Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the eastern Arabian Sea, within the northern Indian Ocean. Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.
Malé is the capital and the most populated city, traditionally called the "King's Island", where the ancient royal dynasties ruled from its central location. Maldives has been inhabited for over 2,500 years. Documented contact with the outside world began around 947 AD when Arab travellers began visiting the islands. In the 12th century, partly due to the importance of the Arabs and Persians as traders in the Indian Ocean, Islam reached the Maldivian Archipelago. Maldives was soon consolidated as a sultanate, developing strong commercial and cultural ties with Asia and Africa. From the mid-16th century, the region came under the increasing influence of European colonial powers, with Maldives becoming a British protectorate in 1887. Independence from the United Kingdom came in 1965, and a presidential republic was established in 1968 with an elected People's Majlis. The ensuing decades have seen political instability, efforts at democratic reform, and environmental challenges posed by climate change and rising sea levels. Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
Fishing has historically been the dominant economic activity, and remains the second largest sector, behind the rapidly growing tourism industry. Maldives rates "high" on the Human Development Index, with a per capita income significantly higher than other SAARC nations. The World Bank classifies Maldives as having an upper-middle income economy. (Full article...)
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Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( gah-YOOM; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman and diplomat who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Transport from 1977 to 1978, and as the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations from 1976 to 1977. Gayoom is the longest-serving president in Maldivian history.
Gayoom was born and raised in Malé. After serving as a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria, he returned to the Maldives in 1971 and worked as a teacher at Aminiya School. He was later appointed the manager of shipping department at the government. Gayoom was placed under house arrest in 1973 for criticising the policies of the then-president Nasir. He was later banished to Makunudhoo for four years but was released five months later as part of an amnesty following President Nasir's re-election for a second term. In 1974, he was arrested again for his continued criticism of Nasir's policies, but after 50 days in jail, he was freed and, in 1975, appointed as Special Undersecretary in the Prime Minister's Office. Gayoom later served as the deputy ambassador of the Maldives to Sri Lanka and was appointed deputy minister of transport under minister Hassan Zareer. After serving as deputy minister, he was appointed Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations in 1976. Following the vacancy of minister of transport, Gayoom was appointed to the position. As president Nasir chose not to seek re-election, a vote in the Citizen's Majlis which selected Gayoom as the candidate. In July 1978, Gayoom won the presidential referendum with 92.96% of the vote. (Full article...)
The following are images from Maldives-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Image 2A beach of Bathala island (from Maldives)
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Image 3Flyboarding in Maldives (from Maldives)
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Image 4An RAF Short Sunderland moored in the lagoon at Addu Atoll, during WWII (from Maldives)
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Image 5Sign outside the Velana International Airport (from Maldives)
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Image 7Oriental sweetlips ( Plectorhinchus vittatus) at Meeru Island, North Male Atoll (from Maldives)
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Image 9Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir signs independence agreement with the British on July 26, 1965. (from Maldives)
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Image 10Life expectancy in Maldives (from Maldives)
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Image 11Yameen in 2014 (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 121598 Bertius map of the Maldives, issued in Middelburg, Netherlands (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 13Maahefun Festival in Fuvahmulah (from Maldives)
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Image 14Flag of the Sultan of Maldives (from Maldives)
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Image 15Dark clouds bringing heavy rain, common in the rainy season (from Maldives)
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Image 1616th-century Portuguese illustration from the Códice Casanatense, depicting workers (from Maldives)
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Image 17Isdhoo Lōmāfānu is the oldest copper-plate book to have been discovered in Maldives to date. The book was written in 1194 CE (590 AH) in the Evēla form of the Divehi akuru, during the reign of Siri Fennaadheettha Mahaa Radun (Dhinei Kalaminja). (from Maldives)
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Image 18Portuguese presence in Maldives was established in 1558, by order of Constantino of Braganza, Viceroy of Portuguese India. (from Maldives)
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Image 19Building set on fire in Malé during the September 2003 protests (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 2017th-century Portuguese drawing of the fortress of Maldives and the archipelago. In Antonio Bocarro's book of Fortress (1632) (from Maldives)
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Image 21Isdhoo Lōmāfānu is the oldest copper plate book to have been discovered in the Maldives to date; the book was written in 1194 A.D., in the Evēla form of the Divehi akuru, during the reign of Siri Fennaadheettha Mahaa Radun (Dhinei Kalaminja) (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 22Map from the 1662 Tabula Indiae orientalis by Frederik de Wit (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 24Thaana script (from Maldives)
