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Maldives Facts and Figures from Encarta Go to article
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Maldives
Capital Malé
Area 298 sq km
115 sq mi
Maldives: Flag and Anthem
Maldives: Flag and Anthem
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People
Population 369,031 (2007 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 2.73 percent (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 563,760 (2007 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 815,031 (2007 estimate)
Population density 1,230 persons per sq km (2007 estimate)
3,186 persons per sq mi (2007 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 30 percent (2005 estimate)
Share rural 70 percent (2005 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Malé 84,000 (2001 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, African
Languages
Divehi (official; dialect of Sinhala), English
Religious affiliations
Muslim (Islam is the official religion; mostly Sunni Muslim) 99 percent
Other (including Buddhist and Hindus) 1 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 64.8 years (2007 estimate)
Female 66.2 years (2007 estimate)
Male 63.4 years (2007 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 53 deaths per 1,000 live births (2007 estimate)
Population per physician 1,287 people (2004)
Population per hospital bed 588 people (2000)
Literacy rate
Total 97.5 percent (2005 estimate)
Female 97.6 percent (2005 estimate)
Male 97.3 percent (2005 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 6.5 percent (1998-1999)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 7 years (2002-2003)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 20 students per teacher (2002-2003)
Government
Form of government Republic
Voting qualifications Universal at age 21
Constitution 1 January 1998
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel Not available
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 6.4 percent (2003)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $766 million (2005)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $2,325.60 (2005)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 11.2 percent (1998)
Industry Not available
Services Not available
Employment
Number of workers 117,312 (2005)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 14 percent (2000)
Industry 19 percent (2000)
Services 50 percent (2000)
Unemployment rate 2 percent (2000)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $331.3 million (2005)
Total expenditure $283.3 million (2005)
Monetary unit 1 rufiyaa (Rf), consisting of 100 laari
Major trade partners for exports
United States, Sri Lanka, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany
Major trade partners for imports
Singapore, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and India
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 100 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2003 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 129 (1997)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 98 (2005)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 35 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 19 (2003)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 18 (1996)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 7.8 (2003)
Paved road as a share of total roads Not available
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.
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