Malta's economy mainly depends on tourism, foreign trade and manufacturing. The natural resources found on the island of Malta include limestone, salt and arable land and has a productive labour force.

Gross domestic product (GDP)

GDP in 2009 was EUR 5.83 billion, an increase of 0.57% over the previous year. The GDP for the third quarter of 2010 is estimated to be EUR 1.64 billion.

(Source: National Statistics)

GDP growth rate

The GDP growth rate has been on a downward trend since 2007. The GDP growth rate in 2009 was 0.57%.

(Source: National Statistics)

GDP per capita

The GDP per capita in 2009 was EUR 14,111 and in the third quarter of 2010 was EUR 3,951.

(Source: National Statistics)

Gross national income (GNI)

The GNI was EUR 5,450.6 million in 2009 compared to EUR 5571.1 million in 2008. The GNI for the third quarter of 2010 was EUR 1,537.7 million.

(Source: National Statistics)

Income tax rate

Malta's income tax rate ranges between 15-35%. Tax rates in 2010 for an individual residing in Malta are:

(Source: Inland Revenue)

The tax rates for non-resident taxpayers in Malta are:

(Source: Inland Revenue)

Corporate tax rate

The corporate tax rate in Malta is 35%.

Inflation rate

The inflation rate was 1.51% in 2010, a decrease from 2.09% in 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

FDI Inflow

The FDI inflow for 2009 was EUR 644.4 million, an increase of EUR 14.5 million over 2008. In the first half of 2010, the FDI inflow amounted to EUR 551.4 million. The FDI inflow increased by EUR 305.5 million compared to the corresponding period in 2009.

In the first half of 2010, 15.4% of the FDI was from European Union member states.

(Source: National Statistics)

Central bank assets

The Central Bank assets amounted to EUR 3,646.1 million at end of December 2010 compared to EUR 3,244.5 million in December 2009.

(Source: Central Bank)

Consumer Price Index

In Malta, the Retail Price Index is used to measure inflation.

Base: December 2009=100

(Source: National Statistics)

Wholesale Price Index

The wholesale price index dropped by 1.9%, this was due to the decrease in the prices of intermediate goods sector by 3.4% and consumer goods by 0.4%.

Index Base (2005=100)

(Source: National Statistics)

Interest rates on saving deposits / time deposits

(Source: National Statistics)

Money supply (Currency in Circulation)

(Source: Central Bank)

Government Expenditure

The total government expenditure for the first three quarters of 2010 was EUR 1,912.5 million. Of the total expenditure, the current expenditure was EUR 1,770.1 and capital expenditure was EUR 142.4 million.

(Source: National Statistics, Central Bank)

The total government expenditure in 2009 was EUR 2,525.5 million. The total general government expenditure was 43.3% of the country’s GDP. The total expenditure decreased by EUR 47.3 million compared to the previous year. The decrease in expenditure was due to a decline in economic affairs of EUR 38.5 million, caused by the reclassification of the Malta Shipyards, voluntary retirement schemes, and reduction in fuel and energy subsidies.

Social protection had the major share in expenditure at 34%, followed by general public services (16.7%), health (12.8%) and education (12.7%).

Public Debt

The general government debt in September 2010 was EUR 4,257.3 million. The government guaranteed debt in the same period was EUR 912.4 million.

(Source: Central Bank)

Official exchange rate

The exchange rate of the country was 0.72 for the year 2009 as compared to 0.68 in 2008.

(Source: National Statistics)

Labour force

The total labour force in Malta at the end of September 2010 was 349,648 people. 49.3% of the the total labour force were inactive. The total active labour force in Malta was 177,206, of which 12,054 were unemployed.

(Source: National Statistics)

(Source: National Statistics)

The employment rate for men was 72.2% and 40.7% for women. The employment rate was highest in the 25-54 year age group followed by the 15-24 year age group.

The estimated unemployment rate for the third quarter of 2010 was 6.8%. The unemployment rates for men and women were 6.9% and 6.6% respectively.

(Source: National Statistics)

Labour force participation rate

The labour force participation rate in 2008 stood at 51%. The participation rate for mena and women was 68% and 34% respectively.

(Source: World Bank)

Level of unionisation

The main trade unions in Malta include:

• Confederation of Malta Trade Unions (CMTU)
• General Workers' Union (GWU)
• Malta Workers' Union (UHM)

CMTU includes several small unions and has approximately 36,000 members. GWU has eight trade sections and two associations. UHM is the largest union within the CMTU and has approximately 26,000 members.

(Source: Fedee)

Minimum wage

The minimum wage in Malta effective since 1^st January 2011 is EUR 664.95 per month.

(Source: Fedee)

Government stability

Malta has a parliamentary republic as a form of government. Malta has been a member of the European Union (EU) since 2004. The constitution of Malata came into effect in 1964, but was declared a republic in 1974.

The president is the head of state and plays a significant role in the formation of government. The prime minister is the head of government and is elected by the president for a term of five years.

The political parties active in Malta are:

·         Labour Party

·         Nationalist Party

·         Democratic Alternative

George Abela has been Malata's president since 2004. Lawrence Gonzi is the current Prime Minister.

(Source: gov.mt, gov.mt)

Regulatory environment

Malta has a unicameral form of parliament and has legislative powers. The parliament consists of 65 members who are elected for a period of five years.

The executive power rests with the cabinet and consists of the prime minister and other ministers appointed by the prime minister. The central government also has regional branches, but has no local government bodies.

(Source: ipu.org)

Malta’s economic freedom score is 65.7, making its economy 57^th freest in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom. Malta ranks 25^th out of the 43 countries in Europe. Malta's overall score decreased by 1.5 points compared to 2010. 

