_#_Ports: Valletta, Marsaxlokk

_#_Merchant marine: 415 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,005,791 GRT/8,644,369 DWT; includes 3 passenger, 8 short-sea passenger, 160 cargo, 5 container, 2 passenger-cargo, 13 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 3 vehicle carrier, 1 barge carrier, 6 refrigerated cargo, 9 chemical tanker, 8 combination ore/oil, 2 specialized tanker, 1 liquefied gas, 79 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 104 bulk, 11 combination bulk; note—a flag of convenience registry; China owns 1 ship, USSR owns 7, Cuba owns 7, and Vietnam owns 1

_#_Civil air: 7 major transport aircraft

_#_Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m

_#_Telecommunications: modern automatic system centered in Valletta; 163,800 telephones; stations—9 AM, 4 FM, 2 TV; 1 submarine cable; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

_*Defense Forces #_Branches: Armed Forces, Maltese Police Force

_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 94,081; 75,222 fit for military service

_#Defense expenditures: $21.9 million, 1.3% of GDP (1989 est.) % @Man, Isle of (British crown dependency) *Geography #_Total area: 588 km2; land area: 588 km2

_#_Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

_#_Land boundaries: none