Malta

Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, (also Malta GC) is a small and densely populated island nation consisting of an archipelago of seven islands in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Malta has been a member state of the European Union since May 1, 2004, and it is currently the smallest EU country in both population and area.

History

Malta has been inhabited since around 5200 BC.

The islands later came under the control of Carthage (400 BC) and then of Rome (218 BC).

After a period of Byzantine rule (4th to 9th century) and a probable sack by the Vandals, the islands were conquered by the Arabs in AD 870.

The period of Arab rule lasted until 1091, when the islands were taken by the Sicilian Normans.

In 1530, the islands were given by Spain to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in perpetual lease.

Their reign ended when Malta was captured by Napoleon en route to his expedition of Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798.

In 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris, Malta officially became a part of the British Empire, and was used as a shipping way-station and fleet headquarters. Malta's position half-way between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal proved to be its main asset during these years, and it was considered to be a most important stop on the way to India. In the 1930s, due to Malta's cultural and geographical proximity to Italy, the British Mediterranean Fleet was moved to Alexandria.

After the war, and after a short period of political instability due to the Malta Labour Party's unsuccessful attempt at 'Integration with Britain', Malta was granted independence on September 21, 1964 (Independence Day). Under its 1964 constitution, Malta initially retained Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta, with a Governor-General exercising executive authority on her behalf. Malta joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.

Politics

Malta is a republic, whose parliamentary system and public administration is closely modelled on the Westminster system. The Constitution of Malta provides that the President appoint as Prime Minister the member of the House who is best able to command a (governing) majority in the House.

The President of the Republic is elected every five years by the House of Representatives.

The main political parties are the Nationalist Party, which is a Christian democratic party, and the Malta Labour Party, which is a social democratic party.

The Nationalist Party is currently at the helm of the government, the Prime Minister being Dr. Lawrence Gonzi. The Malta Labour Party, led by Dr. Alfred Sant, is in the opposition.

There are three other parties that have no parliamentary seats:

Geography

Malta is an archipelago in the central Mediterranean Sea, some 93 km south of Sicily. Only the three largest islands Malta Island (Malta), Gozo (Għawdex), and Comino (Kemmuna) are inhabited. The highest point is at Ta' Dmejrek on Malta Island at 253 metres (830 ft) near Dingli.

The Malta Channel to the north separates Malta from the island of Sicily, the largest Italian isle.

Contrary to popular belief, the south of Malta is not Europe's most southern point, that being the Greek island of Gavdos.

Local councils

Since 1993, Malta has been subdivided into sixty-eight local councils or "localities". A list of them is below:

Economy

Until 1800, Malta had very few industries except the cotton, tobacco, and shipyards industry. At times of war, Malta's economy prospered due to its strategic location.

In 1869, the opening of the Suez Canal benefited Malta's economy greatly as there was a massive increase in the shipping which entered in the port. Entrepot trade saw many ships stopping at Malta's docks for refuelling, this brought great benefits to the population.

By the end of the 19th century, the economy began declining and by the 1940s, Malta's economy was in serious crisis.

Malta has recently privatised some state-controlled firms and liberalised markets in order to prepare for membership in the European Union, which it joined on May 1, 2004.

The Maltese government entered ERM II in May 2005, and is intending to adopt the euro as the country's currency on 1 January 2008.

Although Malta is now a member of the European Union, it is not a member of the Schengen Treaty yet.

Demographics

A census of population and housing is held every ten years.

The Maltese people are descended from mixed French, Italian, English, Arab, Spanish, and Greek peoples.

The resident population of Malta, which includes foreigners residing in Malta for at least a year, as at 27 November 2005 was estimated at 404,039 of whom 200,715 (49.7%) were males and 203,324 (50.3%) were females. Malta's population density of 1,282 per square kilometre (3,322/sq mi) is by far the highest in the EU, and one of the highest in the world.

Population growth has slowed down, from +9.5% between the 1985 and 1995 censuses, to +6.9% between the 1995 and 2005 censuses (a yearly average of +0.7%).

The population's age composition is similar to the age structure prevalent in the EU. Malta's old-age-dependency-ratio rose from 17.2% in 1995 to 19.8% in 2005, reasonably lower than the EU's 24.9% average.

Maltese legislation recognizes both civil and Canonic marriages.

The national language of Malta is Maltese.

Roman Catholicism is the religion of approximately 98% of the population (CIA World Factbook, 2006).

