The Islands of the Maldives

Tourists visit the Maldives for various reasons. For couples, it is the ideal location for a romantic destination wedding. In contrast, adventure enthusiasts relish the myriad watersport activities and the unadulterated thrill attached to them that is an integral characteristic of the island lifestyle.
The allure of the archipelago is further magnified by its pleasant climate that presents travelers with plentiful rainless days on the beach and the opportunity to explore countless hidden wonders of the atolls.
Adding to the Maldivian charm is its rustic beauty that goes beyond stunning sunsets and seascapes and features diversely unique and fascinating flora and fauna that is starting to draw ardent explorers from around the globe every year.

Geography of the Maldives

Maldives, also called Maldive Islands, lies in two rows of atolls made of coral reefs located in the North Central Indian Ocean. The closest countries to the Maldives are India (600km to the north) and Sri Lanka (670km to the East). There are 22 geographical atolls comprising of 1,192 islands, 132 of which designated as tourist resorts. All the islands of the Maldives cover a total area of 90,000 sq. km including land and sea.

The total land area is about 300 sq. km with only three islands having an area greater than 4 sq. km. They are mostly low-lying at a height of about 6ft tall. Despite the height, they are not seriously affected by the yearly monsoons due to the presence of barrier reefs that act as a buffer. The Maldives does not have any hills, instead, you are likely to find small sand dunes on some islands. Under the Koppen climate classification, the climate of the Maldives is listed as a tropical monsoon climate. The two seasons experienced in the Maldives are the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season is associated with the winter northwestern monsoon, while the rainy season is associated with the southwest monsoon bringing strong winds and heavy storms. This is as a result of the low elevation of the islands within the Maldives causing differential heating of the land and water. The Climate and Weather of the Maldives make it an all-season destination for a diverse set of travelers.

The Maldivian islands were named after the earliest settlers on the respective islands. Each one has a designated use which could range from permanent human habitation to farming and cultivation.
The islands can be broadly classified into:

• Inhabited Islands: These are islands that are designated for human habitation. They consist of towns, villages, communities, and have an island chief.
• Uninhabited Islands: These islands are designated for either farming and cultivation, industrial work, or as resorts. They also serve as breeding grounds for rare animals.
• Disappeared Islands: These are islands that appear in the Maldivian history books but no longer exist. They got eroded away due to the rise in sea level over the years.

Geology of the Atolls

The atolls make the foundation on which the islands of the Maldives lie. They formed upon a ridge rising from the ocean. This ridge is as a result of sediment buildup on the submerged crowns of ancient volcanic mountains. The Maldivian atolls are characterized by coral reefs encircling a lagoon. Within this enclosure, there are deep channels driving the coral rings. These channels allow a string of islands to form within the atoll rings, with each island’s reef also encircling the island lagoon. The presence of the reefs protects the islands from getting submerged during times of sea-level rise.

Due to the complicated nature of the reefs within the Maldivian atolls, it’s very difficult to navigate. Only inhabitants with sufficient knowledge of the terrain will be able to navigate those waters safely. The Maldivian islands are too small to have rivers, but lakes and small marshes can be found on some islands.

We listed and described the atolls of the Maldives archipelago dividing them into northern and southern atolls for convenience.

Population and Economy of the Maldives

The Maldivian people are widely spread out among the atolls and inhabit about 200 of the constituent islands. According to the Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations Population Graph, the population of the Maldives is estimated at 540,407. This is the figure recorded as of June 2020. This figure accounts for about 0.01% of the world population. The current yearly growth rate is recorded at 1.81% per year, with the median age of Maldivian citizens being 29.9 years.
A little more than half of the population is considered rural. The inhabitants of the Maldives live in villages on small islands in scattered atolls, except those living in Male, the only relatively large settlement in the country.

The economy of the Maldives was based majorly on the exportation of the cultivated foodstuff (coconuts, breadfruit, etc) and sea creatures. However, since the emergence of tourism in the Maldives in 1972 has changed the economy. Tourism became the country’s main source of income. The islands play host to about 1.2 million tourists yearly, a figure that is projected to increase to 2.5 million by the year 2023. Tourism accounts for 28% of the GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives’ foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes.