Country Guide

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Mongolia NEW
Mali
Zambia
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Honduras
The Two Congos
Gambia
Barbados
Cyprus
The Republic of Mozambique
The Central African Republic
Chechnya
Malta
Botswana
St. Lucia
Eritrea
Antigua and Barbuda
Laos
Moldova
Yemen
Kyrgyzstan
Macao
Sierra Leone
Kiribati
Costa Rica
Trinidad and Tobago
Niger
Madagascar
Mauritania
St. Kitts - Nevis
Qatar
Republic of Palau
Sao Tomé e Principe
Maldives
Swaziland
Liechtenstein
The Solomon Islands
Comoros
Chad
Brunei
Andorra
Grenada

Maldives

THE Maldives is made up of close to 2000 small coral islands whose total area is 298 sq. kilometres, making it the smallest independent country in Asia.

It has a population of about 2,50,000. Most of the people are either of Sinhalese or Indian or Arab descent and nearly all are Muslims. Divehi, a Sinhalese dialect, is the main language.

There are not many ways of earning a living in a country situated in the middle of an ocean. Most of the people are engaged in farming or employed in the tourism industry. Some grow coconuts or make garments for export. The Maldives is a founder-member of SAARC (South Asian Association Regional Co-operation) of which India is a member state.

There was a spot of trouble in the Maldives in 1988 when mercenaries from Sri Lanka tried to overthrow the Government. The government asked India for help and Indian paratroopers soon restored order in the country. Now the only invasion that the Maldives fears is an invasion by the sea. Flooding occurs periodically in some islands and if the sea level rises due to global warming, some of the islands may go underwater permanently.

The capital of Maldives is Male.

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Last updated on :12/5/2001