Migration

Maltese laws for immigration generally follow EU legislation. Citizens of a number of other countries are also not required to apply for a visa and require only a valid passport when residing in Malta for up to three months.

The estimated net inflow (using data for 2002 to 2004) was of 1,913 persons yearly. Over the last 10 years, Malta accepted back a yearly average of 425 returning emigrants.

During 2005, a total of 1,800 immigrants reached Malta illegally. Given Malta's high population density, the impact of this figure on Malta is equivalent to that of an arrival of 369,000 illegal immigrants in Germany and other large EU member states. In the first half of 2006, 967 illegal immigrants arrived in Malta – almost double the 473 who arrived in the same period in 2005. The reason for such high numbers is due to the fact that Malta is the southernmost tip of the European Union and is therefore in the front line when dealing with the heavy northward migration of immigrants from Africa.

Though Malta has historically been generous, just and humane in welcoming illegal immigrants; In January 2005, asylum seekers detained the camp of Safi have been beaten by the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Malta.

Around 45 % of illegal immigrants landed in Malta have been granted refugee (5%) or protected humanitarian status (40%), which is the highest rate of acceptance in the EU. A White Paper suggesting the grant of Maltese citizenship to refugees resident in Malta for over ten years was issued in 2005.

Presently the problem of illegal immigration has increased, with severe strains on Malta's health, employment and social services, its internal security and public order, its social fabric and on the labour market. In 2005, Malta sought EU aid in relation to reception of illegal immigrants, repatriation of those denied refugee status, resettlement of refugees into EU countries, and maritime security. but the deployment of said actions has been limited to the western Mediterranean, thus putting further pressure on the central Mediterranean route for illegal immigration which Malta forms part of. Political tension started developing as the EU persistently ignored Malta's precarious situation: member states party to the legally-binding Cotonou Agreement continued not to fulfill their obligations and East African countries, from which most central Mediterranean illegal immigration originates, were excluded from the Euro-African Conference on Migration and Development held 10-11 July 2006 in Tripoli).

Education

Education is compulsory between the ages of 5 and 16 years. While the state provides education free of charge, the Church and the private sector run a number of schools in Malta and Gozo.

The first years of education in Malta are done in Reception.

Once compulsory secondary education ends, students may enter either in a vocational college such as MCAST or a Sixth Form.

Tertiary education at diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate level is mainly provided by the University of Malta (UoM). The University of Malta offers similar courses and also gives the option of entering normal full-/part-time courses as a mature student - persons aged 23 and over are exempted from satisfying the University entry requirements, though they still have to satisfy any special course requirements.

Culture

Citations and notes

Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · United Kingdom · Vatican City

For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List of unrecognized countries.

Austria • Belgium • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden • United Kingdom

Countries acceding on January 1, 2007: Bulgaria • Romania
Candidate countries: Croatia • Turkey • Republic of Macedonia (referred to as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" by the European Union)

Albania • Algeria • Bosnia and Herzegovina • Croatia • Cyprus • Egypt • France • Greece • Israel • Italy • Lebanon • Libya • Malta • Monaco • Montenegro • Morocco • Slovenia • Spain • Syria • Tunisia • Turkey

For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory and List of unrecognized countries.

Antigua and Barbuda • Australia • Bahamas • Bangladesh • Barbados • Belize • Botswana • Brunei • Cameroon • Canada • Cyprus • Dominica • Fiji • The Gambia • Ghana • Grenada • Guyana • India • Jamaica • Kenya • Kiribati • Lesotho • Malawi • Malaysia • Maldives • Malta • Mauritius • Mozambique • Namibia • Nauru • New Zealand • Nigeria • Pakistan • Papua New Guinea • Saint Kitts and Nevis • Saint Lucia • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Samoa • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • Singapore • Solomon Islands • South Africa • Sri Lanka • Swaziland • Tanzania • Tonga • Trinidad and Tobago • Tuvalu • Uganda • United Kingdom • Vanuatu • Zambia

Arabic and Maltese
 Algeria •  Bahrain •  Egypt •  Iraq •  Jordan •  Kuwait •  Lebanon •  Libya •  Malta •  Mauritania •  Morocco •  Oman •  Palestine •  Qatar •  Saudi Arabia •  Sudan •  Syria •  Tunisia •  United Arab Emirates •  Western Sahara •  Yemen

Northwest Semitic (Aramaic and Hebrew)
 Iraq •  Israel •  Syria

South Semitic
 Eritrea •  Ethiopia •  Oman •  Yemen