Population
Maldives comprises some 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean. The population is approximately 300,000, according to the available data.
Cultural Demography and Legacy
As a result of its history as a stopping point in the mid-Atlantic for ancient mariners, today, the Maldivian cultural and ethnic identity is a blend of Indian, Arab, African, and European cultures, reinforced by religion and language.
The earliest settlers were probably Dravidians from southern India. Indo-Europeans and Sinhalese followed them in the 4th and 5th centuries from Sri Lanka. These origins have contributed to the contemporary linguistic pattern of Maldives. Today, the official and common language is Dhivehi, an Indo-European language related to Sinhala, the language of Sri Lanka. The writing system, like Arabic, is from right to left, although the alphabets are different. English is used widely in commerce and increasingly as the medium of instruction in government schools.
The inhabitants of Maldives are thought to be originally Buddhists. The discovery of ruined temples on some islands indicates an early Buddhist reign dating back to 400 before the common era, or B.C.E. Maldivians were converted to Sunni Islam in the 12th century in the common era, or C.E. A legend suggests that Islam was brought to Maldives via an Arab traveler called Abdul Barakhat Al-Bar Bari.
Whatever the origins of Islam in Maldives may be in actuality, it is clear that Islamic influence was so potent that today Islam is the religion of nearly the entire population. In part, crime has been kept under control and social life structured by strict adherence to Islamic precepts and close community relationships. For example, while social stratification exists on the islands, it is not rigid, since rank is based on varied factors, including occupation, wealth, Islamic virtue and family ties. Interestingly, Maldives appears to have one of the highest rates of divorce in the world today. A United Nations report suggests that the rate of divorce may be as high as 70 divorces for every 100 marriages.
Health and Welfare
The population of Maldives has a life expectancy at birth of 65.12 years of age (63.73 years for males and 66.58 years for females), according to recent figures. The country also has an infant mortality rate of 51.62 deaths per 1,000 live births. In terms of literacy, 96 percent of the population and can read and write.
Education expenditures in the country amount to 11.2 percent of GDP. Health expenditures in this country amount to 5.6 percent of GDP. Availability of drinkable water is very good; access to sanitation facilities is also very good.
Human Development
One notable measure used to determine a country's quality of life is the Human Development Index (HDI), which has been compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a recent ranking of 169 countries, the HDI placed Maldives in the medium human development category, at 107th place.
Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.