Malta - môlˈtə, officially Republic of Malta, republic (2005 est. pop. 399,000), 122 sq mi (316 sq km), in the Mediterranean Sea S of Sicily. It comprises the islands of Malta (95 sq mi/246 sq km), Gozo (Ghawdex, 26 sq mi/67 sq km), and Comino (Kemmuna, 1 sq mi/2.6 sq km), as well as four uninhabited islets. The group is sometimes called the Maltese Islands. Valletta is the capital.

People, Economy, and Government

Malta has a very high population density. Its population is ethnically diverse, a mixture of Arab, Sicilian, Norman, Spanish, Italian, and British. English and Maltese, a Semitic dialect, are the official languages, although Italian is also widely spoken. Roman Catholicism is the religion of nearly all the people.

Malta has no rivers or lakes, no natural resources, and very few trees. It is, however, of great strategic value and was an important British military base until 1979. Following the withdrawal of British forces, the country faced severe unemployment; it has since made progress in diversifying its economic base. Manufacturing and tourism are now the main industries. Electronics, textiles, processed food, clothing, tobacco products, and construction materials are manufactured. Ship construction and repair, performed in state-owned dry docks, are also important. Although the soil is poor, there is some agriculture, producing potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, and cut flowers. Hogs and chickens are raised. International banking and financial services are growing, and the island is developing as an offshore tax haven. Shortage of water has stimulated the building of desalination plants, which now provide more than half the country's freshwater needs. The main imports are food, petroleum, machinery, and manufactured goods; exports include textiles, clothing, and ships. Most trade is with Italy, Great Britain, and Germany.

Malta is governed by the 1964 constitution, as revised in 1974; it is a neutral country. The prime minister, who is the head of government, and cabinet are responsible to the 65-member house of representatives. The head of state is the president, elected for a five-year term. The Labor and Nationalist parties dominate politics. Malta is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

History

Malta was settled in Neolithic times; the Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum is the site of what is believed to be the largest group of prehistoric European rock-cut chamber tombs. The island, anciently called Melita, later belonged successively to the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, and Romans. St. Paul was shipwrecked there (a.d. 60). Arab rule began in a.d. 870; the Normans of Sicily occupied it c.1090. In 1530 the Hapsburg Charles V granted Malta to the Knights Hospitalers. Notwithstanding a determined siege by the Turks in 1565, the knights held it until 1798, when it was surrendered to Napoleon.

The British ousted the French in 1800 and made it a crown colony in 1814. For most of the 19th cent., Malta was ruled by a military governor. The opening of the Suez Canal (1869) increased its strategic value, Malta becoming one of the principal coaling stations for steamers bound for India and East Asia. During World War II, Malta was subjected to extremely heavy bombing by Italian and German planes, and in 1942 King George VI awarded its citizens the George Cross for bravery.

Almost from the start of the period of British rule the Maltese agitated for increased political freedom. Considerable self-government was granted in 1921, but this was revoked in 1936. A constitution granted in 1947 was revoked after civil disturbances in 1959. Malta achieved full independence in 1964 and became a republic in 1974. The Labor party was in power from 1971 to 1987. The government of the Nationalist prime minister Edward Fenech Adami was elected in 1987 and was returned to office in 1992 and 1998. Alfred Sant of the Labor party was prime minister from 1996 to 1998. In the 1990s, Malta tried to balance its foreign policy between neighboring Libya and the economically more important Western nations. It applied for full membership in the European Union (EU) in 1990 and embarked on an extensive economic and restructuring program, and Malta joined the EU in 2004. Fenech Adami and the Nationalist party, strong supporters of EU membership, were returned to power in the Apr., 2003, parliamentary elections. Fenech Adami stepped down in Mar., 2003, to become president, and Lawrence Gonzi succeeded him as prime minister.

Bibliography

See B. Blouet, The Story of Malta (rev. ed. 1972); D. H. Trump, Malta, an Archaeological Guide (1972); R. Seth, Malta (1988).

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