Outline of Maldives

The Flag of Maldives		The National Emblem of Maldives

The location of the Maldives

An enlargeable map of the Republic of Maldives

See also: Index of Maldives-related articles

The Republic of Maldives, commonly known as the Maldive Islands or the Maldives, is an island nation comprising a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean.^[1] The Maldives is located south of India's Lakshadweep islands, and about seven hundred kilometres (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka. The twenty-six atolls of Maldives' encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, two hundred and fifty islands of which are inhabited.

The name "Maldives" may derive from Maale Dhivehi Raajje ("The Island Kingdom [under the authority of] Malé")."^[2] Some scholars believe that the name "Maldives" derives from the Sanskrit maladvipa, meaning "garland of islands",^[3] or from mahila dvipa, meaning "island of women",^{[citation needed]} but these names are not found in ancient Sanskrit literature. Instead, classical Sanskrit texts mention the "Hundred Thousand Islands" (Lakshadweepa); a generic name which would include not only the Maldives, but also the Laccadives and the Chagos island groups.^{[citation needed]} Another theory suggests that the name "Maldives" derives from the Tamil "malai tivu" meaning "island of hills." Some medieval Arab travellers such as Ibn Batuta called the islands "Mahal Dibiyat" from the Arabic word Mahal ("palace")." ^[4] This is the name presently inscribed in the scroll of the Maldive state emblem.

The inhabitants were Buddhist, probably since Ashoka's period, in the 3rd century BC. Islam was introduced in 1153. The Maldives came then under the influence of the Portuguese (1558) and the Dutch (1654) seaborne empires. And in 1887 it became a British protectorate. In 1965, the Maldives obtained independence from Britain (originally under the name "Maldive Islands"), and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a Republic.

The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of population. It is also the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Maldives:

General reference

An enlargeable basic map of Maldives

• Pronunciation:/ˈmɒldaɪvz/ or /ˈmɒldiːvz/
• Common English country name: Maldives
• Official English country name: The Republic of Maldives
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): Maldivian
• Demonym(s): Maldivians
• Etymology: Name of Maldives
• ISO country codes: MV, MDV, 462
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:MV
• Internet country code top-level domain: .mv

Geography of Maldives

Main article: Geography of Maldives

• Maldives is: an island country
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere
  • Indian Ocean
    • between the Arabian Sea and the Laccadive Sea
  • Eurasia
    • Asia
      • South Asia
        • Indian subcontinent (off the coast of India, rising above the oceanic crust)
  • Time zone: UTC+05
  • Extreme points of Maldives:
    • High: unnamed location on Villingili 2.4 m (8 ft) – lowest high point of any country
    • Low: Indian Ocean 0 m
  • Land boundaries: none
  • Coastline: Indian Ocean 644 km
• Population of Maldives: 306,000 - 173rd most populous country
• Area of Maldives: 298 km²
• Atlas of Maldives

Environment of Maldives

An enlargeable satellite image of Maldives

Main article: Environment of Maldives

• Climate of Maldives
• Environmental issues in Maldives
• Ecoregions in Maldives
• Renewable energy in Maldives
• Geology of Maldives
• Protected areas of Maldives
  • Biosphere reserves in Maldives
  • National parks of Maldives
• Wildlife of Maldives
  • Birds of Maldives

Natural geographic features of Maldives

Main article: Landforms of Maldives

• Glaciers of Maldives
• Islands of Maldives
• Lakes of Maldives
• Mountains of Maldives
  • Volcanoes in Maldives
• Rivers of Maldives
  • Waterfalls of Maldives
• Valleys of Maldives
• World Heritage Sites in Maldives: None

Regions of Maldives

Main article: Regions of Maldives

Ecoregions of Maldives

Main articles: List of ecoregions in Maldives and Ecoregions in Maldives

Administrative divisions of Maldives

None

Municipalities of Maldives

Main article: Municipalities of Maldives

• Capital of Maldives: Malé
• Cities of Maldives

Demography of Maldives

Main article: Demographics of Maldives

Government and politics of Maldives

Main article: Government of Maldives and Politics of Maldives

• Form of government:
• Capital of Maldives: Malé

• Elections in Maldives
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Maldives
• Political scandals of Maldives
• Taxation in Maldives

Branches of the government of Maldives

Main article: Government of Maldives

Executive branch of the government of Maldives

• Head of state: President of Maldives,
• Head of government: President of Maldives,
• Cabinet of Maldives

Legislative branch of the government of Maldives

• Parliament of Maldives (bicameral)
  • Upper house: Senate of Maldives
  • Lower house: House of Commons of Maldives

