Marukab Plaza Premium Room
Table of Contents
Area : 90,000 sq kms (1,190 islands). Archipelago : Length : 823 kms, Width : 130 kms. Total Number of Administrative Atolls : 19. Largest Atoll : Huvadhu (Area 6486 sq miles). Smallest Atoll : Gnaviyani (Area 4.81 sq miles). Geographical Location : Indian Ocean. Immediate Neighbours : India and Sri Lanka (both located northeast of Maldives), Lakshadweep Islands (India) to the north, Chagos Archipelago to the south, and the Seychelles to the southwest. Latitude : 07°06’30" N to 00°41’48" S.Longitude : 72°32’30" E to 73°45’54" E. Status : Republic. Population : 3,94,999 (July 2011 estimate). Capital : Malé (233) (Area : 1.77 sq kms) Airport : Velana International Airport on Hululé (233) Island, two kilometers east of Malé (233). Maldives Standard Time : +5 hrs GMT. International Relations: UN and most of its specialised agencies, Commonwealth, OIC, the Non-Aligned Movement, and SAARC. Religion : 100% Sunni Muslim. Languages : Dhivehi is the national language. English is widely spoken in business sectors. Literacy Rate : 98.2% (Age group 10-45 yrs) Temperature : 31.1° C (Mean Max), 25.5° C (Mean Min). Monsoons : South-West : May-October. North-East : November-April. Average Daily Sunshine : 8 hours. Average Annual Rainfall : 1796.3 mm. Humidity : 79%. Currency : Maldivian Rufiyaa ( 1 US$ = Rf 15.42 ) Electricity : 240 VAC. Working Hours : Banks: 8.30 am - 2 pm (Sun to Thu), Government Offices : 8 am - 4 pm (Sun to Thu), Fri and Sat holidays. Private Offices: Open between 8 am and 5 pm, with a lunch break in between. Credit Cards : American Express, Diners Club, Eurocard, JCB, MasterCard, Visa. Major Industries : Tourism, fisheries, garments, boat building, and handicrafts. National Tree : Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera). National Flower : Pink Rose (Rosa pdyantha). Clothing : Light weight cottons and linens. Shopping : The capital Malé (233) being the centre of commercial activity is the ideal place to shop. Shops open between 7.30 and 9.30 am, closing at 11 pm. On Fridays they open at 1.30 pm, closing as usual. All shops close for 15 minutes at every prayer time. Entry : No prior visa arrangements are required. A tourist visa of 30 days will be given to visitors with valid travel documents, on arrival. Visitors should be in possession of atleast US $25 per day of stay in the Maldives. For those coming from yellow fever infected regions, an international certificate of inoculation is required.