of exploitation |
| Exclusive fishing zone | 25 nm |
| Climate | Mediterranean: mild, rainy winters, hot, dry summers |
| Terrain | Mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs |
| Elevation extremes | Lowest: mediterranean sea, highest: Ta' Dmejrek 235m (near Dingli) |
| Natural resources | Limestone, salt, arable land |
| Land use | Arable land 31.25% |
| Permanent crops | 3.13% |
| Other | 65.2% |
| Irrigated land | 20 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards | NA |
| Current enviornment issues | Limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination |
| International enviornment agreements | 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 |
| Population | 403532 (July 2008 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.407 (2008 est.)% |
| Birth rate | 10.33 Births/1,000 population (2008 est.) |
| Death rate | 8.29 Deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) |
| Nationality | Noun: Maltese (singular and plural) |
| Ethnic group | Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 98% |
| Languages | Maltese (official) 90.2%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.8% (2005 census) |
| Literacy | Definition: age 10 and over can read and write |
All data courtesy of CIA World Factbook
There are 3 Powerpoint slideshows of Malta here : Slideshow 1, Slideshow 2 and Slideshow 3. If you don't have Powerpoint, you can get a (free) viewer here. Finally here is some interesting information about the Maltese civilization. It is a pdf file and if needed you can get a (free) viewer here.
