28 Appealing Facts About Maldives

The Maldives are a group of islands in the Indian Ocean and are located in India’s southwest. They are made up of the Maldive and Suadive archipelagos, with over 1,200 islands. There are 26 atolls that make up these islands and are split up into 20 administrative atolls. People live on about 200 of these islands. The country is a popular tourist destination because of its beautiful natural environment, including the Blue Ocean, white beaches, and clean air. The Maldives is one of the best recreational diving destinations in the world, with over 60 local dive sites spread across the islands, thanks to their beautiful underwater scenery and clean water.

1. Maldive’s official name is the Republic of Maldives, also called the Maldive Islands. It is an independent island country in the north-central of the Indian Ocean.
2. The closest countries to the Maldives are India (595 km) to the north, Sri Lanka (670 km) to the northeast, and the Chagos Archipelago (550 km) directly to the south.
3. The Republic of Maldives is the smallest country in the Asian continent.
4. Yellowfin tuna fish is the national animal of the country.
5. Ninety-Nine percent of the country comprises water or seas.
6. The Maldivian atolls are formed from prehistoric volcanic eruptions in the Indian Ocean that went extinct. As the ocean floor subsided from the volcanoes, corals began to populate and grow around, forming a fringed reef.
7. The Maldives is just 221.7 miles (355.94 km) north of the equator, so the sun is 90° above the head in the peak time, and it is essential to apply sunscreen.
8. The country consists of a chain of about 1200 small coral islands and sandbanks, out of which about 200 islands are inhabited. The rest of the island is populated, and some of them have excellent hotels and resorts.
9. Some of the islands are so small that they are not more than few square meters in size.
10. The Maldives is the lowest elevation country on the planet, with just about 1.8 meters(6 feet) above sea level.
11. The Pink rose is the national flower of the country. Whereas the coconut palm tree is the national tree.
12. White-breasted waterhen is the national bird of Maldives.
13. The Maldives is also known as the flattest country on planet earth. The highest point in the Maldives is only7 ft (2 m) high above sea level.
14. The constitution of the Maldives designates Islam as the main religion. Only people following Islam are allowed to hold citizenship in the Maldives, and citizens may only practice Islam. Non-Muslim citizens of other nations can practice their faith only in private.
15. The Maldives was founded by an Indian prince who was sent to exile. Sometime around 270 BC, an Indian prince was sent from the kingdom of Kalinga as punishment to run over these islands.
16. If you’re 18 years of age or more and not a Muslim, you can buy and drink alcohol. However, since the Maldives is an Islamic nation, alcohol is banned for the local population and is only available at hotels and resorts.
17. The beaches in the Maldives have white sand instead of yellow. Only 5% of the world’s beaches have this kind of sand color. Another feature of this sand is that it does not get hot during sunny days, which is due to the fact that the sand is made of tiny pieces of coral.
18. The Maldives has two main distinct seasons first is the dry season (northeast monsoon) which lasts from January to March/April, and the wet season (southwest monsoon), which lasts from June to August.
19. The Maldives is one of the safest destinations for tourists. The country has very low crime and incarceration rates.
20. The first underwater cabinet meeting was held here in the Maldives.
21. The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island opened the first underwater hotel. It is more than a hotel room and is a two-story villa which is set more than 16 feet below the Indian ocean. Maldives is also the smallest Muslim country on the globe.
22. The top 5 exports of Maldives are:
    • Non-fillet Frozen Fish ($73.8 Million).
    • Processed Fish ($44.1 Million).
    • Fish Fillets ($42 Million).
    • Refined Petroleum ($33.5 Million).
    • Non-fillet Fresh Fish ($27.8 Million).
23. The top 5 imports of Maldives are:
    • Refined Petroleum ($404 Million),
    • Planes, Helicopters and Spacecraft ($59.9 Million).
    • Other Furniture ($59.3 Million).
    • Broadcasting Equipment ($56.9 Million).
    • Gravel and Crushed Stone ($50.4 Million).
24. The island country has not the conventional weekends as holidays, but instead, they have Islamic weekends, i.e., Thursdays and Fridays.
25. There is an island full of trash and waste. The island’s name is Thilafushi and is also known as the trash island of the country.
26. There is a beach in Mudhdoo island (also known as vadhoo islands) that glows in the nighttime. They glow-in-dark due to a natural phenomenon called ‘Bioluminescence,’ in which light is being emitted or created by the living organisms.
27. The only freshwater source in the country is the rainwater that is harvested in special collection tanks throughout the Maldives. But insufficient rainfall leaves groundwater tables low and harvesting tanks half empty.
28. Maldives water is crystal clear due to the fact that it has coral reefs and “phytoplankton,” which absorbs green and blue colors from light and causes clean water due to reflection.