Just north of the equator in the deep blue Indian Ocean is a string of beautiful tropical islands known as the Republic of Maldives. From the air the islands look like a string of pearls stretching out into the distance.
99% of the 90000 square kilometres making up the Republic of Maldives is covered by the sea. The land portion of the Republic consists of around 1190 small islands spread over 26 atolls. The atolls are ring like coral formations which enclose small lagoons and give the islands their paradise like appearance.
This island paradise stretches about 820 kilometres from north to south and its widest point is 130 kilometres wide. The biggest islands do not exceed 7.2 kilometres in length and are on average about 1.6 metres above sea level.
This island paradise stretches about 820 kilometres from north to south and its widest point is 130 kilometres wide. The biggest islands do not exceed 7.2 kilometres in length and are on average about 1.6 metres above sea level.
Of the 1190 islands only 200 are inhabited by islanders and of the rest 87 are utilised by hotel groups as tourist resorts. The resort islands are segregated from the other islands to ensure that the local culture is not compromised. Many of the uninhabited islands are used for special purposes, such as dump sites, for drying of fish or for agricultural purposes.
The locals are often marginalised by the tourist industry who bring in migrant workers, mostly from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka. These people make up about a quarter of the labour force. Teachers, doctors and 50% of the tourist resorts staff also come from this source.
Labourers on the construction sites found around the Maldives also come from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
Male' the capital is the seat of the Maldives government, the centre of trade and commerce, business, health and education and is situated in the middle of the atoll chain.This small island is home to about 75,000 people and makes up about a third of the population of the Republic of Maldives.
Accommodation on Male' is plentiful with hotels ranging from 3 to 5 star being available for the visitors use.
