In 1999, the population of the Maldives was estimated to be around 300,000 people. The main ethnic groups in the country were Dhivehi and South Asians. The economy of the Maldives relied heavily on tourism, with a large number of visitors from Europe, North America and other parts of Asia. Foreign relations at this time were largely positive, with strong ties to India and other countries in the region. Politically, the Maldives had recently become a multi-party democracy after decades of authoritarian rule. This allowed for increased political diversity and opposition parties were able to contest in elections for the first time. This ushered in a period of greater freedom and openness in the country’s politics. See ethnicityology for Maldives in the year of 2018.
Yearbook 1999
Maldives. In November, general elections were held to 42 of Parliament’s 50 seats. Visit Countryaah official website to get information about the capital city of Maldives. A new constitution, which came into force in 1998, provided greater scope for political debate and civic influence. Since political parties are not allowed, the opportunities to conduct organized opposition are still limited. Eight parliamentary seats were appointed directly by the president.
- Also see Abbreviationfinder.org to see the acronym of MDV which stands for Maldives and other definitions of this 3-letter abbreviation.
HISTORY
The absence of political parties and the prolonged stay as President of the Republic of MA Gayoom (in office since 1978) have contributed to making the political life of the country substantially stable and free from significant changes. During the 1990s Gayoom, re-elected by plebiscite for the fourth time in 1993, while declaring himself willing to start a process of gradual democratization, did not in practice change his political conduct: the parties continued to be banned while the information remained subject to a strict censorship.
On an economic level, the government tried in recent years to diversify production activities, essentially based on fishing, and foreign investments in the tourism sector were favored. Particular attention continued to be paid to environmental problems, underlining, also at an international level, the threat weighing on the Maldives, as well as on the other nearby islands that are not very elevated, due to the possible increase in sea level due to the greenhouse effect.
In September 1998 Gayoom was re-elected president with over 80 % of the vote.
September
New loans from India
September 20
India is granting the Maldives a $ 250 million loan to help the country fight the spread of the coronavirus. The loan is seen as part of India’s efforts to reduce neighboring countries’ dependence on China. The Maldives’ tourism industry has been hit hard by the corona pandemic, despite the fact that it has been allowed to fly to and from the island republic since July. However, a night curfew still prevails. In August, India pledged $ 500 million to build bridges and roads in the Maldives. The Maldives has had more than 9,600 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 33 deaths with covid-19.
Some restrictions on tourism are reintroduced
2 September
The Maldives is forced to reintroduce certain restrictions against the corona pandemic due to the increase in the number of new infections at around 15 tourist resorts. Now all tourists must be able to show a negative test for covid-19 before they are allowed to travel into the country. The flow of tourists back to the Maldives has so far been small. From the opening on 15 July to the beginning of September, 5,200 tourists came to the island kingdom. Before the corona pandemic, the country received an average of 141,000 tourists per month. The Maldives has had more than 8,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 29 deaths with covid-19.
