Maldives comprises some 1,900 islands in the Indian Ocean. The earliest settlers were probably the tamils from southern India. Indo-European speakers followed them from Sri Lanka in the 4th and 5th centuries AD. In the 12th century, sailors from East Africa and Arab countries came to the islands. Today, the Maldivian ethnic identity is a blend of these cultures, reinforced by religion and language. Tamil New Year Ethnic problems In India After independence, Tamilians felt they and their dravidian race were ignored by the North Indians. ...  Eastern Africa (UN subregion)  East African Community  Central African Federation (defunct)  geographic, including above East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easternmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are a heterogeneous ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ...

Originally Buddhists, Maldivians were converted to Sunni Islam in the mid-12th century. Islam is the official religion of the entire population. Strict adherence to Islamic precepts and close community relationships have helped keep crime low and under control. A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... Sunni Muslims are the largest denomination of Islam. ...

The official and common language is Divehi (the written script is called Thaana), an Indo-European language related to Sinhalese, the language of Sri Lanka. The writing system is from right to left. English is used widely in commerce and increasingly as the medium of instruction in government schools. Dhivehi is an Indo-Aryan language and the official language of the Republic of the Maldives. ... Thaana is the writing system for the Dhivehi language spoken in the Maldives. ... a resource to look at current viewpoints Categories: Indo-Aryan languages | Languages of Sri Lanka | Wikipedia cleanup | Language stubs ...

Some 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. Members of the social elite are concentrated in Malé. Outside of the service industry this is the only location where the foreign and domestic populations are likely to interact. The tourist resorts are not on islands where the natives live and casual contacts between the two groups are discouraged. Malé (Dhivehi: މާލެ), (pronounced: Maa-lay) population 81,647 (2004), is the capital of the Republic of Maldives. ...

There still exists a small population of people called Giravaaru who claim be the original settlers of Maldives thus different from the Maldivian mainstream For other islands, see Giraavaru Giraavaru is one of the uninhabited islands of Kaafu Atoll. ...

Demographics of the Maldives, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 301,475 (July 2000 est.) Image File history File links Maldives_demography. ... Image File history File links Maldives_demography. ... Possible meanings: Faro Airport (Portugal) Federation of Astrobiology Organizations Financial Aid Office Food and Agriculture Organization This page expands a three-character combination which might be any or all of: an abbreviation, an acronym, an initialism, a word in English, or a word in another language. ...

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 71,273; female 67,323)
15-64 years: 51% (male 78,598; female 75,331)
65 years and over: 3% (male 4,666; female 4,284) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.06% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 38.96 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 8.32 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.09 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 65.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.2 years
male: 61.05 years
female: 63.4 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.62 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Maldivian(s)
adjective: Maldivian

Ethnic groups: South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs

Religions: Sunni Muslim

Languages: Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 93.2%
male: 93.3%
female: 93% (1995 est.)