These idyllic islands are famed for their palm-fringed beaches, luxurious resorts, and relaxed pace of life. This fuilly updated guide caters to all types of visitors, from watersports enthusiasts and nature lovers to festival seekers and those wishing to explore the rich island history. Diving safaris, coral garden snorkeling, surfing, windsurfing, and deep-sea fishing are all covered for the energetic tourist, while exploring the atolls and resorts with the aid of this thorough guide is an attractive pastime for the traveler seeking tranquility. Features include: >How to choose the perfect resort for tastes and budgets >Getting around the islands, with cruise options >A wide variety of watersports >Accommodation options including beach cottages and overwater bungalows >Maldivian people and culture and useful words and phrases in Dhivehi

This Technical Assistance Report discusses that in the Maldives, public investment trends have been influenced by a number of contextual factors including the economic dependency on tourism, the high exposure to climate change, and the recent democratization. The mission assessed the strength and quality of public investment management (PIM) in the Maldives using the IMF Public Investment Management framework, based on the three phases of the PIM cycle. The report highlights that the most significant weakness in the PIM and the wider Public Financial Management system is poor budget credibility and budget execution. However, some progress has been made in improving PIM institutions, and reforms are ongoing in a number of areas. It is imperative to strengthen the project appraisal process by developing a standard methodology for project appraisal, publishing this methodology and verifying that it is consistently applied by the line ministries. It is also important to develop a framework for ex-post evaluations and ensure that lessons learned from past projects are incorporated in revised guidelines and practices.

The mission assisted the staff of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) to compile financial soundness indicators (FSIs) in line with the IMF’s 2019 FSIs Compilation Guide, improve the data frequency of FSIs for deposit takers to monthly, and prepare new FSIs for insurance corporations.

This 2017 Article IV Consultation highlights that Maldives’ economy grew by 3.9 percent in 2016 and continues to improve in 2017 on a recovery in tourism and a continued strength in construction. The fiscal deficit widened in 2016 driven by lower-than-expected revenue and large arrears clearance despite unchanged current spending. Public debt as a share of GDP rose nearly 11.5 percentage points from 2014–16. The outlook is for a strengthening recovery in the near term, with low inflation, loose financial conditions, but with significant downside risks from a fragile fiscal and external position. Growth is projected to recover in 2017 and stabilize over the medium term.

For the past decade, the Maldives has experienced economic growth, mostly driven by tourism. As an archipelago comprised of small islands, the land area is limited and the resource base narrow, with low potential for agriculture and other industries and high vulnerability to climate change. Its small population is dispersed and fragmented, making delivery of services costly and difficult. With resources and services concentrated in the capital city of Malé, the atolls are underdeveloped. Progress has been notable in eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, improving maternal health, and reducing child mortality. However, challenges remain in gender equality and women's empowerment (with low female-to-male ratio in tertiary qualifications), limited share of female employment, and low participation of women in political development and decision making. This publication intends to support the Government of the Maldives in its attempt to tackle persisting gender inequalities and gaps through a multisector approach across policies, programs, and projects. It provides insights into gender issues in energy; fisheries; micro, small, and medium enterprises; transport; tourism; and water and sanitation and suggestions for strengthening gender mainstreaming in project design, implementation, and monitoring.

The Maldives is a sovereign island nation located in the Indian Ocean. It is made up of 26 atolls, which are chains of islands, and hundreds of individual islands. The Maldives is known for its stunning natural beauty and crystal-clear waters, making it a popular destination for tourists seeking a tropical getaway. The Maldives has a long and interesting history, with evidence of human habitation dating back to 500 BC. It was ruled by various dynasties and empires, including the Portuguese and the British, before gaining independence in 1965. Today, the Maldives is a republic with a president as the head of state and a multi-party system. Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism, with the industry contributing to over a third of the country's GDP. However, the Maldives also faces challenges such as environmental degradation and political instability.

Maldives Investment and Business Guide Volume 1 Strategic and Practical Information

Within the past decade the Maldives moved from poverty to middle-income status, introduced democracy, and was hailed as a Millennium Development Goal Plus country. Women face little discrimination in basic aspects of life such as primary education, health and survival †“ unlike in much of South Asia. This economic and social progress has yet to be fully inclusive, however, and gender inequality endures, despite constitutional guarantees to the contrary. This is at least partly due to a shift in the nature of Islamic practice in the Maldives towards more rigidly patriarchal interpretations. Women’s labor force participation is high, but limited to lower echelons of the economy. Women are slightly more likely than men to be unemployed. Despite gender-equal primary schooling, girls’ access to tertiary and professional education is hampered by beliefs about girls’ and women’s mobility, and primacy of household roles over others. Within the home, women face challenges that men do not, such as high risks of domestic violence and little control over household assets. Finally, women have limited presence in politics and governance. Men struggle with different gendered situations. Unemployment is high among young men, who also increasingly are alienated from society and family. This alienation, combined with a lack of strong alternative social structures to replace the breakdown of traditional family structures that has accompanied Maldives’ development trajectory, appear to be propelling young men towards greater social conservatism, participation in gangs, drug use and violence. Nonetheless, women are more disadvantaged in more realms of life than are men. Moreover, public support for gender equality and women’s rights appears to be declining. These developments are worrying for the future of gender equality in the Maldives, as well as for a more inclusive development model that would offer opportunities to both men and women.

Now in hard cover and fully revised and updated with detailed maps of all atolls and features including dive sites, surfing sites, mangroves, turtle and bird nesting islands, protected marine areas and a complete island index with a new grid referencing system. Includes a history of early mapping and information on atoll structure and formation, based on the latest science. This book has stunning colour photos of islands and useful information for travelling in the atolls. Blurb: This 6th edition of Atlas of the Maldives has been fully revised and updated to reflect the many changes occurring on both land and at sea since the last edition in 2007. It includes new material on the early mapping of the Maldives and its impact on science. The writings of Moresby, Darwin and other recent researchers, are used to explain the formation, structure and geological history of the Maldives. • Detailed Atoll Maps • Islands & Features • History & Shipwrecks • Diving & Surfing • Wetlands & Lakes • Protected Marine Areas • Marine LIfe • Turtles & Birds "The first view of these Islands from seaward, is imposing, and impresses a stranger with a favorable idea of them. Imagine a beautiful verdant fringe, of a mile or so in extent emerging suddenly from the sea on the distant horizon." Mr ‘Prentice’ Boyce, Purser aboard Captain Robert Moresby’s survey ship Benares, 1836.