Compare Malta (2006) - Costa Rica (2005)

Compare Malta (2006) z Costa Rica (2005)

	Malta (2006)	Costa Rica (2005)

Administrative divisions	none (administered directly from Valletta); note - local councils carry out administrative orders	7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.1% (male 35,264/female 33,368) 15-64 years: 69.1% (male 139,890/female 136,767) 65 years and over: 13.7% (male 23,554/female 31,371) (2006 est.)	0-14 years: 28.9% (male 593,540/female 566,361) 15-64 years: 65.5% (male 1,330,481/female 1,300,664) 65 years and over: 5.6% (male 104,564/female 120,563) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	potatoes, cauliflower, grapes, wheat, barley, tomatoes, citrus, cut flowers, green peppers; pork, milk, poultry, eggs	coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber
Airports	1 (2006)	149 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	total: 30 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 18 under 914 m: 8 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 119 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 95 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 316 sq km land: 316 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 51,100 sq km land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco
Area - comparative	slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than West Virginia
Background	Great Britain formally acquired possession of Malta in 1814. The island staunchly supported the UK through both World Wars and remained in the Commonwealth when it became independent in 1964. A decade later Malta became a republic. Since about the mid-1980s, the island has transformed itself into a freight transshipment point, a financial center, and a tourist destination. Malta became an EU member in May 2004.	Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread.
Birth rate	10.22 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	18.6 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $2.503 billion expenditures: $2.703 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)	revenues: $2.497 billion expenditures: $3.094 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Capital	name: Valletta geographic coordinates: 35 54 N, 14 31 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October	San Jose
Climate	Mediterranean; mild, rainy winters; hot, dry summers	tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands
Coastline	196.8 km (does not include 56.01 km for the island of Gozo)	1,290 km
Constitution	1964 constitution; amended many times	7 November 1949
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Malta conventional short form: Malta local long form: Repubblika ta' Malta local short form: Malta	conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica
Death rate	8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	4.33 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$188.8 million (2005)	$5.962 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Molly BORDONARO embassy: 3rd Floor, Development House, Saint Anne Street, Floriana, VLT 01 mailing address: P. O. Box 535, Valletta, CMR01 telephone: [356] 2561 4000 FAX: [356] 21 243229	chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Douglas M. BARNES embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 519-2305
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador John LOWELL chancery: 2017 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3611, 3612 FAX: [1] (202) 387-5470 consulate(s): New York	chief of mission: Ambassador Tomas DUENAS chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Tampa consulate(s): Austin
Disputes - international	none	legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on the border with Nicaragua remains unresolved
Economic aid - recipient	$NA	-
Economy - overview	Major resources are limestone, a favorable geographic location, and a productive labor force. Malta produces only about 20% of its food needs, has limited fresh water supplies, and has few domestic energy sources. The economy is dependent on foreign trade, manufacturing (especially electronics and textiles), and tourism. Continued sluggishness in the European economy is holding back exports, tourism, and overall growth.	Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. Low prices for coffee and bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt. The reduction of inflation remains a difficult problem because of rises in the price of imports, labor market rigidities, and fiscal deficits. The country also needs to reform its tax system and its pattern of public expenditure. Costa Rica recently concluded negotiations to participate in the US-Central American Free Trade Agreement, which, if ratified by the Costa Rican Legislature, would result in economic reforms and an improved investment climate.
