Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 209 KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1964 Population: 429,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 2.4% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$20,980 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 39 Life expectancy: 80 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 6 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Cardiovascular diseases Government health expenditure: 6% of GDP (2012) General information The Republic of Malta comprises an archipelago of six islands and islets in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, 93 km south of Sicily and 290 km from the coast of North Africa. Malta, Gozo and Comino are inhabited; the other islands are Cominotto, Filfla and St Paul’s Island. Climate: Mediterranean type: hot and dry in July–September, with cooling sea breezes. Winters are mild and wet, with warm westerly winds. Environment: There are very limited natural freshwater resources and increasing reliance on desalination. Population: 429,000 (2013); population density is among the world’s highest. Some 30,000 people reside on Gozo and Comino, and 95 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 0.6 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2012. In 2012 the birth rate was nine per 1,000 people (17 in 1970) and life expectancy 80 years (70 in 1970). There are no significant ethnic minorities. Economy: Malta is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: The rate of infant mortality in Malta was five deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of six deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013 – down from 11 deaths in 1990. In 2012 the two most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were congenital anomalies (45 per cent) and prematurity (27 per cent). In 2013 Malta’s adjusted maternal mortality ratio was nine deaths per 100,000 live births (an estimate from UN agencies/World Bank). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for an estimated 92 per cent of all mortality in Malta in 2012. The most prevalent NCDs in Malta are cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for 39 per cent of total deaths across all age groups in 2012, and cancer, accounting for 31 per cent of all deaths. Non-communicable variants of respiratory diseases and diabetes contributed four per cent and two per cent to total mortality, respectively (2012). Injuries accounted for four per cent of deaths in 2012. Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions in Malta accounted for an estimated four per cent of all mortality in 2012. A government paper on HIV/AIDS reported that there were an estimated 300 people living in the country with HIV in 2013. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers Malta a non-endemic country for malaria. The estimated incidence of tuberculosis (TB) has increased significantly overall in the period 1990–2013, with significant fluctuation in rates over this period. Estimated mortality from TB (when mortality data excludes cases comorbid with HIV) has remained below one death per 100,000 people since 1991. Health systems: In 2012 government expenditure on health was six per cent of GDP, equivalent to US$350 per capita. In the most recent survey, conducted between 1997 and 2012, there were 350 medical doctors, and 709 nurses and midwives per 100,000 people. There is universal maternal health care in Malta. Additionally, in 2013, 99 per cent of one-year-olds were immunised with one dose of measles. In 2012, everyone was using an improved drinking water source and had adequate sanitation facilities. The most recent survey, conducted in the period 2000–11, reports that Malta has 80 pharmaceutical personnel per 100,000 people. Health care in Malta is a combination of both private and statutory systems, with care in the public sector highly centralised and regulated with a governmental focus on quality of care. Publicly Malta
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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