Maldives

Maldives (/ˈmÉ’ldiË?vz/, /ˈmÉ”Ë?ldiË?vz/, ⁱ/ˈmÉ”Ë?ldaɪvz/ or /ˈmældaɪvz/), officially the Republic of Maldives (Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya), is an island country and archipelago in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of India and Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea. The chain of twenty six atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll to the Addu Atoll. The capital and largest city is Malé, traditionally called the "King's Island."

Historically linked with the Indian subcontinent, Maldives is a Muslim-majority country. From the mid-sixteenth century colonial powers dominated the islands: Portugal, the Netherlands and Britain. The islands gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, becoming a republic in 1968. The country is ruled by a president and its government is authoritarian. The Maldivian economy is dominated by tourism and fishing. The World Bank classifies the country as having an upper middle income economy.

Encompassing a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi), Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. It is the smallest Asian country in both land area and in population. The archipelago is located atop the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean, which also forms a terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. With an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the planet's lowest country. It is also the country with the lowest natural highest point in the world, at 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in). The government has pledged to make Maldives a carbon-neutral country by 2019 amid concerns about rising sea-levels.

The Maldives (band)

The Maldives are an alt-country band from Seattle, Washington known for sold-out live performances described by KEXP-FM as "transcendent". They have released three full-length albums and one EP. Their 2009 album Listen To The Thunder was rated the second best "Northwest Album" of 2009 by Sound on the Sound. Seattle radio station 90.3 KEXP described their most recent album, Muscle for the Wing, as having "a grittier, more guitar-oriented roots-rock sound." The Maldives regularly play in Seattle and throughout the West Coast and have performed at the Sasquatch!, Bumbershoot, South by Southwest, Capitol Hill Block Party, Treefort, and Doe Bay music festivals.

The Maldives provided live orchestration for the 1925 silent movie Riders of the Purple Sage as part of the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival and again for the 2013 festival, scoring the silent film "The Wind". They are based in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle and were filmed playing there as part of MTV's online series, $5 Cover: Seattle.

List of airlines of the Maldives

This is a list of airlines currently operating in The Maldives.

See also