Electricity - consumption	1.936 billion kWh (2003)	5.733 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	477 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	59 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	2.082 billion kWh (2003)	6.614 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Ta'Dmejrek 253 m (near Dingli)	lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m
Environment - current issues	very limited natural fresh water resources; increasing reliance on desalination	deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution
Environment - international agreements	party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation
Ethnic groups	Maltese (descendants of ancient Carthaginians and Phoenicians, with strong elements of Italian and other Mediterranean stock)	white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%
Exchange rates	Maltese liri per US dollar - 0.34578 (2005), 0.34466 (2004), 0.37723 (2003), 0.43362 (2002), 0.45004 (2001)	Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 437.91 (2004), 398.66 (2003), 359.82 (2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Edward FENECH ADAMI (since 4 April 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Lawrence GONZI (since 23 March 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of Representatives for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 29 March 2004 (next to be held by April 2009); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president for a five-year term; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister election results: Eddie FENECH ADAMI elected president; House of Representatives vote - 33 out of 65 votes	chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since 8 May 2002); Second Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since 8 May 2002); Second Vice President (vacant); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 February 2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held February 2006) election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42%
Exports	NA bbl/day	NA
Exports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures	coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment
Exports - partners	France 15.4%, US 14.4%, Singapore 12.3%, UK 11.3%, Germany 11.2%, Italy 5.1%, Libya 4.2% (2005)	US 46.9%, Netherlands 5.3%, Guatemala 4.4% (2004)
Fiscal year	calendar year	calendar year
Flag description	two equal vertical bands of white (hoist side) and red; in the upper hoist-side corner is a representation of the George Cross, edged in red	five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3% industry: 23% services: 74% (2003 est.)	agriculture: 8.5% industry: 29.7% services: 61.8% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $9,600 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	1% (2005 est.)	3.9% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	35 50 N, 14 35 E	10 00 N, 84 00 W
Geography - note	the country comprises an archipelago, with only the three largest islands (Malta, Ghawdex or Gozo, and Kemmuna or Comino) being inhabited; numerous bays provide good harbors; Malta and Tunisia are discussing the commercial exploitation of the continental shelf between their countries, particularly for oil exploration	four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65
Highways	-	total: 35,303 km paved: 4,236 km unpaved: 31,067 km (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 1.1% highest 10%: 36.8% (2002)
Illicit drugs	minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe	transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption, particularly crack cocaine, is rising
Imports	NEGL (2001)	NA
Imports - commodities	machinery and transport equipment, manufactured and semi-manufactured goods; food, drink, tobacco	raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum
Imports - partners	Italy 32.3%, UK 11.5%, France 9.6%, Germany 8%, US 5.5%, Singapore 4.1% (2005)	US 46.1%, Japan 5.9%, Mexico 5.1%, Brazil 4.2% (2004)
Independence	21 September 1964 (from UK)	15 September 1821 (from Spain)
Industrial production growth rate	NA%	3.1% (2004 est.)
Industries	tourism, electronics, ship building and repair, construction, food and beverages, textiles, footwear, clothing, tobacco	microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products
Infant mortality rate	total: 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	total: 9.95 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3% (2005 est.)	11.5% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	Australia Group, C, CE, EBRD, EIB, EU (new member), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, NSG, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	BCIE, CACM, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	20 sq km (2003)	1,260 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Constitutional Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister	Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly)
Labor force	160,000 (2005 est.)	1.81 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 3% industry: 22% services: 75% (2005 est.)	agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	total: 639 km border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km
Land use	arable land: 31.25% permanent crops: 3.13% other: 65.62% (2005)	arable land: 4.41% permanent crops: 5.88% other: 89.71% (2001)
Languages	Maltese (official), English (official)	Spanish (official), English