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Image 25President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih congratulates Mohamed Nasheed Speaker of the People's Majlis in May 2019 (from Maldives)
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Image 26Butorides striata in Maldives (from Maldives)
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Image 27A mechanised traditional inter-island dhoni stripped of its sails (from Maldives)
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Image 28Copy of a magical drawing. Diguvando. Fuvahmulah. (from Culture of the Maldives)
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Image 29Protesters in Malé in August 2004 (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 30Filitheyo island beach with tall palm trees and blue fresh lagoons (from Maldives)
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Image 311920 British map of the Maldives (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 32Protesters in Malé in August 2005 (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 33Each administrative atoll is marked, along with the thaana letter used to identify the atoll. Natural atolls are labelled in light blue. (from Maldives)
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Image 34The wreck of the Corbin, 1865 (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 35Maalhosmadulu Atoll seen from space. Northern Maalhosmadulu Atoll and Southern Maalhosmadulu Atoll can be seen in this picture. (from Maldives)
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Image 36Solih in November 2023 (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 37Maldivian soldiers at a presidential address in February 2024 (from Maldives)
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Image 38The Buddhist stupa at Kuruhinna in Gan Island (Haddhunmathi Atoll), western side (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 39Velana International Airport (from Maldives)
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Image 4018th-century map by Pierre Mortier of the Netherlands depicting, with detail, the islands of the Maldives (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 41Muizzu in January 2024 (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 42A selection of traditional Maldivian oarblade patterns (from Culture of the Maldives)
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Image 44Maldives soft coral (from Maldives)
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Image 451753 Van Keulen map of Ari Atoll (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 461742 drawing of cowry shells (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 47Malé harbour (from Maldives)
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Image 49A demonstration (Muzhaahira) in Fua Mulaku in support of the government (1981) (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 50The tsunami that struck Malé on 26 December 2004; photo taken by Sofwathulla Mohamed while standing on his doorstep; his apartment was entirely washed out, damaging all his belongings (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 51Masroshi. Maldivian savoury snacks (from Culture of the Maldives)
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Image 52Seaplane Terminal (from Maldives)
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Image 5318th-century map by Pierre Mortier from the Netherlands, depicting with detail the islands of Maldives (from Maldives)
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Image 54A plaque in Hukuru Mosque, Malé, Maldives, placed by Sultan Ibrahim Iskandhar on which Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari's name is written; his last name can also be read as "at-Tabrizi" instead of "al-Barbari" (from History of the Maldives)
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Image 55A boy sandboarding in Fuvahmulah, Maldives (from Culture of the Maldives)
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Image 561753 Van Keulen map of Huvadu Atoll (inaccurate) (from History of the Maldives)
Aishath Lahfa (born 21 November 1997) is a Maldivian film actress. Before pursuing a career in acting, Lahfa was an active TikTok user, which won her recognition as a performer. She made her acting debut in the web series Girlfriends (2021) and continued playing main roles in several other web series including four-part anthology crime web series Mazloom (2021–2022), family romantic dramas Rimsha (2022) and Yasna (2022). In 2023, she made her first appearance in a feature film with the horror film Kalhaki. (Full article...)
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Maldives Buildings and structures in the Maldives Education in the Maldives Environment of the Maldives Geography of the Maldives Government of the Maldives Organisations based in the Maldives
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This is a Good article, an article that meets a core set of high editorial standards.
The Maldives competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. The delegation's participation in the Athens Olympics marked the Maldives' fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics since their debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Four athletes competed across two sports; Sultan Saeed and Shifana Ali in track and field, and Hassan Mubah and Aminath Rouya Hussain in swimming. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the first round in their events, and no Maldivian has won a medal in any events. Sultan Saeed bore the Maldives' flag during the parade of nations of the opening ceremony. (Full article...)
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Hulhulé (Dhivehi: ހުޅުލެ), located at , is an island in the North Malé Atoll of the Maldives where the city's airport, Velana International Airport, is located. The island has no permanent population. (Full article...)
Religions in Maldives
Indian Subcontinent
Other countries
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