The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.
The Maldives has remained an independent nation throughout its recorded history, save for a brief spell of Portuguese occupation in the mid-16th century. From 1887 to 1965, the country was a British protectorate while retaining full internal sovereignty. At its independence in 1965, the Maldives joined the United Nations on 20 September.
Addu City is a city in Maldives that consists of the inhabited islands of Addu Atoll, the southernmost atoll of the archipelago. Addu City is the second-largest urban area in Maldives, in terms of population, and is one of the two urban areas to get the status of "city" other than the capital city, Malé, and Fuvahmulah. Addu City has 6 districts. They are Hithadhoo, Maradhoo-Feydhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo, Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo. These divisions are naturally islands, but are well connected. In addition, Addu Atoll has other uninhabited islands.
Industries in the Maldives center around fishing and tourism, with some overlap between the two with recreational fishing.
Majeediyya School is the first Maldivian government school, located in Malé, Maldives. It only accepted boys until the introduction of Primary Education in 2010, which allowed girls to attend the school as well. The English medium is followed throughout all subjects, with the exception of Dhivehi and Islam.
Fuvahmulah is an island (atoll) in the Maldives. It is under Maldives' administrative division of Gnaviyani Atoll. The island is the second southernmost administrative atoll, located to the south of Huvadhu Atoll and to the north of Seenu Atoll. It's also the third most populous island after Malé and Addu.
Velana International Airport (VIA), also known as Malé-Velana International Airport is the main international airport in the Maldives. It is located on Hulhulé Island in the southern Malé Atoll, nearby the capital island Malé. The airport is well connected with major airports around the world, mostly serving as the main gateway into the Maldives for tourists. It is managed financially and administratively by a state owned company known as Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL).
The People's Majlis is the unicameral legislative body of Maldives. It has the authority to enact, amend and revise laws, as outlined in the Constitution of the Maldives. It is composed of 93 members as of 2024.
Gan International Airport (GIA) is an international airport located on the island of Gan in Addu Atoll in the island nation of the Maldives. As of June 2024, it is one of five international airports in the Maldives.
Qasim Ibrahim, also known as Burumaa Qasim, is a Maldivian politician, business magnate and philanthropist. As the chairman and founder of the Villa Group, he is one of the country's wealthiest businessmen, with a net worth of around 18 billion MVR
The Delhi–Noida Direct Flyway or DND Flyway is India's first 8-lane wide, 7.5 km (4.7 mi) long access-controlled expressway in Delhi NCR. It connects Maharani Bagh and Nizamuddin on the western side to Noida (Sector-15A) and Mayur Vihar on the eastern side of the Yamuna river. The Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL) owned by IL&FS, operate and maintains it on build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) basis. The expressway, which was opened to the public in January 2001 was constructed by Japan based Mitsui-Marubeni Corporation Ltd. The length of main carriageway (MCW), including bridge on Yamuna river is 6.0 km. Rest 1.5 km is Mayur Vihar link (MVL), which was opened in 2008.
India and Maldives are neighbours sharing a maritime border. India continues to contribute to maintaining security as well as providing financial aid on the island nation.
Maldives–Pakistan relations are the foreign relations between Pakistan and the Maldives.
Voice of Maldives, or Dhivehi Raajjeyge Adu, is a radio station in the Republic of Maldives. Raajjé Radio, owned by the state, began broadcasting in 1962, under the name 'Male Radio'. It runs two radio channels, Voice of Maldives on 1458 kHz AM with a live internet stream and Raajje FM (entertainment).
Pak-Turk Maarif International Schools & Colleges is a chain of private international educational institutes under the umbrella of Turkish Maarif Foundation. Established in 2018, for the promotion of literacy in Pakistan, Pak-Turk Maarif has 27 branches in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Khairpur, Multan, Jamshoro, Peshawar, Hyderabad and Quetta, with a total student population of more than 13000. Before 2018, the school was called Pak-Turk International Schools and was not under the umbrella of the Turkish Maarif Foundation.
Somalia–Turkey relations are bilateral relations between Somalia and Turkey. The two nations are longstanding partners, engaging in close development cooperation.
Dhuvaafaru is an inhabited island of Maldives located in the eastern edge of Raa Atoll. Resettlement of the island started on 14 December 2008 to inhabit the displaced residents of Kandholhudhoo who were the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
Diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Maldives were established in 1972. China has an embassy in Malé which opened in November 2011, and the Maldives has an embassy in Beijing which opened in 2009. Approximately 70 percent of the Maldives' total debt is attributed to Chinese projects, with an annual payment of US$92 million to China, constituting around 10 percent of the country's entire budget. China has become pervasive in the Maldives, exerting influence over infrastructure, trade, and energy sectors, raising concerns of a new form of Chinese entrapment.
The Sinamalé Bridge links the islands of Malé, Hulhulé and Hulhumalé in the Maldives. The 1.39 km long bridge has two car lanes and separate lanes for motorcycles, and pedestrians, and opened on 30 August 2018. It was originally called the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge due to funding received from the Chinese government. It is the first inter-island bridge in the Maldives.
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, commonly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023.
