Blog Maldives

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Economy
Since the 1970s the economy of the Maldives has developed rapidly. Annual growth of gross domestic product (GDP) has been high, averaging about 6 percent in the 2010s, and the gross national income (GNI) per capita—among the lowest in the world in the 1970s—reached the level of upper middle-income countries by the late 2010s. The economy is based on tourism, fishing, boatbuilding, and boat repairing, with the tourism sector driving the rapid growth.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
Fishing, long the traditional base of the economy, has been far surpassed by tourism as the main source of gross domestic product (GDP). While the sector still produces the bulk of the country’s exports and continues to grow (albeit at a slower pace than the tourism industry), it employs less than one-fifth of the labour force and contributes less than one-tenth of the GDP. Tuna is the predominant fish caught, traditionally by the pole-and-line method, although a good deal of the fishing fleet has been mechanized. Most of the fish catch is sold to foreign companies for processing and export.

Since the 1970s the economy of the Maldives has developed rapidly. Annual growth of gross domestic product (GDP) has been high, averaging about 6 percent in the 2010s, and the gross national income (GNI) per capita—among the lowest in the world in the 1970s—reached the level of upper middle-income countries by the late 2010s. The economy is based on tourism, fishing, boatbuilding, and boat repairing, with the tourism sector driving the rapid growth.

More than half of the population is considered rural. With the exception of those living in Male, the only relatively large settlement in the country, the inhabitants of the Maldives live in villages on small islands in scattered atolls. Only about 20 of the islands have more than 1,000 inhabitants, and the southern islands are more densely populated than the northern ones. The birth rate for the Maldives is somewhat higher than the world average, but the death rate is lower. More than one-fifth of the total population is under 15 years of age. Life expectancy is about 74 years for men and 79 for women.

The population of Maldives belongs almost entirely to the Maldivian ethnic group, which is the result of various peoples settling in the islands successively through the country’s history. The first settlers, it is generally believed, were Tamil and Sinhalese peoples from southern India and Sri Lanka. Traders from Arab countries, Malaya, Madagascar, Indonesia, and China visited the islands through the centuries. The official language is an Indo-European language called Dhivehi (or Maldivian); Arabic, Hindi, and English are also spoken. Islam is the state religion.

The population of Maldives belongs almost entirely to the Maldivian ethnic group, which is the result of various peoples settling in the islands successively through the country’s history. The first settlers, it is generally believed, were Tamil and Sinhalese peoples from southern India and Sri Lanka. Traders from Arab countries, Malaya, Madagascar, Indonesia, and China visited the islands through the centuries. The official language is an Indo-European language called Dhivehi (or Maldivian); Arabic, Hindi, and English are also spoken. Islam is the state religion.

The islands extend more than 510 miles (820 km) from north to south and 80 miles (130 km) from east to west. The northernmost atoll is about 370 miles (600 km) south-southwest of the Indian mainland, and the central area, including the capital island of Male (Male’), is about 400 miles (645 km) southwest of Sri Lanka.