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1 [1] (March 24, 2025)

handle is hein.crs/mdsbckgd0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Inforrning the legislative debate since 1914 Updated March 24, 2025 Maldives: Background and Issues Facing Congress Background The Republic of Maldives is an archipelagic nation of about 515,000 people located in the Indian Ocean near strategic sea lanes southwest of Sri Lanka. About 188 of Maldives' 1,192 low-lying islands are inhabited. Approximately 41% of the population lives in the capital of Mald. Maldives is vulnerable to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. Since 2020, the United States government, including Congress, has increased its engagement with Maldives in response to challenges in the Indo-Pacific, including strategic competition with the People's Republic of China (PRC, or China). The United States established an embassy in Mald in 2023. Politics Maldives is a unitary presidential republic with a unicameral legislature, the People's Majlis. Between 1978 and 2008, the country's political scene was dominated by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. During his presidency, Maldives experienced periods of instability and repression before embarking on a process of political reform in 2004. Maldives adopted a new constitution in 2008 and has since held multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections. Some parts of civil society have expressed concerns about the integrity of the democratic process. In September 2023, Mald Mayor Mohamed Muizzu of the People's National Congress Party (NCP) defeated incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party in a presidential election assessed positively by the European Union Election Observation Mission. President Muizzu began his five-year term in November 2023. In April 2024, Muizzu's NCP won a parliamentary majority. Economy Maldives is an upper-middle-income country according to the World Bank. Maldives' gross domestic product (GDP) stood at $6.6 billion in 2023, with per capita GDP at nearly $13,000. The country's economy is concentrated in the service sector (73%), followed by industry and manufacturing (11%), and agriculture (5%). Tourism accounts for roughly 30% of economic activity. Maldives registered over 2 million tourist arrivals in 2024, including from China (13%), Russia (11%), and the United Kingdom (UK, 9%). In 2023, Maldives' largest sources of imported goods were India (16%), Oman (15%), and United Arab Emirates (UAE, 13%). Its largest goods export destinations were Thailand (54%), the UK (14%), and Germany (8%). In May 2024, the International Monetary Fund assessed that Maldives remains at high risk of external and overall debt distress. According to Maldives' official figures, PRC- based entities account for 66% of Maldives' approximately $912 million in outstanding sovereign debt as of Q3 2024. The Export-Import Bank of India accounts for 20%. Figure I. Maldives in Brief Sources: Maldivian Census 2022, Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, UN Comtrade, World Bank. Relations with India and China Since 2013, competition between India and China for influence in Maldives has intensified. Maldives shares extensive ethnic, linguistic, cultural, and commercial links with India. In 1988, India intervened militarily to thwart an attempted coup in Maldives. Under former President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom (in office 2013-2018), half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, popular sentiment grew critical of India's military presence in Maldives. The resulting India Out campaign has become a rallying point for some political groups since 2018. One day after taking office in November 2023, President Muizzu-who has sought to diversify Maldives' partnerships away from India-officially requested India withdraw the nearly 80 soldiers stationed in the archipelago. India complied and replaced military personnel in Maldives with civilians. Since mid-2024, Muizzu has sought a less confrontational approach to India, despite investigative reports that India has considered supporting a bid by the Maldivian opposition to remove him. Muizzu paid a state visit to India in October 2024 which resulted in several million dollars' worth of economic agreements. Relations between Maldives and the PRC deepened during Yameen's presidency (2013-2018). Under Yameen, Maldives and the PRC agreed to several infrastructure and housing projects, as well as a free trade agreement. Some of these deals were financed with loans provided by the PRC. The Solih Administration (2018-2023) favored cultivating p)s:1crsreportsconQroess.

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