Total area: 320 km2
land area: 320 km2

Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 140 km

Maritime claims:

Contiguous zone: 24 nm;

Continental shelf: 200 meters or to depth of exploitation;

Exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Mediterranean with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers

Terrain: mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs

Natural resources: limestone, salt

Land use: 38% arable land; 3% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 59% other; includes 3% irrigated

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

NOTE: The information regarding Malta on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Malta Geography 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Malta Geography 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.