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 bituminous-surface treatment, and 4,248 km unpaved); Sabah—3,782 km; Sarawak—1,644 km

Inland waterways: Peninsular Malaysia—3,209 km; Sabah—1,569 km; Sarawak—2,518 km

Ports: Tanjong, Kidurong, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Pasir Gudang, Penang, Port Kelang, Sandakan, Tawau

Merchant marine: 159 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,525,635 GRT/2,216,215 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 71 cargo, 21 container, 2 vehicle carrier, 2 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 livestock carrier, 28 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker, 6 liquefied gas, 1 specialized tanker, 1 passenger-cargo, 22 bulk, 1 passenger

Civil air: 53 major transport aircraft

Pipelines: crude oil, 1,307 km; natural gas, 379 km

Airports: 126 total, 121 usable; 32 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 19 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Telecommunications: good intercity service provided to peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave relay, adequate intercity radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; international service good; good coverage by radio and television broadcasts; 994,860 telephones (1984); stations—28 AM, 3 FM, 33 TV; submarine cables extend to India and Sarawak; SEACOM submarine cable links to Hong Kong and Singapore; satellite earth stations—1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, and 2 domestic

Defense Forces

Branches: Royal Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy, Royal Malaysian Air Force, Royal Malaysian Police Force

Military manpower: males 15-49, 4,499,495; 2,744,743 fit for military service; 178,923 reach military age (21) annually

Defense expenditures: 3.8% of GDP, or $1.4 billion (1990 est.)  Maldives



Geography

Total area: 300 km²; land area: 300 km²

Comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 644 km

Maritime claims:
 * Exclusive fishing zone: about 100 nm (defined by geographic coordinates)
 * Extended economic zone: 37-310 nm (segment of zone coincides with maritime boundary with India)
 * Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

Terrain: flat with elevations only as high as 2.5 meters

Natural resources: fish

Land use: 10% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 3% forest and woodland; 84% other

Environment: 1,200 coral islands grouped into 19 atolls

Note: archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

People

Population: 217,945 (July 1990), growth rate 3.7% (1990)

Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 76 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 65 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 6.6 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—Maldivian(s); adjective—Maldivian

Ethnic divisions: admixtures of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, and black

Religion: Sunni Muslim

Language: Divehi (dialect of Sinhala; script derived from Arabic); English spoken by most government officials

Literacy: 36%

Labor force: 66,000 (est.); 80% engaged in fishing industry

Organized labor: none

Government

Long-form name: Republic of Maldives

Type: republic

Capital: Male

Administrative divisions: 19 district (atolls); Aliff, Baa, Daalu, Faafu, Gaafu Aliff, Gaafu Daalu, Haa Aliff, Haa Daalu, Kaafu, Laamu, Laviyani, Meemu, Naviyani, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Waavu

Independence: 26 July 1965 (from UK)

Constitution: 4 June 1964

Legal system: based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 26 July (1965)

Executive branch: president, Cabinet

Legislative branch: unicameral Citizens' Council (Majlis)

Judicial branch: High Court

Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government—President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM (since since 11 November 1978)

Political parties and leaders: no organized political parties; country governed by the Didi clan for the past eight centuries

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections: President—last held 23 September 1988 (next to be held September 1994); results—President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom reelected;

Citizens' Council—last held on 7 December 1984 (next to be held 7 December 1989); results—percent of vote NA; seats—(48 total, 40 elected)

Communists: negligible

Member of: ADB, Colombo Plan, Commonwealth (special member), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB—Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, OIC, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation: Maldives does not maintain an embassy in the US, but does have a UN mission in New York; US—the US Ambassador to Sri Lanka is accredited to Maldives and makes periodic 193