Maldives
Fast facts
- Capital
- Malé
- Largest city
- Malé
- Official language
- Dhivehi (Maldivian) *English
- Currency
- Maldivian rufiyaa
- Time zone
- Maldives Time
- Drives on
- left
- Calling code
- +960
Facts from Wikipedia’s “Maldives” page (CC BY-SA 4.0).
The Maldives are a group of islands in the Indian Ocean. They are southwest of India. They are made up of the Maldive and Suadive archipelagos, with over 1,200 islands. These islands are a part of 26 atolls. And they are divided to 20 administrative atolls. People live on about 200 of the islands. It has more than 1126 coral reefs. It is the flattest country in the world. The highest point in the Maldives is only 2 m (6.6 ft) high above the level of the sea.
Malé is the capital, with a population of 150,000 people. Its official religion is Islam.
Climate
The Maldives has a tropical monsoon climate (Am) under the Köppen climate classification, which is affected by the large landmass of South Asia to the north. Because the Maldives has the lowest elevation of any country in the world, the temperature is constantly hot and often humid. The presence of this landmass causes differential heating of land and water. These factors set off a rush of moisture-rich air from the Indian Ocean over South Asia, resulting in the southwest monsoon. Two seasons dominate Maldives’ weather: the dry season associated with the winter northeastern monsoon and the rainy season which brings strong winds and storms.
The shift from the dry northeast monsoon to the moist southwest monsoon occurs during April and May. During this period, the southwest winds contribute to the formation of the southwest monsoon, which reaches Maldives in the beginning of June and lasts until the end of August. However, the weather patterns of Maldives do not always conform to the monsoon patterns of South Asia. The annual rainfall averages 254 centimetres in the north and 381 centimetres in the south.
The monsoonal influence is greater in the north of the Maldives than in the south, more influenced by the equatorial currents.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Malé was 39.6 °C (103.3 °F) on 1 January 2000 and the lowest was 20.4 °C (68.7 °F) on 20 March 1989 and 21 January 2017.
Written for younger readers
Maldives, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: Asia
Maldives is a smallest countries in Asia , comprising of 298km2 (smaller than Singapore at 692km2). It is one of the unique countries in the world where it does not share any land borders with any countries. It also known as Republic of Maldives or Maldive Islands, independent island country in the north-central Indian Ocean. It consists of a chain of about 1,200 small coral islands and sandbanks (some 200 of which are inhabited), grouped in clusters, or atolls.
They are built up from the crowns of a submerged ancient volcanic mountain range. All the islands are low-lying, none rising to more than 2 meters above sea level. The atolls have sandy beaches, lagoons, and a luxuriant growth of coconut palms, together with breadfruit trees and tropical bushes. Fish abound in the reefs, lagoons, and seas adjoining the islands.
Maldives capital city is Malé and the Maldives currency used is Rufiyaa.
It is located between Arabian Sea and Indian Sea. Approximately it is located south west to Sri Lanka. The islands extend more than 820 km from north to south and 130 km from east to west.The northernmost atoll is about 600 km south-southwest of the Indian mainland
Based on 2014 census, there are 344 thousands people living in Maldives.The people living there call themselves as Maldivians.
The official language is an Indo-European language called Dhivehi or Maldivian is the national language in Maldives. However, for government official functions, English is used instead.
Islam is the official religion in the Maldives. The Maldivians are not allowed to practice other religions other than Islam.
There are no national sport in Maldives. However, cricket is gaining popularity in recent times.
Fruit and vagetable markets. Maldives 2005. Photo- AusAID (10697034126).jpg|Local market in Maldives Tsunami Monument (32177338373).jpg|Tsunami Monument Male’ National Museum Innen Töpferkunst 6.jpg|Artifacts in National Museum
Male Market - Sellers sell their products from personal stalls. Different foods tourists can hope to enjoy include native vegetables, nuts, breadfruit chips, fruits, yams, bottles of pickles, packets of sweetmeat, and bunches of bananas on a cable suspended from the ceiling.
Tsunami Monuments - Situated on the southeastern portion of Malé Island on the Boduthakurufaanu Magu, Tsunami Monument is devoted to those who laid down their lives in the tsunami happened by the 2004 Indian Ocean tremor. This is one of the most visited tourist spots in Maldives.The central part has vertical iron rods representing the lives of those lost, the steel balls symbolize the country’s 20 atolls, and the lofty design marks the ascending waters. The victims’ names are carved on the memorial.
National Museum of Male - It is located in Male and it preserves a large collection of historic artefacts that traces the history of Maldivian Islands. This three-storied museum is a part of the 17th century Maldivian Royal Palace compound, which also has a Sultan Park (Public Park). Inside the museum, you will find a collection of well preserved galleries and artifacts of weaponry, household wares, religious paraphernalia, Arabic and Thaana-engraved pieces of wood and more. The major highlights of the museum are the 11th-century piece from Alifu Thoddoo, a coral stone head of Lord Buddha; a 13th-century engraved wooden plank from Hukuru Miskiiy and Feyli Kolhu of Sultan Ghaazee Mohamed.
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “Maldives” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
Both sources are published under CC BY-SA 4.0, so this page is published under the same licence. You may share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the original and keep the same licence.
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