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Fact Sheet > Fast Facts |
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Fast Facts
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| Maldives - A spattering of more
than 1000 islands forming 26 exotically beautiful coral Atolls! |
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Spread over the Indian Ocean towards the
South-West of Sri Lanka and extending across the Equator,
Maldives is a dream
holiday destination for many. The beauty of these islands
is magnified manifold by their culture, heritage and traditions.
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| Location |
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Maldives
is located to the South West of Sri Lanka.
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It is an archipelago of 1190 exotic
islands scattered over the Indian Ocean.
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Of these only 202 are inhabited with
87 islands being exclusively resort islands.
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Geography
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An archipelago with 1190 coral islands forming
about 26 atolls, Maldives is located to the south west of Sri Lanka.
Scattered over the Indian Ocean, Maldives extends over the Equator.
It stretches from the North to South for over 820 kms, and from
East to West for about 120 kms.
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Some of the Islands are totally uninhabited while
some have been inhabited for the past 2500 years. While some Islands
are so small that they have only 4% of dry land with sparse plant
growth, there are Islands which cover many km and have a good flora
and fauna population.
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| Climate |
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Maldives is warm through the year, with its climate
being determined by the monsoons. There is very little variation
in its weather in general, but the climate of the Northern and Southern
atolls differ. The Southern atoll has greater rainfall than the
Northern atoll.
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Average Maximum
Temperature: 30.4 degrees Celsius. |
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Average Minimum Temperature:
25.4 degrees Celsius. |
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More.... |
| What to Wear |
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Visitors are requested to wear modest
clothing that covers your body from torso to the knees, so
as not to hurt
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the feelings of the local
people. |
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Official regulations ban any type of
nudity in public places.
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Visitors are requested to wear modest
clothing that covers your body from torso to the knees, so
as not to hurt
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the feelings of the local
people. |
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| Light cotton dresses works best. |
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| Population |
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According to the latest estimates,
the population of Maldives is 349,106. Only 202 islands of the 1190
islands are inhabited. The population of Male is growing as the
locals come here in search of employment and better opportunities.
It has grown so much over the past decades that the government has
extended Male to include Vilingili Island. The Vilingili Island
is being developed as an urban area to accommodate the growing population
of Male.
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| Culture |
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The first inhabitants of Maldives
were sea farers from south Asia. Being on the Sea route between
major ports, Maldives was a stopping point for many sea farers.
Each brought their own culture and traditions to the country, making
Maldives a melting pot of cultures.
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A predominantly Islamic nation, Maldives
has a culture resembling that of South Asia. The influence of the
British and African culture lingers and is evident from the music
and dance art forms.
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| Language |
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The native language of the Maldivian
natives is Dhivehi. But being a major tourist destination, English
is widely spoken. The staffs in the resorts are well versed in languages
like French, German, Italian and Japanese in addition to English.
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| Economy |
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Maldives mainly gets its economic
growth from Tourism. The largest industry in Maldives is the Tourism
Industry. Complementary services of the tourism industry like service
sectors, distribution, transport, construction and real estate further
contribute to the economy. Also, taking an active participation
in the economic growth of the country are the fishing industry and
the shipping industry.
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Traditional industries include local
boat or dhoni building, handicrafts such as mat-weaving, jewelry-making
and lacquer works.
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Tourism accounts for about
31% of GDP |
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60% of Maldives's Foreign
Exchange Receipts comes from the Tourism Sector. |
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90% of Government Tax Revenue
originates from Import duties and other Tourism related Taxes. |
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The second largest sector
is the Fishing Sector. |
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The Government has relaxed
its rules to encourage more foreign investments. |
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The limited availability of
cultivable land has led to the continued minor role of Agriculture
and Manufacturing |
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industry in the
Economic growth of the country. |
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18% of GDP is contributed
by the Industry involving the production of Garments and handicrafts
as well as boat |
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making. |
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Most of the Staple food is
imported. |
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| Currency
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The Rufiyaa and the Laaree
constitute the currency of Maldives. |
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1 Rufiyaa equals 100 Laarees. |
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The Rufiyaa notes are found
in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500. |
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The coins come in denominations
of MRf. 1.00, MRf. 2.00, 50 Laarees, 20 Laarees, 10 laarees,
5 laarees |
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2 laarees and
1 laaree. |
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Most commonly used foreign
currency is the US dollar with 1US$ equaling 12.8 MRf (at the
time of writing). |
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Credit cards ands traveler's
cheques are accepted in most of the resorts along with hard
cash. |
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Most commonly
accepted credit cards are the 'American Express', 'Master Card',
'Visa', 'JCB', 'Diners Club' and |
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'Euro Card'. |
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| Education |
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| The British system of Education is followed with very
high educational standards. The functional literacy rate is 98%. |
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| Health |
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The Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital or in short
the IGMH is the biggest hospital in Male and offers very good and
sophisticated medical facilities. The biggest private health care
center is the ADK which follows high medical standards. Some resorts
have in house doctor facility and most of them have decompression
chambers for emergencies during diving.
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| Local Time |
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| Business
Hours |
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The working days are from
Sunday to Thursday. |
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Friday and Saturday are considered
as a weekend. |
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The office timings in the
government sector are 7.30 am - 2.30 pm. |
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During the festival of Ramadan,
the offices close at 1.30 pm itself. |
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The office timings in Private
sector are 9.00 am - 5.00 pm. |
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The private offices have a
half day on Saturday, while the Government offices are closed
for the weekend. |
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| Communication |
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| The communication facilities in Maldives
have up to date technology and international Satellite links making
it well connected with the world outside its picturesque beaches. |
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All resorts have International
Direct Dial Phone and fax facility as part of their basic infrastructure. |
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Card phones are also available
in all the inhabited islands. |
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Most of the cruise ships provide
wireless phone service. |
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The Maldives Telecommunications
Company, Dhiraagu provides mobile telephones for daily rental. |
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Dhiraagu is also the Internet
Service Provider in Maldives. |
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