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Under its 1964 constitution, Malta became a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II was sovereign of Malta, and a governor general exercised executive authority on her behalf, while the actual direction and control of the government and the nation's affairs were in the hands of the cabinet under the leadership of a Maltese...
Possessing few indigenous raw materials and a very small domestic market, Malta has based its economic development on the promotion of tourism, accounting for roughly 30% of GDP, and exports of manufactured goods, mainly semi-conductors, which account for some 75% of total Maltese exports. Since the beginning of the 1990s, expansion in these activities...
Malta's cultural influences stem largely from its history of foreign domination and the predominance of the Roman Catholic church. Folk traditions have evolved mainly around the festa to celebrate the patron saint of a village, marked by processions and fireworks. Good Friday also is celebrated with colourful processions in several villages. Imnarja,...
Malta was an important cultic center for earth-mother worship in the 4th millennium B.C. Recent archeological work shows a developed religious center there long before those of Sumer and Egypt. Malta's written history began well before the Christian era. Originally the Phoenicians, and later the Carthaginians, established ports and trading settlements...
Location: Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy) Geographic coordinates: 35 50 N, 14 35 E Map references: Europe Area: total area: 320 sq km land area: 320 sq km comparative area: less than twice the size of Washington, DC Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 140 km Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm continental...
Malta is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, with about 1,160 inhabitants per square kilometer (3,000 per sq. mi.). This compares with about 21 per square kilometer (55 per sq. mi.) for the United States. Inhabited since prehistoric times, Malta was first colonized by the Phoenicians. Subsequently, Romans, Arabs, Normans, the Knights...
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