Maldives at a glance

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(maldivesembassy.cn/wikipedia.org)
Updated: 2009-08-19 13:48

The Maldives, formerly known as the Maldive Islands, is a country with a group of Atolls in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Male.

There are altogether 1,192 islands that stretch for about 820 km from North to South, and 130 km at the widest point. No island exceeds a length of 7.2 km or an altitude of 3 meters above sea-level. 194 islands are inhabited; the rest includes the 87 tourist resorts and uninhabited islands, some of which are used mostly for agricultural activities.

The capital Male has a population of over 75,000, is the seat of government and the centre of trade, commerce, business and education. Malé is located in the middle of the atoll chain.

The population of Maldives based on the 2005 Census is 298,968 (151,459 male and 147,509 female).

The religion in the Maldives is Islam (Sunni). Dhivehi is the official language, although English is widely spoken, and is used as a medium of education for secondary schools.

History

It is believed that the first inhabitants in the Maldives were Giraavaru tribe in the 5th century BC. Before 1153 AD the settlers of the Maldives were Aryans from Sri Lanka and India, which is the reason for the similarities between old Sinhala and Dhivehi.

Archaeological findings state that before the Maldivians embraced Islam Buddhism was practiced by the then Maldivians. Islam was first brought by the Arab traders and travelers who were settled in the Malabar Coast of India who travelled to the Maldives as it was on route of those traders.

A Moroccan traveler and historian Mohammad Abdullah Ibn-Battuta visited Maldives during 14th century and documented that the Maldives embraced Islam after an Islamic scholar, Abul Barakaath Yoosuf Al Barbaree visited to the Maldives.

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