"text":"<p>A sultanate since the 12th century, the Maldives became a British protectorate in 1887. The islands became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM dominated Maldives' political scene for 30 years, elected to six successive terms by single-party referendums. Following political demonstrations in the capital Male in August 2003, GAYOOM and his government pledged to embark upon a process of liberalization and democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Political parties were legalized in 2005.</p> <p>In June 2008, a constituent assembly - termed the \"Special Majlis\" - finalized a new constitution ratified by GAYOOM in August 2008. The first-ever presidential elections under a multi-candidate, multi-party system were held in October 2008. GAYOOM was defeated in a runoff poll by Mohamed NASHEED, a political activist who had been jailed several years earlier by the GAYOOM regime. In early February 2012, after several weeks of street protests in response to his ordering the arrest of a top judge, NASHEED purportedly resigned the presidency and handed over power to Vice President Mohammed WAHEED Hassan Maniku. A government-appointed Commission of National Inquiry concluded there was no evidence of a coup, but NASHEED contends that police and military personnel forced him to resign. NASHEED, WAHEED, and Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom ran in the 2013 elections with YAMEEN ultimately winning the presidency after three rounds of voting. As president, YAMEEN weakened democratic institutions, curtailed civil liberties, jailed his political opponents, restricted the press, and exerted control over the judiciary to strengthen his hold on power and limit dissent. In September 2018, YAMEEN lost his reelection bid to Ibrahim Mohamed SOLIH, a parliamentarian of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who had the support of a coalition of four parties that came together to defeat YAMEEN and restore democratic norms to Maldives. In April 2019, SOLIH's MDP won 65 of 87 seats in parliament. YAMEEN was arrested and jailed in December 2022 on corruption charges; however, he remains his party's candidate to challenge SOLIH in the presidential election, scheduled for 9 September 2023.</p>"
"text":"about a third of the population lives in the centrally located capital city of Male and almost a tenth in southern Addu City; the remainder of the populace is spread over the 200 or so populated islands of the archipelago"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"tsunamis; low elevation of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"smallest Asian country; archipelago of 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean"
"text":"homogeneous mixture of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, Australasian, and African resulting from historical changes in regional hegemony over marine trade routes"
},
"Languages":{
"text":"Dhivehi (official, dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English (spoken by most government officials)"
"text":"about a third of the population lives in the centrally located capital city of Male and almost a tenth in southern Addu City; the remainder of the populace is spread over the 200 or so populated islands of the archipelago"
"text":"archipelago apparently named after the main island (and capital) of Male; the word \"Maldives\" means \"the islands (dives) of Male\"; alternatively, the name may derive from the Sanskrit word \"maladvipa\" meaning \"garland of islands\"; Dhivehi Raajje in Dhivehi means \"Kingdom of the Dhivehi people\""
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"presidential republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Male"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"4 10 N, 73 30 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"21 administrative atolls (atholhuthah, singular - atholhu); Addu (Addu City), Ariatholhu Dhekunuburi (South Ari Atoll), Ariatholhu Uthuruburi (North Ari Atoll), Faadhippolhu, Felidhuatholhu (Felidhu Atoll), Fuvammulah, Hahdhunmathi, Huvadhuatholhu Dhekunuburi (South Huvadhu Atoll), Huvadhuatholhu Uthuruburi (North Huvadhu Atoll), Kolhumadulu, Maale (Male), Maaleatholhu (Male Atoll), Maalhosmadulu Dhekunuburi (South Maalhosmadulu), Maalhosmadulu Uthuruburi (North Maalhosmadulu), Miladhunmadulu Dhekunuburi (South Miladhunmadulu), Miladhunmadulu Uthuruburi (North Miladhunmadulu), Mulakatholhu (Mulaku Atoll), Nilandheatholhu Dhekunuburi (South Nilandhe Atoll), Nilandheatholhu Uthuruburi (North Nilandhe Atoll), Thiladhunmathee Dhekunuburi (South Thiladhunmathi), Thiladhunmathee Uthuruburi (North Thiladhunmathi)"
},
"Independence":{
"text":"26 July 1965 (from the UK)"
},
"National holiday":{
"text":"Independence Day, 26 July (1965)"
},
"Constitution":{
"history":{
"text":"many previous; latest ratified 7 August 2008"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"proposed by Parliament; passage requires at least three-quarters majority vote by its membership and the signature of the president of the republic; passage of amendments to constitutional articles on rights and freedoms and the terms of office of Parliament and of the president also requires a majority vote in a referendum; amended 2015"
}
},
"Legal system":{
"text":"Islamic (sharia) legal system with English common law influences, primarily in commercial matters"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Maldives"
"text":"President Ibrahim \"Ibu\" Mohamed SOLIH (since 17 November 2018); Vice President Faisal NASEEM (since 17 November 2018); the president is both chief of state and head of government"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 23 September 2018 (next to be held on 9 September 2023)"