Legal system	based on English common law and Roman civil law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations	based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral House of Representatives (usually 65 seats; note - additional seats are given to the party with the largest popular vote to ensure a legislative majority; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 12 April 2003 (next to be held by August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - PN 51.7%, MLP 47.6%, AD 0.7%; seats by party - PN 34, MLP 31	unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1; note - seats by party as of January 2005 - PUSC 19, PLN 16, PAC 8, PML 5, PRC 1, Patriotic Union 3, Homeland First 1, Authentic Member from Heredia 1, Democratic National Alliance 1, independent 2
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 79.01 years male: 76.83 years female: 81.31 years (2006 est.)	total population: 76.84 years male: 74.26 years female: 79.55 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 10 and over can read and write total population: 92.8% male: 92% female: 93.6% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Europe, islands in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily (Italy)	Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama
Map references	Europe	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 25 nm	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 1,220 ships (1000 GRT or over) 23,917,414 GRT/38,685,924 DWT by type: bulk carrier 434, cargo 344, chemical tanker 105, combination ore/oil 1, container 59, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 1, passenger 15, passenger/cargo 14, petroleum tanker 146, refrigerated cargo 43, roll on/roll off 33, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 16 foreign-owned: 1,162 (Austria 1, Azerbaijan 2, Bangladesh 3, Belgium 10, Bulgaria 13, Canada 18, China 14, Croatia 10, Cyprus 15, Denmark 6, Estonia 4, France 6, Germany 64, Greece 495, Hong Kong 2, Iceland 4, India 1, Iran 14, Israel 23, Italy 29, Japan 1, South Korea 6, Latvia 40, Lebanon 10, Monaco 1, Netherlands 6, Norway 49, Pakistan 1, Poland 27, Portugal 3, Romania 9, Russia 70, Slovenia 3, Spain 6, Sweden 3, Switzerland 21, Syria 7, Taiwan 2, Turkey 123, UAE 5, UK 8, Ukraine 24, US 3) registered in other countries: 8 (Panama 3, Portugal 1, Russia 4) (2006)	total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,716 GRT/ DWT by type: passenger/cargo 2 (2005)
Military branches	Armed Forces of Malta (AFM; includes air and maritime elements) (2005)	no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security, Government, and Police
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$38.168 million (2005 est.)	$64.2 million (2004)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	1% (2005 est.)	0.4% (2003)
National holiday	Independence Day, 21 September (1964)	Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Nationality	noun: Maltese (singular and plural) adjective: Maltese	noun: Costa Rican(s) adjective: Costa Rican
Natural hazards	NA	occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes
Natural resources	limestone, salt, arable land	hydropower
Net migration rate	2.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	0.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	-	refined products 242 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	Alternativa Demokratika/Alliance for Social Justice or AD [Harry VASSALLO]; Malta Labor Party or MLP [Alfred SANT]; Nationalist Party or PN [Lawrence GONZI]	Authentic Member from Heredia [Jose SALAS]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Juan Carlos CHAVES Mora]; Democratic National Alliance [Emilia RODRIGUEZ]; General Union Party or PUGEN [Carlos Alberto FERNANDEZ Vega]; Homeland First [Juan Jose VARGAS]; Independent Worker Party or PIO [Jose Alberto CUBERO Carmona]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Victor GONZALEZ]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Francisco Antonio PACHECO]; National Patriotic Party or PPN [Daniel Enrique REYNOLDS Vargas]; National Rescue Party or PRN [Carlos VARGAS Solano]; Patriotic Union [Humberto ARCE]; Popular Vanguard [Trino BARRANTES Araya]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Lorena VASQUEZ Badilla]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown]
Population	400,214 (July 2006 est.)	4,016,173 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA%	18% (2004 est.)
Population growth rate	0.42% (2006 est.)	1.48% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Caldera, Puerto Limon
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 18, shortwave 6 (1999)	AM 65, FM 51, shortwave 19 (2002)
Railways	-	total: 278 km narrow gauge: 278 km 1.067-m gauge (2004)
Religions	Roman Catholic 98%	Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Telephone system	general assessment: automatic system satisfies normal requirements domestic: submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands international: country code - 356; 2 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: good domestic telephone service in terms of breadth of coverage; restricted cellular telephone service domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available international: country code - 506; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use	202,100 (2005)	1.132 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular	324,000 (2005)	528,047 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	6 (2000)	20 (plus 43 repeaters) (2002)
Terrain	mostly low, rocky, flat to dissected plains; many coastal cliffs	coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes
Total fertility rate	1.5 children born/woman (2006 est.)	2.28 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	7.8% (2005 est.)	6.6% (2004 est.)
Waterways	-	730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2004)

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