]! ^! The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. Since 1978, President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM - currently in his sixth term in office - has dominated the islands' political scene. Following riots in the capital Male in August 2004, the president and his government pledged to embark upon democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Progress has been slow, however, and many promised reforms have been delayed indefinitely. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago. 
]" ^" Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India ^# 3 15 N, 73 00 E ^$ Asia ^% `! 300 sq km `" 300 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 644 km ^) measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm ^* tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August) ^+ flat, with white sandy beaches ^, `% Indian Ocean 0 m `& unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m ^- fish ^. `' 13.33% `( 30% `) 56.67% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise ^1 depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean 
]# ^3 369,031 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 42.9% (male 81,383/female 76,984) `, 54% (male 101,699/female 97,518) `- 3.1% (male 5,619/female 5,828) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.1 years `. 18 years `/ 18.2 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.732% (2007 est.) ^7 34.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.057 male(s)/female `, 1.043 male(s)/female `- 0.964 male(s)/female `2 1.046 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 53.25 deaths/1,000 live births `. 52.4 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 54.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 64.76 years `. 63.41 years `/ 66.19 years (2007 est.) ^= 4.78 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.1% (2001 est.) ^? less than 100 (2001 est.) ^@ NA ^A `3 Maldivian(s) `4 Maldivian ^B South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs ^C Sunni Muslim ^D Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 97.2% `. 97.1% `/ 97.3% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Maldives `7 Maldives `Z Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa `[ Dhivehi Raajje ^H republic ^I `8 Male `9 4 10 N, 73 31 E `: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 19 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural) and the capital city*; Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Maale* (Male), Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu ^K 26 July 1965 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 26 July (1965) ^M adopted 1 January 1998 ^N based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^O 21 years of age; universal ^P `; President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `< President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978) `= Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president `> president nominated by the Majlis; nomination must be ratified by a national referendum (at least a 51% approval margin is required); president elected for a five-year term; election last held 17 October 2003 (next to be held in 2008) `? President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM reelected in referendum held 17 October 2003; percent of popular vote - Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM 90.3% ^Q unicameral People's Council or Majlis (50 seats; 42 elected by popular vote, eight appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms) `> last held 22 January 2005 (next to be held in 2010) `? percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 50 ^R High Court ^S Adhaalath (Justice) Party or AP [Abdul Majeed Abdul BARI]; Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (Maldivian People's Party) or DRP [Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM]; Islamic Democratic Party or IDP [Omar NASEER]; Maldivian Democratic Party or MDP [Mohamed NASHEED]; note - political parties were allowed to register in June 2005 ^T various unregistered political parties ^U AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Mohamed LATHEEF `S 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400E, New York, NY 10017 `T [1] (212) 599-6195 `U [1] (212) 661-6405 ^W the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic visits there ^X 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 
]% ^Y Tourism, Maldives' largest industry, accounts for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Fishing is the second leading sector. Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play a lesser role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labor. Most staple foods must be imported. Industry, which consists mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts, accounts for about 7% of GDP. The Maldivian Government began an economic reform program in 1989 initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to allow more foreign investment. Real GDP growth averaged over 7.5% per year for more than a decade. In late December 2004, a major tsunami left more than 100 dead, 12,000 displaced, and property damage exceeding $300 million. As a result of the tsunami, the GDP contracted by about 3.6% in 2005. A rebound in tourism, post-tsunami reconstruction, and development of new resorts helped boost GDP by about 18 percent in 2006. The trade deficit has expanded sharply as a result of high oil prices and imports of construction material. Diversifying beyond tourism and fishing is the major challenge facing the government. Over the longer term Maldivian authorities worry about the impact of erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying country; 80% of the area is one meter or less above sea level. ^Z $1.25 billion (2002 est.) ^[ $906 million (2006 est.) ^\ 18% (2006 est.) ^] $3,900 (2002 est.) ^^ `@ 16% `A 7% `B 77% (2006 est.) ^_ 101,300 (2004) ^` `@ 22% `A 18% `B 60% (1995) ^a NEGL% (2003 est.) _! 21% (2004) _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 6% (2005 est.) _$ `E $508 million (including foreign grants) `F $671 million (2006 est.) _& coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish _' tourism, fish processing, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining _( -0.9% (2004 est.) _) 149.9 million kWh (2004) _* 139.4 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 7,200 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $214 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 fish _5 Japan 22.8%, Thailand 22.7%, Sri Lanka 16.4%, UK 12.6%, Singapore 5.8%, Germany 4.8%, France 4.3% (2005) _6 $832 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 petroleum products, ships, foodstuffs, clothing, intermediate and capital goods _8 Singapore 24.1%, UAE 15.7%, India 11.3%, Malaysia 7.2%, Sri Lanka 5.7%, UK 4.5% (2005) _9 $482 million (2006 est.) _: $27.9 million (2004) _; rufiyaa (MVR) _< rufiyaa per US dollar - 12.8 (2006), 12.8 (2005), 12.8 (2004), 12.8 (2003), 12.8 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 32,181 (2006) _? 271,053 (2006) _@ `G telephone services have improved; each island now has at least 1 public telephone, and there are mobile cellular networks with expanding subscribership `H interatoll communication through microwave links; all inhabited islands and resorts are connected with telephone and fax service `I country code - 960; satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) _A AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) _B 1 (2006) _C .mv _D 1,357 (2006) _E 19,000 (2005) 
]' _F 5 (2006) _G `! 2 `a 1 `J 1 (2006) _R `! 3 `c 3 (2006) _H `! 88 km paved roads: 88 km - 60 km in Male; 14 km on Addu Atolis; 14 km on Laamu `* village roads are mainly compacted coral (2006) _S `! 17 ships (1000 GRT or over) 67,149 GRT/87,220 DWT by type: cargo 13, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2 `d 1 (Panama 1) (2006) _I Male 
]( _J National Security Service: Security Branch (ground forces), Air Element, Coast Guard _T 18 years of age (est.) (2004) _K males age 18-49: 71,774 females age 18-49: 69,229 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 56,687 females age 18-49: 54,454 (2005 est.) _U 5.5% (2005 est.) 
]) _N none _c `k 10,000 (December 2004 tsunami victims) (2006) 