Judicial branch of the government of Maldives

Main article: Court system of Maldives

• Supreme Court of Maldives

Foreign relations of Maldives

Main article: Foreign relations of Maldives

• Diplomatic missions in Maldives
• Diplomatic missions of Maldives

International organization membership

The Republic of Maldives is a member of:^[1]

Asian Development Bank (ADB) Colombo Plan (CP) Commonwealth of Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Group of 77 (G77) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) International Development Association (IDA) International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Monetary Fund (IMF) International Olympic Committee (IOC) International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

Nonaligned Movement (NAM) Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme (SACEP) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) United Nations (UN) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Universal Postal Union (UPU) World Customs Organization (WCO) World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Meteorological Organization (WMO) World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) World Trade Organization (WTO)

Law and order in Maldives

Main article: Law of Maldives

• Capital punishment in Maldives
• Constitution of Maldives
• Crime in Maldives
• Human rights in Maldives
  • LGBT rights in Maldives
  • Freedom of religion in Maldives
• Law enforcement in Maldives

Military of Maldives

Main article: Military of Maldives

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief:
    • Ministry of Defence of Maldives
• Forces
  • Army of Maldives
  • Navy of Maldives
  • Air Force of Maldives
  • Special Forces (Maldives)
• Military history of Maldives
• Military ranks of Maldives

Local government in Maldives

Main article: Local government in Maldives

History of Maldives

Main article: History of Maldives, Timeline of the history of Maldives, and Current events of Maldives

• Economic history of Maldives
• Military history of Maldives

Culture of Maldives

Main article: Culture of Maldives

• Architecture of Maldives
• Cuisine of Maldives
• Ethnic minorities in Maldives
• Festivals in Maldives
• Humor in Maldives
• Languages of Maldives
• Media in Maldives
• National symbols of Maldives
  • Coat of arms of Maldives
  • Flag of Maldives
  • National anthem of Maldives
• People of Maldives
• Prostitution in Maldives
• Public holidays in Maldives
• Records of Maldives
• Religion in Maldives
  • Roman Catholicism in Maldives
  • Islam in Maldives
  • Judaism in Maldives
• World Heritage Sites in Maldives: None

Art in Maldives

• Art in Maldives
• Cinema of Maldives
• Literature of Maldives
• Music of Maldives
• Television in Maldives
• Theatre in Maldives

Sports in Maldives

Main article: Sports in Maldives

• Football in Maldives
• Cricket in Maldives
• Maldives at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of Maldives

Main article: Economy of Maldives

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 165th (one hundred and sixty fifth)

• Agriculture in Maldives
• Banking in Maldives
  • National Bank of Maldives
• Communications in Maldives
  • Internet in Maldives
• Companies of Maldives

• Currency of Maldives: Rufiyaa
  • ISO 4217: MVR

• Economic history of Maldives
• Energy in Maldives
  • Energy policy of Maldives
  • Oil industry in Maldives
• Health care in Maldives
• Mining in Maldives
• Maldives Stock Exchange
• Tourism in Maldives
• Transport in Maldives
  • Airports in Maldives
  • Rail transport in Maldives
  • Roads in Maldives
• Water supply and sanitation in Maldives

Education in Maldives

Main article: Education in Maldives

See also

Asia portal

Main article: Maldives

• List of international rankings
• List of Maldives-related topics
• Member state of the Commonwealth of Nations
• Member state of the United Nations
• Outline of Asia
• Outline of geography

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Maldives". The World Factbook. United States Central Intelligence Agency. July 7, 2009. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mv.html. Retrieved July 23, 2009. 
2. ^ Caldwell, Comparative Dravidian Grammar, p. 27-28
3. ^ J Hogendorn and M Johnson, The Shell Money of the Slave Trade, p. 20-22
4. ^ Ibn Batuta, Travels in Asia and Africa, translated by A.R. Gibb

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Maldives

Government

• The President's Office - Republic of Maldives
• (Dhivehi) / (English) Information Ministry

Maps

• Google Maps satellite image of the Maldives
• WikiMapia.org annotated map of the Maldives
• Maps of the Maldivian Atolls

Overviews and Data

• CIA World Fact Book on Maldives
• "Maldives: Paradise soon to be lost". BBC News. 2004-07-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3930765.stm. Retrieved 2008-08-05. 

History and Culture

• Anthropologic, Ethnographic and Ethnologic information about the Maldives
• MaldivesCulture.com Single source of Maldives history in English translated from the Official 'Thareehk'(History) documentation & more