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The Maldives, [d] officially the Republic of Maldives, [e] 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 (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland.
The Maldives gained total independence from the British on 26 July 1965. [5] However, the British continued to maintain an air base on the island of Gan in the southernmost atoll until 1976. [1] The British departure in 1976, at the height of the Cold War, almost immediately triggered foreign speculation about the future of the air base. [1]
The Maldives is located south of India's Lakshadweep islands, and about seven hundred kilometres (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka. The twenty-six atolls of Maldives' encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, two hundred and fifty islands of which are inhabited.
Out of 1,192 islands of the Maldives, 187 are inhabited. [1] They are listed by administrative division/atoll. The islands are divided into: Inhabited islands - those officially recognized as towns, villages, fishing, and farming communities with permanent human habitation. They all have an island office and island chiefs (councilor and ...
Malé [a] is the capital and most populous city of the Maldives.With a population of 211,908 in 2022 [1] within its administrative area and coterminous geographical area of 8.30 square kilometres (3.20 sq mi), Malé is also one of the most densely populated cities in the world.
This reef surface is 61 islands provided with vegetation, and a variable number of sandy bays (between 4 and 14). Half (38) of these islands are less than 10 hectares, constituting less than 20% of the atoll lands. [1] The biggest island is Dharavandhoo (45,5 ha), followed by Kunfunadhoo (35 ha).
The difficulty of accessing social services and infrastructure in the outer atolls has meant that geography is a key reason for poverty and income disparity in Maldives. [33] In islands far from the capital, there tends to be lack of production, inadequate use of fishery resources, low value chain development and insufficient credit for small ...
There are more than 20 islands in the Atoll designated for tourist resorts. Each island resort is self-contained with accommodation and recreational facilities, such as tennis court. Scuba diving is the most popular tourist activity in the Maldives. The diving in Ari Atoll is extensive and is often defined by location within the atoll, either ...