Background on Maldives

 

The Republic of the Maldives is situated in the Indian Ocean south west of India and Sri Lanka. The country consists of 1190 islands spread like a necklace for some 700km across the equator from north to south. It is a nation of 1190 islands lying some 700km south west of India and Sri Lanka.

Maldives is a remarkably unique and homogeneous nation in terms of shared history, culture, and religion. Maldivians take pride in their heritage and way of life which has provided a firm foundation for both unity and stability. The country is a constitutional democracy with an elected Government.

Maldives is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank and many more other international organizations.

Over the past two decades the traditional economic life of subsistence agriculture and fisheries has been transformed into a market driven, skills-based economy.

Infrastructure is well developed in telecommunication with its stare of the art facilities. Telephone ownership is high in the capital and in the tourist islands. Apart from the capital most of the southern atolls now have full telecommunication facilities service expanded to all the inhabited islands.

Being a nation of islands, the main mode of transportation is by sea. However due to increased tourist traffic, air travel between the airport and all islands has increased tremendously. Light aircraft, sea planes, and helicopter operate to make all the islands fully accessible. There are 5 airports countrywide, including 2 airports that can accommodate wide-bodied aircraft.

The main international airport, commercial port and ‘hub’ of the country is at Male’.

Electricity and power generation are currently provided by the Public sector to densely populated islands. In other areas private electricity is used.