Maldives
Capital: Malé · Southern Asia
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean, near the southeastern boundary of the Arabian Sea.
Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Aerial view of the Malé viewed from the west
Photo: Shahee Ilyas, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
A beach of Bathala island (Maldives).
Photo: Gzzz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Man looking at the turquoise colored sea on an island in the Maldives. The complete island is a hotel resort and is known as Royal Island Resort.
Photo: Pittigrilli, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Did you know?
The Maldives is the smallest country in Asia. Its land area is only 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi), but this is spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi) of the sea, making it one of the world's most spatially dispersed sovereign states. With a population of 515,132 in the 2022 census, it is the second least populous country in Asia and the ninth-smallest country by area, but also one of the most densely populated countries.
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Maahefun Festival in Fuvahmulah was held in July 31st 2011 and attended more then 4000 peoples from Fuvahmulah and other islands of Maldives.
Photo: Ibrahim Asad, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Photo: unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5 · source
Etymology
According to legends, the first settlers of The Maldives were people known as Dheyvis. The first Kingdom of the Maldives was known as Kingdom of Dheeva Maari. During the 3rd century BCE visit of emissaries, it was noted that the Maldives was known as Dheeva Mahal.
During c. 1100 – 1166, the Maldives was also referred to as Diva Kudha, and the Laccadive archipelago which was a part of the Maldives was then referred to as Diva Kanbar by the scholar and polymath al-Biruni.
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L'île-hôtel de Landaa Giraavaru (Maldives, atoll de Baa).
Photo: Frédéric Ducarme, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Un dhoni aux Maldives.
Photo: Remi Jouan, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
History
In the 6th–5th century BCE, kingdoms already existed in the modern-day Maldives. The country has an established history of over 2,500 years according to historical evidence and legends.
The Mahāvaṃsa (300 BCE) has records of people from Sri Lanka emigrating to the Maldives. Assuming that cowrie shells come from the Maldives, historians believe that there may have been people living in the Maldives during the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300–1300 BCE). Several artefacts show the presence of Hinduism in the country before the Islamic period.
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Every year peoples of Fuvahmulah Celebrate Maahefun at Fuvahmulah Thoondu area which is the north beach of Fuvahmulah
Photo: Ibrahim Asad, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Every year peoples of Fuvahmulah Celebrate Maahefun at Fuvahmulah Thoondu area which is the north beach of Fuvahmulah
Photo: Ibrahim Asad, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Geography
The Maldives consists of 1,192 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, that stretch along a length of 871 kilometres (541 miles) north to south, 130 kilometres (81 miles) east to west, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), of which only 298 km2 (115 sq mi) is dry land, making this one of the world's most dispersed countries. It lies between latitudes 1°S and 8°N, and longitudes 72° and 74°E. The atolls are composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, situated atop a submarine ridge 960 kilometres (600 mi) long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs north to south.
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Government and politics
The Maldives is a presidential constitutional republic, with extensive influence of the president as head of government and head of state. The president heads the executive branch and appoints the cabinet which is approved by the People's Majlis (Parliament). He leads the armed forces. The current president, serving since 17 November 2023, is Mohamed Muizzu. President of the Maldives and Members of the unicameral Majlis serve five-year terms. The total number of members are determined by atoll populations. At the 2024 parliamentary election, the People's National Congress (PNC) won a super-majority over the 93 constituencies.
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Economy
Historically, the Maldives provided enormous quantities of cowry shells, an international currency of the early ages. From the 2nd century CE, the islands were known as the "Money Isles" by the Arabs. Monetaria moneta was used for centuries as a currency in Africa, and huge amounts of Maldivian cowries were introduced into Africa by western nations during the period of slave trade. The cowry is now the symbol of the Maldives Monetary Authority.
In the early 1970s and 1980s, the Maldives was one of the world's 20 poorest countries, with a population of 100,000.
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Demographics
The largest and the only ethnic group in the country are Maldivians (Dhivehin), native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands comprising today's Republic of Maldives and the island of Minicoy in Union territory of Lakshadweep, India. They share the same culture and speak the Dhivehi language. They are principally an Indo-Aryan people, having traces of Middle Eastern, South Asian, Austronesian and African genes in the population.
In the past, there was also a small Tamil population known as the Giraavaru people.
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Culture
The culture of the Maldives is influenced by the cultures of the people of different ethnicities who have settled on the islands throughout the times.
Since the 12th century CE, there were also influences from Arabia in the language and culture of the Maldives because of the conversion to Islam and its location as a crossroads in the central Indian Ocean. This was due to the long trading history between the Far East and the Middle East.
Reflective of this is the fact that the Maldives has had the highest national divorce rate in the world for many decades.
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