The Maldives is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka, a chain of around 1,200 coral islands grouped into atolls strung across the equator. Famous around the world for its turquoise lagoons, white sands, and luxury resorts, it is the lowest-lying country on Earth, with most of its land barely above the waves, which has made it a symbol of the threat posed by rising seas. An entirely Muslim nation with a long seafaring history, it lives chiefly from tourism and fishing.

The story of the Maldives is one of seafarers and traders, of a Buddhist kingdom that turned to Islam, and of a small nation navigating the ambitions of far larger powers.

The islands were settled long ago by seafarers, probably from the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka, and for many centuries the Maldives was a Buddhist kingdom. Strung across the Indian Ocean trade routes, it grew famous for its cowrie shells, used as currency from Africa to China, and for its coir rope. In the twelfth century the islands converted to Islam, which has defined them ever since.

An ancient Maldivian copper-plate grant, a relic of the islands' Buddhist era before the twelfth-century conversion to Islam. Such documents are among the oldest written records of the kingdom.
An ancient Maldivian copper-plate grant, a relic of the islands' Buddhist era before the twelfth-century conversion to Islam. Such documents are among the oldest written records of the kingdom.Credit: Unknown (Public domain).
A sixteenth-century Portuguese depiction of the people of the Maldives. The islands' seafaring inhabitants were well known across the Indian Ocean world of trade.
A sixteenth-century Portuguese depiction of the people of the Maldives. The islands' seafaring inhabitants were well known across the Indian Ocean world of trade.Credit: Unknown authorUnknown author (CC0).

For centuries the Maldives was an Islamic sultanate that had to reckon with the great powers of the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese seized the islands briefly in the sixteenth century before being driven out, and later the sultanate came under Dutch and then British protection, all while keeping its own rulers.

An eighteenth-century European map of the Maldives, its long chains of atolls carefully charted. The islands were a landmark, and a hazard, on the sea routes across the Indian Ocean.
An eighteenth-century European map of the Maldives, its long chains of atolls carefully charted. The islands were a landmark, and a hazard, on the sea routes across the Indian Ocean.Credit: Pierre Mortier of The Netherlands (Public domain).
An early depiction of the Portuguese in the Maldives. European powers competed for influence over the strategically placed islands, though the sultanate long kept its own rulers.
An early depiction of the Portuguese in the Maldives. European powers competed for influence over the strategically placed islands, though the sultanate long kept its own rulers.Credit: Unknown portuguese (Public domain).

Under British protection the Maldives remained largely self-governing, and during the Second World War the British built a major air and naval base on the southern atoll of Gan. The country gained full independence in 1965 and three years later abolished the sultanate to become a republic.

British Royal Air Force operations in the Maldives during the Second World War. The base built on the southern atoll of Gan gave the remote islands a role in the wider war.
British Royal Air Force operations in the Maldives during the Second World War. The base built on the southern atoll of Gan gave the remote islands a role in the wider war.Credit: Lea T (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer (Public domain).
The signing of the agreement that made the Maldives fully independent in 1965, ending its era as a British protected state. The sultanate was abolished soon after and the country became a republic.
The signing of the agreement that made the Maldives fully independent in 1965, ending its era as a British protected state. The sultanate was abolished soon after and the country became a republic.Credit: Rhalu7 (CC0).

The Maldives is made up of a long double chain of coral atolls, themselves composed of around 1,200 tiny low islands, of which only a couple of hundred are inhabited, plus many more given over to resorts. The country is extraordinarily flat and low, with an average ground level barely a metre or so above the sea and its highest natural point among the lowest of any nation, leaving it acutely vulnerable to rising sea levels. Surrounded by warm, clear waters, vibrant coral reefs, and abundant marine life, the islands are a paradise for diving and beach tourism.

An aerial view of Maldivian atolls, rings of coral reef and low sandy islands scattered across the Indian Ocean. With most of its land barely a metre above the sea, the Maldives is the lowest-lying country on Earth.
An aerial view of Maldivian atolls, rings of coral reef and low sandy islands scattered across the Indian Ocean. With most of its land barely a metre above the sea, the Maldives is the lowest-lying country on Earth.Credit: Frédéric Ducarme (CC BY-SA 4.0).

