Data at glance of Maldives - average on period

History

A sultanate since the 12th century, the Maldives became a British protectorate in 1887 and a republic in 1968, three years after independence. President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM dominated Maldives' political scene for 30 years, elected to six successive terms by single-party referendums. After political demonstrations in the capital Male in 2003, GAYOOM and his government pledged to embark upon a process of liberalization and democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Political parties were legalized in 2005. In 2008, a constituent assembly -- termed the "Special Majlis" -- finalized a new constitution ratified by GAYOOM. The first-ever presidential elections under a multi-candidate, multi-party system were held later that year. GAYOOM was defeated in a runoff by Mohamed NASHEED, a political activist whom the regime had jailed several years earlier. In 2012, after several weeks of street protests in response to a top judge's arrest, NASHEED resigned the presidency and handed over power to Vice President Mohammed WAHEED Hassan Maniku. A government-appointed Commission of National Inquiry concluded that there was no evidence of a coup, but NASHEED contended that police and military personnel forced him to resign. NASHEED, WAHEED, and Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom ran in the 2013 elections with YAMEEN ultimately winning the presidency after three rounds of voting. In 2018, YAMEEN lost his reelection bid to parliamentarian Ibrahim Mohamed SOLIH. YAMEEN was arrested and jailed in 2022 on corruption charges. Maldives' fourth democratic election was held in September 2023. The winner, Male City Mayor Dr. Mohamed MUIZZU, campaigned on a platform of Maldivian sovereignty, vowing to remove Indian military personnel from the country. MUIZZU represents a joint Progressive Pary of Maldives and People's National Congress (PPM/PNC) coalition.

Environment

Area: 298 sq km km2

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

Natural resources: fish

Ethnic characteristics

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

Languages:

Religions: Sunni Muslim (official)

Government

Capital: Malé

Government type: presidential republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Mohamed MUIZZU (since 17 November 2023)

Head of government: President Mohamed MUIZZU (since 17 November 2023)

Legislative branch

Description: People's Majlis (Majlis) - unicameral

Industries

tourism, fish processing, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining

GDP by sector: Agriculture: 3% (2024 est.), Industry: 9% (2024 est.), Services: 73.8% (2024 est.)

Trade

Export partners: Thailand 32%, India 21%, Singapore 9%, UK 7%, Germany 5% (2023)

Export commodities: fish, aircraft, refined petroleum, scrap iron, natural gas (2023)

Import partners: India 15%, UAE 15%, Oman 14%, China 12%, Singapore 8% (2023)

Import commodities: refined petroleum, plastic products, aircraft, granite, ships (2023)

Geography

Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India