Land use: arable land: 38% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 0% other: 59%
Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues: very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing
reliance on desalination
natural hazards: NA
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified -
Biodiversity, Desertification
Note: the country comprises an archipelago, with only the 3 largest islands (Malta, Gozo, and Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors
@Malta:People
Population: 369,609 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (female 39,199; male 41,581)
15-64 years: 67% (female 123,665; male 124,167)
65 years and over: 11% (female 23,597; male 17,400) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.75% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 13.22 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 7.43 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)