Officially, the Maldives is the Republic of Maldives. This country is the smallest independent country in South Asia. Its area is only 298 square kilometers. The country is located in the Indian Ocean, in the Arabian Sea.
It is located about one thousand kilometers southwest of the mainland of India and Sri Lanka. The country is basically an island state and consists of about 200 islands, large and small. There are 26 "atlases" here. Atoll is the administrative department.
The name of the capital is 'Male'. Which is a very developed city. Also, there is Ginger City. Divehi is the official language of the Maldives. It is home to hundreds of thousands of Maldivians.
The Maldives is a presidential republic. There is no Prime Minister's name in this country.
Mamun Abdul Gayoom who was the President of this country for 30 years. Former First President-elect Mohammad Nasheed also held a meeting under the sea with members of the Maldivian cabinet to draw the attention of world leaders to the possibility of the Maldives sinking as a result of global climate change. Which was the world's first underwater cabinet meeting.
The Maldives has no permanent army but the Maldives has a national defense force. Which includes the Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Special Forces.
IFIC Bank of Bangladesh has long been the central bank of the Maldives. Although the current central bank of the country is called "Maldives Monetary Authority". Which is a member of the Asian Clearing Union. The currency of the Maldives is the Maldivian Rufia. In addition, IFIC Bank of Bangladesh has now set up a publicly owned public commercial bank "Nepal-Bangladesh Bank" in Nepal.
Maldives is a founding member of SAARC. The Maldives is also a member of the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement / NAM. Formerly a member of the Commonwealth, it was expelled in 2016 after facing international criticism.
The World Bank has identified the Maldives as an upper middle income country. Historically, the country has been heavily dependent on fish farming. But now the tourism industry has developed tremendously and tourism is the driving force of the country's main economy. It is currently a country with a high Human Development Index. On the other hand, the per capita income of this country is the highest among South Asian countries, 24,000 US dollars.
The name of the legislature of Maldives is "People's Majlis". The country became independent from the United Kingdom in 1965.
Its population is around 4 lakhs. Here, the Maldives National University (founded 2011) is located. Besides, a large number of citizens of this country study medicine and other subjects in Bangladesh.
Naturally this country is very beautiful. There are coral reefs here, beautiful marine ecosystems. The Maldives is said to be home to eleven hundred species of fish. The country has six "coral mosques" which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
About 99% of the population is Muslim and Sharia law is in place.
To the south of the Maldives is a British territory called the "British Indian Ocean Territory". Its capital is Camp Justice and there has always been an American air base.
