Country Summary
Introduction
Background
A sultanate since the 12th century, the Maldives archipelago became a British protectorate in 1887. Three years after independence in 1965, the islands established themselves as a republic.
Geography
Area
total: 298 sq km
land: 298 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
Natural resources
fish
People and Society
Population
389,568 (2023 est.)
Ethnic groups
homogeneous mixture of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, Australasian, and African resulting from historical changes in regional hegemony over marine trade routes
Languages
Dhivehi (official, dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English (spoken by most government officials)
Religions
Sunni Muslim (official)
Population growth rate
-0.17% (2023 est.)
Government
Government type
presidential republic
Capital
name: Male
Executive branch
chief of state: 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
head of government: President Ibrahim "Ibu" Mohamed SOLIH (since 17 November 2018); Vice President Faisal NASEEM (since 17 November 2018)
Legislative branch
description: 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)
Economy
Economic overview
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
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$9.785 billion (2021 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$18,800 (2021 est.)
Agricultural products
papayas, vegetables, roots/tubers nes, nuts, fruit, other meat, tomatoes, coconuts, bananas, maize
Industries
tourism, fish processing, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining
Exports
$3.95 billion (2021 est.)
Exports - partners
Thailand 24%, United States 13%, China 12%, France 11%, Germany 11%, Italy 5%, United Kingdom 5% (2019)
Exports - commodities
fish products, natural gas, scrap iron, jewelry, liquid pumps (2019)
Imports
$3.501 billion (2021 est.)
Imports - partners
United Arab Emirates 24%, China 16%, Singapore 14%, India 11%, Malaysia 6%, Thailand 5% (2019)
Imports - commodities
refined petroleum, fruits, furniture, broadcasting equipment, lumber (2019)
Exchange rates
rufiyaa (MVR) per US dollar -
15.373 (2021 est.)
Page last updated: Wednesday, February 22, 2023
