Welcome to the Maldives A Handbook for US Fulbright Scholars Public Affairs Section U.S. Embassy 44 Galle Road Colombo 3 Sri Lanka Tel: + 94-11-249-8000 Fax: + 94-11-2449070 Email:
[email protected] 1 Contents Map of the Maldives The Maldives: General Information Facts The Maldives: An Overview Educational System Pre-departure Official Grantee Status Obtaining your Visa Travel Things to Bring Health & Medical Insurance Customs Clearance Use of the Diplomatic pouch Preparing for change Recommended Reading/Resources In Country Arrival Coping with the Tropical Climate Map of Male What‟s Where in Malé Restaurants Transport Housing Money Matters Banks Communication Shipping goods home Health Senior Scholars with Families Life and Work in the Maldives Contacts List Your Feedback 2 The Maldives The Maldives 3 General Information Facts about the Maldives Population: 395,650 (July 2010 est.), plus over 600,000 tourists annually Capital: Malé Population distribution: Varies significantly from less than 150 on remote islands to 83,000 in Male‟ which is just 2 sq km. Language: Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English is spoken by most government officials Adult literacy: 96.3% Religion: Sunni Muslim (100%) Currency: Rufiyaa Life expectancy: men - 72 yrs; women – 76.54 yrs Unemployment 14.4% Gross Domestic product -4 % real growth (2009 est.); 5.8% (2008 est.) Average per capita income US$ 4,200 per annum (purchasing power parity) Land area: 298 sq. Km spread over roughly 90,000 sq km Length: 820 km Width: 80-120 km Coastline: 644 km Climate: Tropical. The monsoons are mild and the temperature varies very little.