﻿ Maldives : Ask Biography


General information
Common nameMaldives
Local nameދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ
(Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya)
Nameދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ
(Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya)
AnthemQaumii salaam
"National Salute"
Official languagesDhivehi, English
Ethnic groups≈100% Dhivehis (Excluding Foreigners)
GovernmentPresidential republic
PresidentMohamed Nasheed
Vice PresidentDr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan
Speaker of the MajlisAbdulla Shahid
Chief JusticeAhmed Faiz
from United Kingdom26 July 1965
Total Area115 sq mi (297.9 km2) (206th)
Water %≈100% (land negligible)
Population Est.313920 (175th1)
Population census298968 (2006)
Density (pop.)1106.6/km2 (11th) (2866.9/sq mi)
GDP PPP$2.931 billion (2011)
GDP (PPP) per capita$9,005 (87th)
GDP (nominal)$2.062 billion (2011)
GDP (nominal) per capita$6,336
Other information
HDI(+)0.602 (2010) (medium) (107th)
CurrencyMaldivian Rufiyaa (MVR)
Drives on theleft
Internet TLD.mv
Calling code960

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The Maldives (c-enaudio=en-us-Maldives, (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, Dhivehi Raa'je), officially Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and Chagos Archipelago. It stands in the Laccadive Sea, about seven hundred kilometers (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and (250 mi) south-west of India. During the colonial era, the Dutch referred to the country as "Maldivische Eilanden" in their documentation, while "Maldive Islands" is the anglicised version of the local name used by the British, which later came to be written "Maldives".

This chain of islands is an archipelago located among the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos Group, which are the tops of a vast undersea mountain range in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The atolls of the Maldives encompass a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres, making it one of the most dispersed countries in the world in geographic terms. It features 1,192 islands, of which two hundred are inhabited. Maldives has a population of 313,920 (2010) and the country's capital and largest city Malé has a population of 103,693 (2006). It is located at the southern edge of North Malé Atoll, in the Kaafu Atoll. It is also one of the Administrative divisions of the Maldives. Traditionally it was the King's Island where the ancient Maldive Royal dynasties were enthroned.

The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in both population and land area. With an average ground level of 1.5 m above sea level, it is the lowest country on the planet. It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world, at 2.3 m; the Maldives sinking is a great concern for the Maldivian people.

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