The Republic of Maldives (Divehi Rajjeyge Jumhuriyya) is an island state in the southwest of the south point of India in the Indian ocean and consists of several atolls and about 2,000 islands, about which about 200 is inhabited by native ones and 87 further exclusively for tourists is reserved.

Geography

The Maldives are southwest a chain from 19 Inselgruppen in the Indian ocean, from India and Sri Lanka. They extend over 764 kilometers in north south direction to briefly north the equator. The islands are atolls with corral reefs, which surround the summits of a volcanic mountain chain sunk in the sea. Altogether only about 200 is inhabited of that nearly 2,000 islands.

The nearby barrier-like reefs offer the only protection from sometimes violent eddy towers, which come with the Monsunen. The islands are with palms and bread fruit trees bewachsen and surrounded by sand beaches and clear lagoons.

For travelers important: The Maldives can be differentiated with respect to islands for native ones and islands for tourists. Tourists have only cause admission on native islands; usually this is possible only in the context of led routes "“Iceland Hopping"”. Beyond that one can request a national permission. Such permission is given rarely and under editions.

Cities

Only the capital is considered as city, in the following the most densely populated islands (conditions counting March 2006):

1. 104,403 inhabitants
2. Hithadhoo: 9,407 inhabitants
3. Fuvammulah: 7,642 inhabitants
4. Kulhudhuffushi: 7,206 inhabitants
5. Thinadhoo: 4,453 inhabitants.

See also: List of the cities on the Maldives

Climate

The Maldives have a very constantly hot, tropical climate in the usually calm Indian ocean. The temperatures fall even at night rarely under 25 degrees.

The climate coining/shaping are the southwest monsoon from May to Octobers and the northeast monsoon from November to April. The southwest monsoon normally brings in June and July wind and more intensive precipitation. As a best travel time the months are considered November until April.

Population

The 298,842 inhabitants (counting March 2006) of the Maldives are Sunni Muslims. Condition for the Maldivian nationality is the Muslim Glaubensbekenntnis. The maldivische language, Divehi, resembles Singhalesi, one of the office languages of Sri Lanka. The medical support of the population be based to a large extent on traditional working methods and is insufficient.

History

The settlement of the Maldives took their beginning in 5. Century v. Chr., when buddhistische Fischer from India and the island Ceylon (today's Sri Lanka) on the islands established themselves. In 12. Arab buyers a sultanate on the islands established and introduced century the Islam.

In the second half 16. Century tried the Portuguese to establish a constant address on the islands. Thereupon it came to a guerrilla war, in which the Portuguese were subject. Only in 17. Century created it a European country to subject the islands: The Netherlands made from the Maldivian Sultanate of a protectorate, after they had occupied also Ceylon. When the Netherlands Ceylon lost to the British 1796, also the Maldives turned out under British influence.

From 1887 to 1965 the Maldives were British protectorate.

1932 received the Maldives their first condition from Sultan Mohammed Shamsudeen III. 1942 built the united Kingdom of a military airport on the island Gan. 1953 were proclaimed the republic. Thereupon a relative of the Sultans took over the office for president. After a popular vote however again the sultanate was introduced and Mohammed Farid Didi became again Sultan. Three years later, 1956, received the Maldives internal autonomy, however the united kingdom established further military airports. 1963 gave up to Great Britain the islands, however the right to use at the military airports kept. The Maldives joined the Colombo plan. Two years later became the Maldives independently.

By constitutional amendment 1968 the sultanate into a republic were converted and terminated over 250 years the long rule of the Didi. Amir Ibrahim Nasir became state and head of the government. One year later was separated the republic under the name Maldives again ausgerufen.1972 the offices of the head of state and the head of the government. Three years later the office head of the government again was abolished and the president took over this Amt.1976 left the British the country finally, since the utilization period of the military airports had run off. the Maldives joined 1982 the Commonwealth. In the capital took place 1989 an international conference because of the threat of the islands by the rising sea level.

1972 began the mass tourism on the islands. On 26 December 2004 numerous settlements and Touristenresorts on the islands were strongly damaged or destroyed by a Flutwelle in consequence of the sea-quake in the Indian ocean. Differently than on flat sea ranges the convenient coasts Sri Lankas or India, where Tsunamis their Kraft can develop, most atolls remained exempted from larger destruction.

The heads of state of the Maldives

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