1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
Administrative divisions
19 districts (atolls); Aliff, Baa, Daalu, Faafu, Gaafu Aliff, Gaafu Daalu, Haa Aliff, Haa Daalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Laviyani, Meemu, Naviyani, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Waavu
Agriculture
accounts for almost 25% of GDP (including fishing); fishing more important than farming; limited production of coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; most staple foods must be imported; fish catch of 67,000 tons (1990 est.)
Airports
total: 2 usable: 2 with permanent-surface runways: 2 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
Area
total area: 300 sq km land area: 300 sq km comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Birth rate
43.59 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
National Security Service (paramilitary police force)
Budget
revenues: $95 million (excluding foreign transfers) expenditures: $143 million, including capital expenditures of $71 million (1993 est.)
Capital
Male
Citizens' Council (Majlis)
elections last held on 7 December 1989 (next to be held 7 December 1994); results - percent of vote NA; seats - (48 total, 40 elected)
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
Coastline
644 km
Constitution
4 June 1968
Currency
1 rufiyaa (Rf) = 100 laari
Death rate
7.45 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP
Digraph
MV
Diplomatic representation in US
Maldives has no embassy in the US, but does have a UN mission in New York; Permanent Representative to the UN Ahmed ZAKI
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $28 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $125 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $14 million
Electricity
capacity: 5,000 kW production: 11 million kWh consumption per capita: 50 kWh (1990)
Environment
current issues: depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies natural hazards: low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea
Ethnic divisions
Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, African
Exchange rates
rufiyaa (Rf) per US$1 - 11.105 (January 1994), 10.957 (1993), 10.569 (1992), 10.253 (1991), 9.509 (1990), 9.0408 (1989)
Executive branch
chief of state and head of government: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); election last held 1 October 1993 (next to be held NA); results - President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM was reelected with 92.76% of the vote cabinet: Ministry of Atolls; appointed by the president
Exports
$56.3 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) commodities: fish, clothing partners: US, UK, Sri Lanka
External debt
$148 million (1993 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Flag
red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag
Highways
total: NA paved: NA unpaved: NA (Male has 9.6 km of coral highways within the city)
Imports
$173.6 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) commodities: consumer goods, intermediate and capital goods, petroleum products partners: Singapore, Germany, Sri Lanka, India
Independence
26 July 1965 (from UK)
Industrial production
growth rate 24% (1990); accounts for 6% of GDP
Industries
fishing and fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, some coconut processing, garments, woven mats, coir (rope), handicrafts
Infant mortality rate
53.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
15% (1993 est.)
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Judicial branch
High Court
Labor force
66,000 (est.) by occupation: fishing industry 25%
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 10% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 3% forest and woodland: 3% other: 84%
Languages
Divehi (dialect of Sinhala; script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
Legal system
based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 64.67 years male: 63.24 years female: 66.17 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1985) total population: 92% male: 92% female: 92%
Location
Southern Asia, in the Indian Ocean off the southwest coast of India
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 55,369; fit for military service 30,919
Map references
Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 35-310 nm as defined by geographic coordinates; segment of zone coincides with maritime boundary with India territorial sea: 12 nm
Member of
AsDB, C, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Merchant marine
14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 38,848 GRT/58,496 DWT, cargo 12, container 1, oil tanker 1
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Maldives conventional short form: Maldives
National holiday
Independence Day, 26 July (1965)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $140 million (1991 est.)
National product per capita
$620 (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate
6% (1993 est.)
Nationality
noun: Maldivian(s) adjective: Maldivian
Natural resources
fish
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Note
1,200 coral islands grouped into 19 atolls; archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean
Overview
The economy is based on fishing, tourism, and shipping. Agriculture is limited to the production of a few subsistence crops that provide only 10% of food requirements. Fishing is the largest industry, employing 25% of the work force and accounting for over 60% of exports; it is also an important source of government revenue. During the 1980s tourism became one of the most important and highest growth sectors of the economy. In 1988 industry accounted for about 5% of GDP. Real GDP is officially estimated to have increased by about 10% annually during the period 1974-90.
Political parties and leaders
no organized political parties; country governed by the Didi clan for the past eight centuries
Population
252,077 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
3.61% (1994 est.)
Ports
Male, Gan
Religions
Sunni Muslim
Suffrage
21 years of age; universal
Telecommunications
minimal domestic and international facilities; 2,804 telephones; broadcast stations - 2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Terrain
flat with elevations only as high as 2.5 meters
Total fertility rate
6.26 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
republic
Unemployment rate
NEGL%
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic visits there consular agency: Midhath Hilmy, Male telephone: 2581