1985 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1985 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Agriculture
crops — coconut, limited production of millet, corn, pumpkins, sweet potatoes; shortages — rice, sugar, flour
Airfields
2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanentsurface runways; 2 with runways 2,4403,659 m
Area
200km Arabian Sea "- Male Atoll •"' ' Sea S«e rtjion.l map VIII Land 298 km2; twice the size of Washington, D.C.; 2,000 islands grouped into 19 atolls; about 220 islands inhabited Water
Branches
popularly elected unicameral national legislature People's Council (members elected for five-year terms); elected President, chief executive; appointed Chief Justice responsible for administration of Islamic law
Budget
(1983 est.) revenues, $22.7 million; expenditures, $41.65 million (at official rate of5.50rufiyaa=US$l
Capital
Male .
Civil air
1 major transport aircraft
Coastline
644 km (approx.) People
Communists
negligible number
Electric power
4,690 kW capacity (1984); 9 million kWh produced (1984), 54 kWh per capita
Ethnic divisions
admixtures of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, and black
Exports
US$17.3 million (1982)
Fiscal year
calendar year Communications
Fishing
catch 30,300 (est.) metric tons (1982)
GDP
$74 million (1982), $462 per capita; real growth rate(est. 1983), 10%
Government leader
Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM, President (since 1978)
Highways
none
Imports
US$46.0 million (1982)
Labor force
total employment is approximately 66,000; fishing industry employs 80% of the labor force Government
Language
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
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
the land and sea between latitudes 7°9'N and 0°45'S and between longitudes 72°30'E and 73°48'E; these coordinates form a rectangle of approximately 37,000 nm; territorial sea ranges from 2.75 to 55 nm; fishing, approximately 100 nm; economic, approximately 200 nm
Literacy
36%
Major industries
fishing, tourism, some coconut processing, garment industry, woven mats, shipping, coir (rope)
Major trade partners
Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand
Member of
ADB, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth (special member), FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO Economy
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1984, about $1.8 million
Monetary conversion rate
5.50 Maldivian rufiyas=US$l, official rate; 7.05 Maldivian rufiyas=US$l, market rate (August 1983)
National holidays
Independence Day, 26 July; Republic Day, 11 November
Nationality
noun — Maldivian(s); adjective— Maldivian
Official name
Republic of Maldives
Political subdivisions
19 administrative districts corresponding to atolls, plus capital city
Population
178,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 3.0%
Ports
2 minor (Male, Gan)
Railroads
none
Religion
Sunni Muslim
Suffrage
universal over age 21 Political parties and leaders: no organized political parties; country governed by the Didi clan for the past eight centuries
Telecommunications
minimal domestic and international telecommunication facilities; 1,060 telephones (0.7 per 100 popl.); 1 TV, 1 FM, 2 AM stations; 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT station
Type
republic