With a civilization that dates back thousands of years, Malta boasts some of the oldest megalithic sites in the world. Situated in the center of the Mediterranean, Malta’s islands have long served as a strategic military asset, with the islands at various times having come under control of the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Moors, Normans, Sicilians, Spanish, Knights of St. John, and the French. Most recently a British colony (since 1814), Malta gained its independence in 1964 and declared itself a republic 10 years later. While under British rule, the island staunchly supported the UK through both world wars. Since about the mid-1980s, the island has transformed itself into a freight transshipment point, a financial center, and a tourist destination while its key industries moved toward more service-oriented activities. Malta became an EU member in May 2004 and began using the euro as currency in 2008.
land: 316 sq km
water: 0 sq km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
arable land: 28.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 3.9% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 0.9% (2018 est.)
other: 66.8% (2018 est.)
467,138 (2023 est.)
noun: Maltese (singular and plural)
adjective: Maltese
Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)
Maltese (official) 90.1%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.9% (2005 est.)
Roman Catholic (official) more than 90% (2006 est.)
0-14 years: 14.53% (male 34,870/female 32,989)
15-64 years: 62.83% (male 151,927/female 141,561)
65 years and over: 22.65% (2023 est.) (male 48,830/female 56,961)
total dependency ratio: 47.1
youth dependency ratio: 19.3
elderly dependency ratio: 27.7
potential support ratio: 3.6 (2021 est.)
total: 43.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 42.1 years
female: 44.4 years
0.59% (2023 est.)
9.6 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
most of the population lives on the eastern half of Malta, the largest of the three inhabited islands
urban population: 94.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
213,000 VALLETTA (capital) (2018)
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
29.3 years (2020 est.)
note: data refers to the average of the different childbearing ages of first-order births
3 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 83.4 years (2023 est.)
male: 81.3 years
female: 85.6 years
1.51 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.74 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
10.8% of GDP (2020)
2.86 physicians/1,000 population (2015)
4.5 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 100% of population
rural: 100% of population
total: 100% of population
unimproved: urban: 0% of population
rural: 0% of population
total: 0% of population (2020 est.)
28.9% (2016)
total: 8.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.8 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 2.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 2.51 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.42 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total: 24% (2020 est.)
male: 26.4% (2020 est.)
female: 21.6% (2020 est.)
NA
63.2% (2023 est.)
5.9% of GDP (2020 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.9%
male: 93.4%
female: 96.4% (2021)
total: 17 years
male: 17 years
female: 18 years (2020)
limited natural freshwater resources; increasing reliance on desalination; deforestation; wildlife preservation
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Mediterranean; mild, rainy winters; hot, dry summers
agricultural land: 32.3% (2018 est.)
arable land: 28.4% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 3.9% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 0% (2018 est.)
forest: 0.9% (2018 est.)
other: 66.8% (2018 est.)
urban population: 94.9% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 12.93 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 1.34 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 0.2 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 269,000 tons (2015 est.)
municipal solid waste recycled annually: 17,996 tons (2015 est.)
percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 6.7% (2015 est.)
municipal: 40 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 1 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
agricultural: 20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
high-income, EU-member European economy; diversified portfolio; euro user; dependent on food and energy imports; strong tourism, trade, and manufacturing sectors; high North African immigration; large welfare system; educated workforce
$23.157 billion (2021 est.)
$20.995 billion (2020 est.)
$22.902 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
10.3% (2021 est.)
-8.32% (2020 est.)
5.92% (2019 est.)
$44,700 (2021 est.)
$40,700 (2020 est.)
$45,400 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$14.986 billion (2019 est.)
1.5% (2021 est.)
0.64% (2020 est.)
1.64% (2019 est.)
Fitch rating: A+ (2017)
Moody’s rating: A2 (2019)
Standard & Poors rating: A- (2016)
note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.
agriculture: 1.1% (2017 est.)
industry: 10.2% (2017 est.)
services: 88.7% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 45.2% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 15.3% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 21.1% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.3% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 136.1% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -117.9% (2017 est.)
milk, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, cauliflowers, broccoli, eggplants, pork, cabbages, poultry
tourism, electronics, ship building and repair, construction, food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, footwear, clothing, tobacco, aviation services, financial services, information technology services
-3.3% (2016 est.)
280,300 (2021 est.)
3.5% (2021 est.)
4.26% (2020 est.)
3.62% (2019 est.)
total: 9.8% (2021 est.)
male: 13.6%
female: 5.8%
17.1% (2018 est.)
31 (2019 est.)
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $5.661 billion (2019 est.)
expenditures: $5.586 billion (2019 est.)
3.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
50.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
56.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
note: Malta reports public debt at nominal value outstanding at the end of the year, according to guidelines set out in the Maastricht Treaty for general government gross debt; the data include the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA95): currency and deposits (AF.2), securities other than shares excluding financial derivatives (AF.3, excluding AF.34), and loans (AF.4); general government comprises the central, state, and local governments, and social security funds
23.73% (of GDP) (2020 est.)
calendar year
-$804.056 million (2021 est.)
-$415.142 million (2020 est.)
$777.443 million (2019 est.)
$22.11 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$19.526 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$20.773 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Germany 12%, France 9%, Italy 9% (2019)
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, postage stamps, children’s toys and stuffed animals, ships (2021)
$21.362 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$18.328 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$18.578 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
Russia 22%, Italy 12%, United Kingdom 11%, Germany 6%, Turkey 5%, France 5%, China 5%, South Korea 5% (2019)
refined petroleum, recreational boats, ships, aircraft, coal tar oil (2019)
$1.149 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$930.464 million (31 December 2020 est.)
$937.616 million (31 December 2019 est.)
$98.179 billion (2019 est.)
$104.467 billion (2018 est.)
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.876 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
0.885 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 784,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 2,497,143,000 kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 4 million kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 420 million kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 158 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 88.5% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 11.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 54,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2017 est.)
10,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
52,290 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 415.606 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 415.606 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
9.576 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 8.831 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 745,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
267.739 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 13 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 180
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,576,898 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 5.14 million (2018) mt-km
9H
1 (2021)
1
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
2 (2021)
total: 3,096 km (2008)
paved: 2,704 km (2008)
unpaved: 392 km (2008)
urban: 1,422 km (2001)
non-urban: 832 km (2001)
total: 2,047 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 545, container ship 312, general cargo 182, oil tanker 395, other 613
major seaport(s): Marsaxlokk (Malta Freeport), Valletta
container port(s) (TEUs): Marsaxlokk (2,967,765) (2021)
LNG terminal(s) (import): Delimara
manyapis