Maldives | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

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Facts & Figures

  • President: Ibrahim "Ibu" Mohamed Solih (2018)

    Land area: 115 sq mi (298 sq km)

    Population (est. 2022): 390,164; (growth rate: –0.14%); birth rate: 15.54/1000; infant mortality rate: 25.7/1000; life expectancy: 74.57

    Capital and largest city (2018 est.): Malé, 177,000

    Monetary unit: Maldivian rufiyaa

    Official name: Republic of Maldives

    Current government officials

    Languages: Dhivehi (official, dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English (spoken by most government officials)

    Ethnicity/race: homogeneous mixture of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, Australasian, and African resulting from historical changes in regional hegemony over marine trade routes.

    Religion: Sunni Muslim (official)

    National Holiday: Independence Day, July 26

    Literacy rate: 97.7% (2016 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $7.05 billion; per capita $13,000. Real growth rate: 4.8%. Inflation: 2.3%. Unemployment: 2.9% (2017 est.). Arable land: 10%. Agriculture: coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish. Labor force: 222,200 (2017); agriculture 7.7%, industry 22.8%, services 69.5% (2017). Industries: tourism, fish processing, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining. Natural resource: fish. Exports: $3.72 billion (2019 est.).Major trading partners (exports): Thailand 24%, United States 13%, China 12%, France 11%, Germany 11%, Italy 5%, United Kingdom 5% (2019). Imports: $4.09 billion (2019 est.) Major trading partners (imports): United Arab Emirates 24%, China 16%, Singapore 14%, India 11%, Malaysia 6%, Thailand 5% (2019).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 14,508 (2020); mobile cellular: 717,708 (2020). Broadcast media: state-owned radio and TV monopoly until recently; 4 state-operated and 7 privately owned TV stations and 4 state-operated and 7 privately owned radio stations (2019). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3,296 (2012). Internet users: 340,542 (2020).

    Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 93 km (2018). Ports and harbors: Malé. Airports: 9 (2021).

    International disputes: none.

    Major sources and definitions

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