Geography: The Maldives are a group of 1,192 islands scattered across 500 miles of the Indian Ocean off the southern tip of India.

Population: 300,000 (2007)

Ethnic groups: The archipelago’s population stems from migrations of Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Sinhalese and Arab people.

Religion: Islam, the official religion, is proclaimed as universal.

Language: Dhivehi (related to Sinhalese) is the official language, but English and Arabic are also spoken.

Capital: Male

Economy: The Maldives are known for luxury beach vacations and environmental consciousness in developing tourism.

The $850 million economy grew 7.6 per cent in 2007. The Maldivian Monetary Authority estimates economic growth of 8.3 per cent for 2008.

However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report in September that economic growth would slow to 6.5 per cent in 2008, less than its forecast 8.3 per cent.

Annual inflation is also expected to double to 15 per cent in 2008.

The budget deficit will hit 9.6 per cent of GDP this year, up from 7.8 per cent in 2007, owing to high spending and revenue shortfalls, the IMF forecast.

—Reuters