Maldives

The Maldives was long a sultanate, first under Dutch and then under British protection. It became a republic in 1968, three years after independence. President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM dominated the islands' political scene for 30 years, elected to six successive terms by single-party referendums. Following riots in the capital Male in August 2004, the president and his government pledged to embark upon democratic reforms including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Progress was sluggish, however, and many promised reforms were slow to be realized. Nonetheless, political parties were legalized in 2005. In June 2008, a constituent assembly - termed the "Special Majlis" - finalized a new constitution, which was ratified by the president in August. The first-ever presidential elections under a multi-candidate, multi-party system were held in October 2008. GAYOOM was defeated in a runoff poll by Mohamed NASHEED, a political activist who had been jailed several years earlier by the former regime. Challenges facing the new president include strengthening democracy and combating poverty and drug abuse. Maldives officials have been prominent participants in international climate change talks due to the islands' low elevation and the threat from sea-level rise.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Maldivian Rufiyaa (ISO code: MVR)
* Central bank discount rate: 13% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 13% (31 October 2009)
* Stock of money (M1): $460 million (31 October 2009)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $488 million (31 October 2009)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004 	2005 	2006 	2007 	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Maldives: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	589 	624 	625 	641 	692 	776 	750 	929 	1 055 	1 261
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Maldives: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	40.126	40.864	43.478	47.030	46.120	43.091	70.603	50.115	51.669	53.835
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Maldives: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	29.683	29.974	29.988	31.434	33.136	33.515	39.109	44.066	48.051	44.345
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Maldives: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.	22.284	25.528	25.767	25.721	26.466	28.052	48.383	47.184	48.565	49.202
Debt to revenue (years) 	1.352 	1.363 	1.450 	1.496 	1.392 	1.286 	1.805 	1.137 	1.075 	1.214
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Maldives on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Maldives
* Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
* BBC country profile
Category:Countries