Maldives (2002) | Denmark (2001) | |
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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 | metropolitan Denmark - 14 counties (amter, singular - amt) and 2 kommunes*; Arhus, Bornholm, Fredericksberg*, Frederiksborg, Fyn, Kobenhavn, Kobenhavns*, Nordjylland, Ribe, Ringkobing, Roskilde, Sonderjylland, Storstrom, Vejle, Vestsjalland, Viborg
note: see separate entries for the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are part of the Kingdom of Denmark and are self-governing administrative divisions |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.3% (male 74,493; female 70,394)
15-64 years: 51.7% (male 84,548; female 81,092) 65 years and over: 3% (male 4,944; female 4,694) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years:
18.59% (male 510,826; female 484,385) 15-64 years: 66.56% (male 1,804,617; female 1,758,019) 65 years and over: 14.85% (male 331,906; female 463,062) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish | grain, potatoes, rape, sugar beets; pork and beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 5 (2001) | 119 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total:
28 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2002) |
total:
91 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 83 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 300 sq km
land: 300 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
43,094 sq km land: 42,394 sq km water: 700 sq km note: includes the island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea and the rest of metropolitan Denmark (the Jutland Peninsula, and the major islands of Sjaeland and Fyn), but excludes the Faroe Islands and Greenland |
Area - comparative | about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Massachusetts |
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. | Once the seat of Viking raiders and later a major north European power, Denmark has evolved into a modern, prosperous nation that is participating in the political and economic integration of Europe. So far, however, the country has opted out of some aspects of the European Union's Maastricht Treaty, including the economic and monetary system (EMU) and issues concerning certain internal affairs. |
Birth rate | 37.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.96 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $166 million (excluding foreign grants)
expenditures: $192 million, including capital expenditures of $80 million |
revenues:
$52.9 billion expenditures: $51.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $500 million (2001 est.) |
Capital | Male | Copenhagen |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August) | temperate; humid and overcast; mild, windy winters and cool summers |
Coastline | 644 km | 7,314 km |
Constitution | adopted January 1998 | 1849 was the original constitution; there was a major overhaul 5 June 1953, allowing for a unicameral legislature and a female chief of state |
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:
Kingdom of Denmark conventional short form: Denmark local long form: Kongeriget Danmark local short form: Danmark |
Currency | rufiyaa (MVR) | Danish krone (DKK) |
Death rate | 7.86 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.9 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $237 million (2000 est.) | $21.7 billion (2000) |
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Stuart BERNSTEIN embassy: Dag Hammarskjolds Alle 24, 2100 Copenhagen mailing address: PSC 73, APO AE 09716 telephone: [45] 35 55 31 44 FAX: [45] 35 38 96 16 |
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; permanent representative is Dr. Mohamed LATHEEF | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ulrik Andreas FEDERSPIEL chancery: 3200 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-1470 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | none | Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Iceland and the UK (Ireland and the UK have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area); dispute with Iceland over the Faroe Islands fisheries median line boundary within 200 NM; disputes with Iceland, the UK, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1.63 billion (1999) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
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. | This thoroughly modern market economy features high-tech agriculture, up-to-date small-scale and corporate industry, extensive government welfare measures, comfortable living standards, and high dependence on foreign trade. Denmark is a net exporter of food and energy and has a comfortable balance of payments surplus. The center-left coalition government has reduced the formerly high unemployment rate and attained a budget surplus as well as followed the previous government's policies of maintaining low inflation and a stable currency. The coalition has lowered marginal income tax rates and raised environmental taxes thus maintaining overall tax revenues. Problems of bottlenecks, and longer term demographic changes reducing the labor force, are being addressed through labor market reforms. The government has been successful in meeting, and even exceeding, the economic convergence criteria for participating in the third phase (a common European currency) of the European Monetary Union (EMU), but Denmark, in a September 2000 referendum, reconfirmed its decision not to join the 11 other EU members in the euro. Even so, the Danish currency remains pegged to the euro. |
Electricity - consumption | 102.3 million kWh (2000) | 32.916 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 7.28 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 4.963 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 110 million kWh (2000) | 37.885 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel:
88.4% hydro: 0.07% nuclear: 0% other: 11.53% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m |
lowest point:
Lammefjord -7 m highest point: Yding Skovhoej 173 m |
Environment - current issues | depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching | air pollution, principally from vehicle and power plant emissions; nitrogen and phosphorus pollution of the North Sea; drinking and surface water becoming polluted from animal wastes and pesticides |
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 |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs | Scandinavian, Inuit, Faroese, German, Turkish, Iranian, Somali |
Exchange rates | rufiyaa per US dollar - 11.770 (fixed rate since 1995) | Danish kroner per US dollar - 7.951 (January 2001), 8.083 (2000), 6.976 (1999), 6.701 (1998), 6.604 (1997), 5.799 (1996); note - the Danes rejected the Euro in a 28 September 2000 referendum |
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: Cabinet of Ministers 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% |
chief of state:
Queen MARGRETHE II (since 14 January 1972); Heir Apparent Crown Prince FREDERIK, elder son of the monarch (born 26 May 1968) head of government: Prime Minister Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN (since 25 January 1993) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister and approved by Parliament elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $88 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | $50.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | fish, clothing | machinery and instruments, meat and meat products, dairy products, fish, chemicals, furniture, ships, windmills |
Exports - partners | US, UK, Sri Lanka, Japan | EU 66.5% (Germany 20.1%, Sweden 11.7%, UK 9.6%, France 5.3%, Netherlands 4.7%), Norway 5.8%, US 5.4% (1999) |
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 | red with a white cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side, and that design element of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries of Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.2 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $136.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 20%
industry: 18% services: 62% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
