MVR

$NA

Currency (code):

rufiyaa (MVR)

Currency code:

Exchange rates:

rufiyaa (MVR) per US dollar - NA (2007), 12.8 (2006), 12.8 (2005), 12.8 (2004), 12.8 (2003)

Communications
Maldives

Telephones - main lines in use:

33,200 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

317,800 (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: telephone services have improved; each island now has at least 1 public telephone, and there are mobile cellular networks with a rapidly expanding subscribership approaching 90 per 100 persons domestic: interatoll communication through microwave links; all inhabited islands and resorts are connected with telephone and fax service international: country code - 960; linked to international submarine cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); satellite earth station - 3 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:

35,000 (1999)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (2006)

Televisions:

10,000 (1999)

Internet country code:

.mv

Internet hosts:

1,600 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

33,000 (2007)

Transportation
Maldives

Airports:

5 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 88 km paved roads: 88 km - 60 km in Male; 14 km on Addu Atolis; 14 km on Laamu note: village roads are mainly compacted coral (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 29 by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 23, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 1 (Greece 1) registered in other countries: 2 (Panama 1, Tuvalu 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Male

Military
Maldives

Military branches:

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF): Quick Reaction Force,
Security Protection Group, Coast Guard (2007)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 89,505 females age 16-49: 85,745 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 72,150 females age 16-49: 69,058 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 4,749 female: 4,084 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

5.5% of GDP (2005 est.)

Military - note:

the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), with its small size and with little serviceable equipment, is inadequate to prevent external aggression and is primarily tasked to reinforce the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and ensure security in the exclusive economic zone (2008)

Transnational Issues
Maldives

Disputes - international:

none

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

IDPs: 1,000-10,000 (December 2004 tsunami victims) (2007)

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Mali

Introduction
Mali

Background:

The Sudanese Republic and Senegal became independent of France in 1960 as the Mali Federation. When Senegal withdrew after only a few months, what formerly made up the Sudanese Republic was renamed Mali. Rule by dictatorship was brought to a close in 1991 by a military coup - led by the current president Amadou TOURE - enabling Mali's emergence as one of the strongest democracies on the continent. President Alpha KONARE won Mali's first democratic presidential election in 1992 and was reelected in 1997. In keeping with Mali's two-term constitutional limit, KONARE stepped down in 2002 and was succeeded by Amadou TOURE, who was subsequently elected to a second term in 2007. The elections were widely judged to be free and fair.

Geography
Mali

Location:

Western Africa, southwest of Algeria

Geographic coordinates: