1989 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1989 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Airports
126 total, 121 usable; 32 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 19 with runways 1,2202,439 m
Branches
Royal Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force
Civil air
53 major transport aircraft
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
Coastline
644 km
Comparative area
slightly more than 1 .5 times the size of Washington, DC
Defense expenditures
3.8% of GDP, or $ 1.4 billion (1 990 est.) Male Atoll Arabian o V^*MALE Sea ^ ( -•? .i ->s ;.y Laccadive ''••••' .. Sea See re(ionilmip VIII
Environment
1 ,200 coral islands grouped into 19 atolls
Exclusive fishing zone
about 100 nm (defined by geographic coordinates)
Extended economic zone
37-3 1 0 nm (segment of zone coincides with maritime boundary with India)
Inland waterways
Peninsular Malaysia — 3,209 km; Sabah— 1,569 km; Sarawak— 2,518 km
Land boundaries
none
Land use
10% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 84% other
Merchant marine
159 ships (1,000 CRT or over) totaling 1,525,635 CRT/ 2,216,215 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 71 cargo, 21 container, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 livestock carrier, 28 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 passengercargo, 22 bulk, 1 passenger
Military manpower
males 15-49, 4,499,495; 2,744,743 fit for military service; 178,923 reach military age (21) annually
Natural resources
fish
Note
archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean
Pipelines
crude oil, 1,307 km; natural gas, 379 km
Ports
Tanjong, Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Tawau
Telecommunications
good intercity service provided to peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave relay, adequate intercity radio relay network between -Sa bah and Sarawak via Brunei; international service good; good coverage by radio and television broadcasts; 994,860 telephones (1984); stations— 28 AM, 3 FM, 33 TV; submarine cables extend to India and Sarawak; SEACOM submarine cable links to Hong Kong and Singapore; satellite earth stations — 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 domestic Defense Forces
Terrain
flat with elevations only as high as 2.5 meters
Territorial sea
1 2 nm
Total area
300 km2; land area: 300 km2
Total area
bituminous-surface treatment, and 4,248 km unpaved); Sabah — 3,782 km; Sarawak— 1,644 km
People and Society
Birth rate
46 births/ 1 ,000 population (1990)
Death rate
9 deaths/ 1 ,000 population (1990)
Ethnic divisions
admixtures of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, and black
Infant mortality rate
76 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1 990)
Labor force
66,000 (est.); 80% engaged in fishing industry
Language
Divehi (dialect of Sinhala; script derived from Arabic); English spoken by most government officials
Life expectancy at birth
60 years male, 65 years female (1990)
Literacy
36%
Nationality
noun — Maldivian(s); adjective— Maldivian
Net migration rate
0 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)
Organized labor
none
Population
217,945 (July 1990), growth rate 3. 7% (1990)
Religion
Sunni Muslim
Total fertility rate
6.6 children born/ woman (1990)
Government
Administrative divisions
19 district (atolls); Aliff, Baa, Daalu, Faafu, Gaafu Aliff, Gaafu Daalu, Haa Aliff, Haa Daalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Laviyani, Meemu, Naviyani, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Waavu
Capital
Male
Communists
negligible
Constitution
4 June 1964
Diplomatic representation
Maldives does not maintain an embassy in the US, but does have a UN mission in New York; US — the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic
Elections
President — last held 23 September 1988 (next to be held September 1994); results — President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom reelected; Citizens ' Council — last held on 7 December 1984 (next to be held 7 December 1989); results — percent of vote NA; seats — (48 total, 40 elected)
Executive branch
president, Cabinet
Independence
26 July 1965 (from UK)
Judicial branch
High Court
Leaders
Chief of State and Head of Government— President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since since 11 November 1978) Political parties and leaders: no organized political parties; country governed by the Didi clan for the past eight centuries
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 Citizens1 Council (Majlis)
Long-form name
Republic of Maldives
Member of
ADB, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth (special member), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, I DB— Islamic Development Bank, I FAD, IFC, IMF, I MO, ITU, NAM, QIC, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
National holiday
Independence Day, 26 July (1965)
Suffrage
universal at age 21
Type
republic