3% industry: 25% services: 72% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,870 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $25,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2001 est.) | 2.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 3 15 N, 73 00 E | 56 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean | controls Danish Straits (Skagerrak and Kattegat) linking Baltic and North Seas; about one-quarter of the population lives in greater Copenhagen |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km; note - Male has 9.6 km of coral highways within the city (1988 est.) |
total:
71,474 km paved: 71,474 km (including 880 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
2% highest 10%: 24% (2000 est.) |
Imports | $372 million f.o.b. (2000 est.) | $43.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, intermediate and capital goods, petroleum products | machinery and equipment, raw materials and semimanufactures for industry, chemicals, grain and foodstuffs, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | Singapore, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Canada | EU 72.1% (Germany 21.6%, Sweden 12.4%, UK 8.0%, Netherlands 8.0%, France 5.8%), Norway 4.2%, US 4.5% (1999) |
Independence | 26 July 1965 (from UK) | first organized as a unified state in 10th century; in 1849 became a constitutional monarchy |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (1996 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining | food processing, machinery and equipment, textiles and clothing, chemical products, electronics, construction, furniture, and other wood products, shipbuilding, windmills |
Infant mortality rate | 61.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 5.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.9% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NATO, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 13 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | High Court | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the monarch for life) |
Labor force | 67,000 (1995) (1995) | 2.856 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 22%, industry 18%, services 60% (1995) (1995) | services 79%, industry 17%, agriculture 4% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
68 km border countries: Germany 68 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.33%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 90% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
60% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 10% other: 25% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials | Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority)
note: English is the predominant second language |
Legal system | based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
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 |
unicameral Parliament or Folketing (179 seats, including 2 from Greenland and 2 from the Faroe Islands; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 11 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - progovernment parties: Social Democratic Party 65, Socialist People's Party 13, Social Liberal Party 7, Red-Green Unity List 5; opposition: Liberal Party 43, Conservative Party 17, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democratic Party 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4; seats by party as of 1 January 2001: government coalition parties - Social Democrats 63, Social Liberals 7; pro-government parties - Socialist People's Party 13, Unity List 5; opposition - Liberals 42, Conservatives 16, Danish People's Party 13, Center Democrats 8, Christian People's Party 4, Progress Party 4 (now named Freedom 2000); does not include the 4 overseas seats |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.93 years
male: 61.72 years female: 64.2 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
76.72 years male: 74.12 years female: 79.47 years (2001 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: 100% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, on a peninsula north of Germany (Jutland); also includes two major islands (Sjaeland and Fyn) |
Map references | Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 51,532 GRT/71,298 DWT
ships by type: cargo 13, short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
total:
342 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,073,489 GRT/8,027,002 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 128, chemical tanker 27, container 76, liquefied gas 26, livestock carrier 6, petroleum tanker 22, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 13, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Finland 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | National Security Service | Royal Danish Army, Royal Danish Navy, Royal Danish Air Force, Home Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $34.5 million (FY01) | $2.47 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 8.6% (FY01) | 1.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 74,893 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,292,619 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 41,672 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,106,094 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
29,212 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 July (1965) | none designated; Constitution Day, 5 June is generally viewed as the National Day |
Nationality | noun: Maldivian(s)
adjective: Maldivian |
noun:
Dane(s) adjective: Danish |
Natural hazards | low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes |
Natural resources | fish | petroleum, natural gas, fish, salt, limestone, stone, gravel and sand |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 1.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 110 km; petroleum products 578 km; natural gas 700 km |
Political parties and leaders | although political parties are not banned, none exist | Center Democratic Party [Mimi JAKOBSEN]; Christian People's Party [Jann SJURSEN]; Conservative Party (sometimes known as Conservative People's Party) [Bendt BENDTSEN]; Danish People's Party [Pia KJAERSGAARD]; Liberal Party [Anders Fogh RASMUSSEN]; Progress Party (now named Freedom 2000) [Kim BEHNKE]; Social Democratic Party [Poul Nyrup RASMUSSEN]; Social Liberal Party (sometimes called the Radical Left) [Marianne JELVED, leader; Johannes LEBECH, chairman]; Socialist People's Party [Holger K. NIELSEN]; Red-Green Unity List (bloc includes Left Socialist Party, Communist Party of Denmark, Socialist Workers' Party) [collective leadership] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 320,165 (July 2002 est.) | 5,352,815 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.95% (2002 est.) | 0.3% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gan, Male | Abenra, Alborg, Arhus, Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Fredericia, Kolding, Odense, Roenne (Bornholm), Vejle |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 355, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 35,000 (1999) | 6.02 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total:
2,859 km (508 km privately owned and operated) standard gauge: 2,859 km 1.435-m gauge (600 km electrified; 760 km double track) (1998) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim | Evangelical Lutheran 95%, other Protestant and Roman Catholic 3%, Muslims 2% |
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: 1.05 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 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:
excellent telephone and telegraph services domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems international: 18 submarine fiber-optic cables linking Denmark with Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Netherlands, UK, Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Canada; satellite earth stations - 6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat (Blaavand-Atlantic-East); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 21,000 (1999) | 4.785 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,290 (1997) | 1,444,016 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 26 (plus 51 repeaters) (1998) |
Terrain | flat, with white sandy beaches | low and flat to gently rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 5.38 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NEGL% | 5.3% (2000) |
Waterways | none | 417 km |