Compare Maldives (2006) - Southern Ocean (2004)

Compare Maldives (2006) z Southern Ocean (2004)

	Maldives (2006)	Southern Ocean (2004)

Administrative divisions	19 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural) and the capital city; Alifu, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Maale (Male), Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 43.4% (male 80,113/female 75,763) 15-64 years: 53.5% (male 98,040/female 94,029) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 5,477/female 5,586) (2006 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	coconuts, corn, sweet potatoes; fish	-
Airports	5 (2006)	-
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2006)	-
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2006)	-
Area	total: 300 sq km land: 300 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 20.327 million sq km note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative	about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly more than twice the size of the US
Background	The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. Since 1978, President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM - currently in his sixth term in office - has dominated the islands' political scene. Following riots in the capital Male in August 2004, the president and his government have pledged to embark upon democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Tourism and fishing are being developed on the archipelago.	A decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 delimited a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit. The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean).
Birth rate	34.81 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $265 million (excluding foreign grants) expenditures: $362 million; including capital expenditures of $80 million (2004 est.)	-
Capital	name: Male geographic coordinates: 4 10 N, 73 31 E time difference: UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	-
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)	sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline	644 km	17,968 km
Constitution	adopted 1 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	-
Death rate	7.06 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Debt - external	$304 million (2004 est.)	-
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	chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed LATHEEF chancery: 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400E, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 599-6195 FAX: [1] (212) 661-6405	-
Disputes - international	none	Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims have been made in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient	$27.9 million $NA (2004)	-
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. 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 lesser 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. In late December 2004, a major tsunami left more than 100 dead, 12,000 displaced, and property damage exceeding $300 million. Over the past decade, real GDP growth averaged over 7.5% per year. As a result of the tsunami, the GDP contracted by about 5.5% in 2005.	Fisheries in 2000-01 (1 July to 30 June) landed 112,934 metric tons, of which 87% was krill and 11% Patagonian toothfish. International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and antarctic toothfish. In the 2000-01 antarctic summer 12,248 tourists, most of them seaborne, visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 the previous year.
Electricity - consumption	125.6 million kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2003)	-
Electricity - production	135 million kWh (2003)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m	lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues	depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching	increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
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	the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing) note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the very cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups	South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs	-
Exchange rates	rufiyaa per US dollar - 12.8 (2005), 12.8 (2004), 12.8 (2003), 12.8 (2002), 12.24 (2001)	-
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 elections: president nominated by the Majlis and then the 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 17 October 2003 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM reelected in referendum held 17 October 2003; percent of popular vote - Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM 90.3%	-
Exports	NA bbl/day	-
Exports - commodities	fish, clothing	-
Exports - partners	Japan 22.8%, Thailand 22.7%, Sri Lanka 16.4%, UK 12.6%, Singapore 5.8%, Germany 4.8%, France 4.3% (2005)	-
Fiscal 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 - composition by sector	agriculture: 20% industry: 18% services: 62% (2000 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	-3.6% (2005 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	3 15 N, 73 00 E	65 00 S, 0 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
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	the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the very cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	-
Imports	NA bbl/day	-
Imports - commodities	petroleum products, ships, foodstuffs, textiles, clothing, intermediate and capital goods	-
Imports - partners	Singapore 24.1%, UAE 15.7%, India 11.3%, Malaysia 7.2%, Sri Lanka 5.7%, UK 4.5% (2005)	-
Independence	26 July 1965 (from UK)	-
Industrial production growth rate	-0.9% (2004 est.)	-
Industries	fish processing, tourism, shipping, boat building, coconut processing, garments, woven mats, rope, handicrafts, coral and sand mining	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 54.89 deaths/1,000 live births male: 54.01 deaths/1,000 live births female: 55.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	6% (2005 est.)	-
International organization participation	AsDB, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO	-
Irrigated land	NA	-
Judicial branch	High Court	-
Labor force	88,000 (2000)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 22% industry: 18% services: 60% (1995)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	-
Land use	arable land: 13.33% permanent crops: 30% other: 56.67% (2005)	-
Languages	Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials	-
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 22 January 2005 (next to be held NA 2010) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 50	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 64.41 years male: 63.08 years female: 65.8 years (2006 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.2% male: 97.1% female: 97.3% (2003 est.)	-
Location	Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India	body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references	Asia	Antarctic Region
Maritime claims	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	-
Merchant marine	total: 17 ships (1000 GRT or over) 67,149 GRT/87,220 DWT by type: cargo 13, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2 registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2006)	-
Military branches	National Security Service: Security Branch (ground forces), Air Element, Coast Guard	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$45.07 million (2005 est.)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	5.5% (2005 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 26 July (1965)	-
Nationality	noun: Maldivian(s) adjective: Maldivian	-
Natural hazards	low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise	huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 meter thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources	fish	probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fishes
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)	-
Political parties and leaders	political parties were allowed to register in June 2005; the first entrants are: Adhaalath (Justice) Party or AP [Abdul Majeed Abdul BARI]; Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (Maldivian People's Party) or DRP [Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM]; Islamic Democratic Party or IDP [Omar NASEER]; Maldivian Democratic Party or MDP [Mohamed NASHEED]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	various unregistered political parties	-
Population	359,008 (July 2006 est.)	-
Population below poverty line	21% NA%	-
Population growth rate	2.78% (2006 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	-	McMurdo, Palmer, and offshore anchorages in Antarctica note: few ports or harbors exist on the southern side of the Southern Ocean; ice conditions limit use of most of them to short periods in midsummer; even then some cannot be entered without icebreaker escort; most antarctic ports are operated by government research stations and, except in an emergency, are not open to commercial or private vessels; vessels in any port south of 60 degrees south are subject to inspection by Antarctic Treaty observers (see Article 7)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)	-
Religions	Sunni Muslim	-
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: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 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: country code - 960; satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)	-
Telephones - main lines in use	32,300 (2005)	-
Telephones - mobile cellular	153,400 (2005)	-
Television broadcast stations	1 (2006)	-
Terrain	flat, with white sandy beaches	the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 meters over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 meters (the global mean is 133 meters); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million square kilometers in March to about 18.8 million square kilometers in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate	4.9 children born/woman (2006 est.)	-
Transportation - note	-	Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate	NEGL% (2003 est.)	-

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