The Maldives is a presidential republic whose young democracy, opened up in 2008, has been turbulent, marked by contested elections and bitter rivalries. Its politics is also shaped by geography: the islands sit astride vital Indian Ocean shipping lanes, and India and China compete for influence over them. The president since 2023, Mohamed Muizzu, campaigned on reducing the presence of Indian forces and has tilted the country toward closer ties with China, making the Maldives a small but strategically significant stage for the rivalry between the two Asian giants.

Mohamed Muizzu, elected president of the Maldives in 2023. He campaigned to reduce Indian influence and has drawn the islands closer to China, in a country courted by both Asian powers.
Mohamed Muizzu, elected president of the Maldives in 2023. He campaigned to reduce Indian influence and has drawn the islands closer to China, in a country courted by both Asian powers.Credit: The President's Office, Maldives (CC BY 4.0).

The Maldivian economy rests overwhelmingly on tourism: the country's turquoise lagoons and luxury island resorts draw well over a million visitors a year and provide the bulk of its income and foreign currency. The second pillar is fishing, above all for tuna in the surrounding ocean, long carried out by pole and line in a relatively sustainable way, and a traditional export. With almost no farmland or industry, the Maldives imports most of what it consumes, which leaves it exposed to any shock to travel or to global prices.

Flag of the Maldives.
Flag of the Maldives.

The flag of the Maldives has a red field with a large green rectangle in the centre bearing a white crescent. The red represents the boldness and the blood of the nation's heroes, the green the palm trees and the prosperity and peace of the country, and the white crescent the Islamic faith that unites all Maldivians. The design reflects the central place of Islam in the life of the nation, which is constitutionally an entirely Muslim state, and it has flown since around the time of independence.

The Maldives is entirely Muslim, and Islam is the state religion and a requirement of citizenship, woven into the law and identity of the nation since the conversion from Buddhism in the twelfth century. The population is Sunni, and the country follows an officially strict religious framework in which the public practice of other faiths is not permitted. Mosques are central to community life across the atolls, and Islamic observance shapes the rhythm of the year, even as the country welcomes millions of visitors of all backgrounds to its resorts.

Maldivian cuisine revolves around the three pillars of the islands: fish, coconut, and starches such as rice. Tuna, abundant in the surrounding ocean, is the heart of the diet, eaten fresh, dried, or smoked, and a signature dish is mas huni, shredded smoked tuna mixed with grated coconut, onion, and chili, eaten at breakfast with flatbread. Curries rich with coconut and spices, short eats or savoury snacks, and the use of fish in countless forms reflect influences from South Asia and the wider Indian Ocean world.

Maldivian culture is that of a seafaring, island people, expressed in a heritage of boat-building, in the drumming and dancing of bodu beru, and in a distinctive language, Dhivehi, written in its own right-to-left script. Islam, universal across the islands, gives shape to daily life and the calendar, blended with older customs of the sea. Modern life is increasingly concentrated in the crowded capital, even as the resorts on their private islands present a very different face of the country to the outside world.

No country is more exposed to climate change than the Maldives. With most of its land barely a metre above the ocean, even a modest rise in sea level threatens to swallow islands, contaminate fresh water, and, in the worst forecasts, make much of the country uninhabitable within the lifetimes of people alive today. Maldivian leaders have become some of the world's loudest voices on the danger, once staging a cabinet meeting underwater to dramatise it, and the country has resorted to building up higher artificial islands and even discussing the once-unthinkable idea of buying land abroad. Scientists debate the exact pace and severity, and the islands may adapt in ways hard to predict, but the existential nature of the threat to a nation at sea level is not in serious doubt.

The Maldives has a population of around 520,000 people, a homogeneous nation descended from the seafaring settlers of the islands, with a heritage drawing on South Asian, Arab, and other Indian Ocean peoples. The official language is Dhivehi, and Islam is universal. The population is spread thinly across the inhabited islands, but a large and growing share lives in the densely crowded capital, Malé, one of the most densely populated cities in the world, built on a single small island ringed by the sea.

Malé, the capital of the Maldives, packed onto a single small island barely above the waves. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, it is home to a large share of the nation's people.
Malé, the capital of the Maldives, packed onto a single small island barely above the waves. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, it is home to a large share of the nation's people.Credit: Shahee Ilyas (CC BY-SA 3.0).