(Source: heritage.org)

Corruption perception

Malta is ranked 37^th on the world’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in 2010. CPI measures the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 180 countries and territories around the world.

(Source: transparency.org)

Freedom of information

The Freedom of Information Act provides citizens access to documents in the possession of various public organisations including ministries and government departments.

The World Press Freedom Index 2010 ranks Malta at 14^th position with a score of 4.0, indicating low levels of government restriction on the media.

(Source: rsf.org)

Newspapers:

The main newspapers in Malta include:

·         Times of Malta

·         Malta Independent

·         It-Torca

·         Il-Mument

·         In-Nazzjon

·         L-Orrizont

·         Malta Today

(Source: BBC)

Judicial system

Malta has an independent judicial system. The judiciary consists of judges and magistrates appointed by the president. The chief justice is also appointed by the president.

There are two types of courts, the Superior court and Inferior court.

The judges resolve cases in the superior court. The superior court consists of:

·         The Constitutional court

·         The Court of Appeal

·         The Civil court

·         and the Criminal court

The inferior courts are presided over by magistrates. The inferior court consists of the Court of Magistrates (Malta) and the Court of Magistrates (Gozo).

The Constitutional court is the highest court, and is made up of three judges including the Chief Justice. This court resolves cases involving violation of human rights, interpretation of constitution and invalidity of laws.

The Court of Appeal is the final appellate court inmalta in civil matters. The Court of Appeal may consist of three or only one judge depending on the type of case.

The Civil court consists of three sections:

·         The general jurisdiction section

·         The family section

·         The voluntary jurisdiction section

This court deals with civil, commercial and family cases.

The Criminal court hears criminal cases and is the only court which allows public participation in the administration of the justice.

(Source: judiciarymalta.gov)

Total population

Malta had a population of 412,970 with a population density of 1,307 people per sq km in 2009. The population decreased by 0.15% compared to the previous year.

(Source: National Statistics)

The younger population (below 14 years of age) made up 15.6% to the total population whereas people aged 65 and above made up 14.8% of the total population in Malta.

(Source: National Statistics)

Gender balance

The gender ratio in Malta is equal. The total male population in Malta was 205,419 in 2009, a decrease of 0.22% over the previous year. The total female population was 207,551 in the year 2009, a decrease of 0.09% over the last year.

(Source: National Statistics)

Life expectancy

The average life expectancy of an individual in Malta is 80 years. In 2009, life expectancy at birth for males was 78 years and 82 years for females.

(Source: National Statistics, UNDP)

Mortality rate

The infant mortality rate was 5.3 deaths per 1,000 live births. The number of deaths in Malta for males and females was 1,672 and 1,549 respectively. The death rate mid-2009 was 7.8 per 1,000 people. The main causes of death were diseases of the circulatory system and neoplasm.

(Source: National Statistics)

Racial/ethnic environment

The Maltese are the main ethnic group. Malta also has people of British and other origin.

(Source: state.gov)

Migration and urbanisation

In 2009, immigration was recorded at 8,147 people. The emigration figure for the same year was 9,708. The majority of migrants were males. The major population who immigrated and emigrated were in the age group 25-49 years which are considered the young population.

(Source: National Statistics)

In 2007, 94.1% of the population lived in urban areas. Between 2005-2010, the urban population growth rate was recorded at 0.7%, while the rural population decreased by 3.1% in the same period.

(Source: UN)

Human development index (HDI)

Malta is ranked 33^rd on the 2010 Human Development Index conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

(Source: UNDP)

Education/literacy rate

Malta had an adult literacy rate of 92 between 2003 – 2008. The literacy rate for men and women in the 15-24 years age group between 2003 – 2007 was 96 and 99 respectively.

(Source: UNICEF)

Education resources

The education system in Malta includes four levels - primary, secondary, post-secondary and tertiary education.

The totalexpenditure on education in 2009 was EUR 321.7 million, an increase from EUR 311.3 million in 2008. The expenditure on education was 12.7% of total government expenditure in 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

(Source: National Statistics)

Healthcare resources

The healthcare system in Malta is state funded and provides both public and private healthcare facilities. The public healthcare system runs a service, CommCare Assessment Unit (CAU) for the elder population. The healthcare system is provided at three levels primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare.

Primary healthcare is provided through eight healthcare centres which receives funds from the Ministry of health. The health centres provide a range of medical services including dental treatment, maternity care, diabetes care and paediatrics.

Secondary and tertiary healthcare are provided through various public hospitals. St. Luke’s Hospital is the main hospital with a capacity of 850 beds. Malta also has a few private hospitals.

The main causes of death in Malta are diseases of the circulatory system and neoplasms. The mortality rates due to diseases of the circulatory system in 2009 were 36.8 and 40.9 for males and females respectively.

(Source: National Statistics)

The total expenditure on hospitals and other facilities in 2008 increased to EUR 227,451,237 compared to EUR 197,329,858 in the previous year.

(Source: sahha.gov, National Statistics)

Mass public transit

The main form of  public transport in Malta are buses and cabs.

Roadways

The total length of roadways in Malta in 2002 was 2,269 km.

(Source: europa.eu)

Railways

Malta does not have a railway system. The only railway line in Malta stopped operating in 1931.

Ports

Malta has four ports:

·         Port of Valletta

·         Port of Marsaxlokk

·         Port of Marsamxett

·         Port of Mgarr, Gozo

 (Source: Transport Malta)

Airports

malta has only one international airport named Luqa in Valletta city, with a runway length of 11,600 feet.

(Source: aircraft charter)

Telecommunications networks

Internet subscriptions

The internet subscriptions have increased over the past few years. The number of internet subscriptions increased from 95,240 in 2006 to 111,543 in 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

(Source: National Statistics)

The

The number of mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people increased from 93.5 in 2008 to 102.2 in 2009.