"text":"<em>2018:</em> Ibrahim Mohamed SOLIH elected president (in single round); Ibrahim Mohamed SOLIH (MDP) 58.3%, Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom (PPM) 41.7%"
"text":"unicameral Parliament or People's Majlis (87 seats - includes 2 seats added by the Elections Commission in late 2018; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"Supreme Court judges appointed by the president in consultation with the Judicial Service Commission - a 10-member body of selected high government officials and the public - and upon confirmation by voting members of the People's Majlis; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 70"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"High Court; Criminal, Civil, Family, Juvenile, and Drug Courts; Magistrate Courts (on each of the inhabited islands)"
"text":"<p>Adhaalath (Justice) Party or AP [Sheikh Imran ABDULLA]<br>Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party or DRP [Abdulla JABIR]<br>Maldives Development Alliance or MDA [Ahmed Shiyam MOHAMED]<br>Maldivian Democratic Party or MDP [Mohamed NASHEED]<br>Maldives Labor and Social Democratic Party or MLSDP [Ahmed SHIHAM]<br>Maldives Third Way Democrats or MTD [Ahmed ADEEB]<br>Maumoon/Maldives Reform Movement or MRM [Ahmed Faris MAUMOON]<br>National Democratic Congress [Yousuf Maaniu]<br>People's National Congress or PNC [Abdul Raheem ABDULLA]<br>Progressive Party of Maldives or PPM [Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom, founder]<br>Republican (Jumhooree) Party or JP [Qasim IBRAHIM]</p> (2020)"
"text":"<p>Maldives has no embassy in the US, but its Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Abdul GHAFOOR Mohamed (since 12 December 2022), is accredited to the US and serves as ambassador</p>"
"text":"the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US is in the process of opening an embassy in Maldives; as of March 2022, there is no US Ambassador to Maldives; until late 2021, the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka was also accredited to the Maldives"
"text":"red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent moon; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag; red recalls those who have sacrificed their lives in defense of their country, the green rectangle represents peace and prosperity, and the white crescent signifies Islam"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"coconut palm, yellowfin tuna; national colors: red, green, white"
},
"National anthem":{
"name":{
"text":"\"Gaumee Salaam\" (National Salute)"
},
"lyrics/music":{
"text":"Mohamed Jameel DIDI/Wannakuwattawaduge DON AMARADEVA"
"text":"upper middle-income Indian Ocean island economy; major tourism, fishing, and shipping industries; high public debt; systemic corruption; crippled by COVID-19; ongoing deflation; poverty has tripled since pandemic began"
"text":"with its economy so heavily dependent on tourism, the Maldives has suffered heavy economic as well as health casualties during the pandemic; the country had a relatively short period of lock down and was willing to welcome visitors back as early as July 2020; but the effective shutdown of international air travel for most of the year resulted in the bottom falling out of the Maldives’ tourism industry, taking GDP down 32% in the process; the economy fared better in 2021, with a return to growth, yet it may still be a few years before the country’s key industries can return to the same level of prosperity that they previously enjoyed; the country’s high number of tourists and expatriate workers has inflated the penetration rate for mobile services, making it one of the highest in the world; that rate crashed in 2020 as demand for SIM cards (primarily prepaid) dried up; however, the number of contract subscribers increased as locals took advantage of competitive pricing offers from operators; everything now rests on a fast return to normality, with tourists helping to boost the nation’s coffers as well as buying up those prepaid SIM cards; with commercial 5G services already launched and fiber networks rapidly expanding around the country, the Maldives is primed to deliver world-class telecommunications services to its domestic and international customers (2021)"
"text":"country code - 960; landing points for Dhiraagu Cable Network, NaSCOM, Dhiraagu-SLT Submarine Cable Networks and WARF submarine cables providing connections to 8 points in Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka; satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2019)"
"text":"state-owned radio and TV monopoly until recently; 4 state-operated and 7 privately owned TV stations and 4 state-operated and 7 privately owned radio stations (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"the Republic of Maldives has no distinct army, navy, or air force but a single security unit called the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) comprised of ground forces, an air element, a coast guard, a presidential security division, and a special protection group (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Maldives Police Service is responsible for internal security and reports to the Ministry of Home Affairs; the MNDF is responsible for counterterrorism"
"text":"18-28 years of age for voluntary service; no conscription; 10th grade or equivalent education required; must not be a member of a political party (2022)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T"
