_#_Environment: numerous bays provide good harbors; fresh water very scarce—increasing reliance on desalination
_#_Note: strategic location in central Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily, 290 km north of Libya
_*People #_Population: 356,427 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 7 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 79 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 2.0 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Maltese (sing. and pl.); adjective—Maltese