Maldives - Country information


		Maldives	Population Government Economy Geography Communication Transportation

Population		Top of page

Inhabitants		Life expectancy
369,031 (July 2007 est.)		total population: 64.76 years male: 63.41 years female: 66.19 years (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups		Religions
South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs		Sunni Muslim

Languages		Literacy
Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials		definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.2% male: 97.1% female: 97.3% (2003 est.)

Government		Top of page

Government type		Capital
republic		Male

Independance		National day
26 July 1965 (from UK)		Independence Day, 26 July (1965)

Constitution		Legal system
adopted 1 January 1998		based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Economy		Top of page

GDP (purchasing power parity)		Growth rate
$906 million (2006 est.)		18% (2006 est.)

GDP per inhabitant		Unemployment rate
$3,900 (2002 est.)		NEGL% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line		Inflation rate
21% (2004)		6% (2005 est.)

Exports		Imports
$214 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)		$832 million f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold		Currency
		rufiyaa (MVR)

Military expenditures
5.5% (2005 est.)

Geography		Top of page

Location		Area
Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India		300 sq km

Climate		Natural resources
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)		fish

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