Maldives (2001) | West Bank (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 19 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural) and 1 other first-order administrative division*; Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Maale*, Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
45.63% (male 72,920; female 68,895) 15-64 years: 51.37% (male 81,506; female 78,149) 65 years and over: 3% (male 4,806; female 4,488) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 551,243/female 524,800)
15-64 years: 54.2% (male 704,209/female 670,382) 65 years and over: 3.4% (male 36,175/female 49,118) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 3 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
300 sq km land: 300 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 5,860 sq km
land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
Area - comparative | about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Delaware |
Background | The Maldives were long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. They became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago. | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington in September 1993, provided for a transitional period of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. A transfer of authority to the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and, in additional areas of the West Bank, pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and the West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out a year later. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement has been postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides have not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community has refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it does not recognize Israel, will not renounce violence, and refuses to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. Since March 2006, President ABBAS has had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift the economic siege on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene in late 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. |
Birth rate | 38.15 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 30.99 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$166 million (excluding foreign grants) expenditures: $192 million, including capital expenditures of $80 million (1999 est.) |
revenues: $1.23 billion
expenditures: $1.64 billion (2005) |
Capital | Male | - |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August) | temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 644 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted January 1998 | - |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Maldives conventional short form: Maldives local long form: Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa local short form: Dhivehi Raajje |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: West Bank |
Currency | rufiyaa (MVR) | - |
Death rate | 8.09 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $237 million (2000 est.) | $NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Maldives; the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic visits there | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Maldives does not have an embassy in the US, but does have a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York | - |
Disputes - international | none | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $1.102 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, Maldives largest industry, accounts for 20% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes. Almost 400,000 tourists visited the islands in 1998. Fishing is a second leading sector. The Maldivian Government began an economic reform program in 1989 initially by lifting import quotas and opening some exports to the private sector. Subsequently, it has liberalized regulations to allow more foreign investment. Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play a minor role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labor. Most staple foods must be imported. Industry, which consists mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts, accounts for about 18% of GDP. Maldivian authorities worry about the impact of erosion and possible global warming on their low-lying country; 80% of the area is one meter or less above sea level. | The West Bank - the larger of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifadah began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA since HAMAS took office in March 2006 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. |
Electricity - consumption | 93.9 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 101 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m |
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m |
Environment - current issues | depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
Exchange rates | rufiyaa per US dollar - 11.770 (fixed rate since 1995) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since 11 November 1978); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: appointed by the president; note - need not be members of Majlis elections: president nominated by the Majlis and then that nomination must be ratified by a national referendum (at least a 51% approval margin is required); president elected for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2003) election results: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM reelected; percent of popular vote - Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM 90.9% |
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Exports | $88 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
Exports - commodities | fish, clothing | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | US, UK, Sri Lanka, Japan | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a large green rectangle in the center bearing a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $594 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
20% industry: 18% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 18.2% services: 73.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,000 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.6% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 15 N, 73 00 E | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
Geography - note | 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 242 West Bank settlements and 29 East Jerusalem settlements in addition to at least 20 occupied outposts (August 2005 est.) |
Highways | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km; note - Male has 9.6 km of coral highways within the city (1988 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $372 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, intermediate and capital goods, petroleum products | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Canada | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006) |
Independence | 26 July 1965 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (1996 est.) | 2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
Industries | fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
Infant mortality rate | 63.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.59 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.9% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
International organization participation | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court | - |
Labor force | 67,000 (1995) | 568,000 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 22%, industry 18%, services 60% (1995) | agriculture: 16%
industry: 29% services: 55% (2005) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 404 km
border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 3% other: 84% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001) |
Languages | Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | - |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's Council or Majlis (50 seats; 42 elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 November 1999 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 42 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population:
62.56 years male: 61.39 years female: 63.8 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 73.46 years
male: 71.68 years female: 75.35 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93.2% male: 93.3% female: 93% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 58,604 GRT/81,451 DWT ships by type: cargo 16, short-sea passenger 1 (2000 est.) |
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Military branches | National Security Service | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
71,856 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
40,006 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 26 July (1965) | - |
Nationality | noun:
Maldivian(s) adjective: Maldivian |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise | droughts |
Natural resources | fish | arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 2.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | although political parties are not banned, none exist | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | - |
Population | 310,764 (July 2001 est.) | 2,535,927
note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 45.7% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 3.01% (2001 est.) | 2.985% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gan, Male | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 8, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Radios | 35,000 (1999) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Sunni Muslim | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.736 male(s)/female total population: 1.038 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment:
minimal domestic and international facilities domestic: interatoll communication through microwave links; all inhabited islands are connected with telephone and fax service international: satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services in the Gaza Strip; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,000 (1999) | 349,000 (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,290 (1997) | 1.095 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 8 (2005) |
Terrain | flat, with white sandy beaches | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 5.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.17 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NEGL% | 20.3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005) |
Waterways | none | - |