Maldives
OFFICIAL NAME: Divehi Raajeyge Jumhooriyya
CAPITAL CITY: Paint
POPULATION: 359,000 (2007)
AREA: 298 km²
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE (S): maldivian or divehi, english
RELIGION: Sunni Muslims 100%
COIN: rufiyaa
CURRENCY CODE: MVR
ENGLISH NAME: The Maldives
INDEPENDENCE: 1965
POPULATION COMPOSITION: Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs
GDP PER residents: $ 2363 (2007)
LIFE EXPECTANCY: men 68 years, women 67 years (2007)
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, HDI: 0.739
INDEX OF LIVING CONDITIONS, POSITION: 98
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME: .mv
Maldives, archipelago and independent republic of the Indian Ocean SW of
India and Sri Lanka; 1887-1965 the islands were a British protectorate. The
island consists of approximately 1200 coral islands, of which approximately 200 are
permanently inhabited. The residents are Muslims and the country is
administered under Islamic law, sharia. The country receives many
charter tourists; the vast majority gather on holiday islands without locals.
- Countryaah:
Do you know how many people there are in Maldives? Check this site to see
population pyramid and resident density about this country.
National flag
The flag was introduced in 1965. Throughout the ages, the Maldives, like many
other Muslim states around the Indian Ocean, had carried a completely red
flag. In the early 1900-t. added the green field with the crescent for
Islam. Black and white stripes at the flagpole were omitted at independence in
1965; red and green are the traditional Muslim colors.
Geography
The Maldives consists of a chain of atolls and coral islands, perched on an
underwater ridge; only nine of the islands are larger than 200 ha and the
country's highest natural point is just 5 masl The climate is tropical monsoon
climate with rainy season from May to October and with average monthly
temperatures of 26-28 °C throughout the year. From the 1990's, global warming
and the risk of rising water levels in the world's oceans have caused concern in
the Maldives. None of the islands are more than 2 m high.
The vegetation is poor in species and there are only a few land animals. The
coconut palm grows everywhere and is an important useful plant; Among other
things, used wood for shipbuilding. The production of palm sugar is also
important. On some islands with wetlands, taro is practiced; millet is grown
with a form of sweating technique, the fields being burned and sown just before
the monsoon. Livestock farming is limited to chickens and a few goats, while pig
farming like dogs is prohibited. The significant high seas fishing is mainly
aimed at tuna.
The sexes are fairly equal and divorces are frequent. On average, every man
and woman enters into marriage through life with 3.5 partners; polygyny is
allowed, but rare. In the event of divorce, the children usually follow the
mother. Inheritance law follows Islamic law; all land is state property, while
palm trees and trees are private property.
In the past, porcelain snail houses, money-cows, were the
country's most important export commodity, but now the foreign economy is
based on tuna fishing and tourism. Tourists are offered white sandy beaches,
protected coral reefs and a warm, humid climate all year round; in 2015, the
islands were visited by approximately 800,000 tourists. The tourists stay in special
areas and have only extremely limited contact with the locals.
Language
Maldives official language is Dhivehi or Divehi 'øsprog',
a indoarisk language that is closely related to Sinhala, spoken by 290,000 in
the Maldives and Minicoy Island (2000). Maldivian has its own script, tana,
written from right to left and is almost monopolistic despite attempts in the
1970's to also use a script based on the Latin alphabet. The language contains
many loanwords from Arabic.
History
Islam was introduced in the Maldives in 1153. The islands were never
colonized by European powers despite a short-lived Portuguese occupation in the
1500's. From the middle of the 1600's. it was under the protection of the rulers
of Sri Lanka, first Dutch, then British. In 1887, the island kingdom formally
became a British protectorate. The Sultan had to accept a constitution in 1932,
and in 1965 it gained full independence from Britain. In 1968, the sultanate was
abolished and the republic was introduced. In 1976, the British abandoned their
military base, and in 1982, the Maldives became a member of the Commonwealth. A
coup attempt was stifled with Indian aid in 1988. The islands were hit hard by
the 2004 tsunami disaster, which briefly flooded the entire archipelago and led
to extensive reconstruction work.
In 2008, the country's president since 1978, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, lost the
election and had to resign; he was replaced by Mohamed Nasheed. Following a
political crisis, Nasheed had to resign in February 2012 following pressure from
security forces. He was later arrested. After several cancellations and
postponement of the election process, Abdulla Yameen (b. 1959) became the new
president after a democratic election in 2013.
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