600 kilometers south of the subcontinent, there is a small island country of 550,000 people, with a land area of only 298 square kilometers, known as the "last paradise on earth" - the Maldives.
1. The smallest country in Asia
Founded in 1965, the Maldives has a population equivalent to a small county on the mainland and is the smallest country in Asia about the size of Macau. Only 550,000 people are spread across more than 200 islands, each equivalent to a village.
2. Countries with the highest divorce rates in the world
Recognized as a honeymoon paradise in the world, the Maldives has the highest divorce rate. Due to the practice of polygamy in the country, it has become a paradise for many men in the Maldives, who change wives and take concubines without saying a word, resulting in many women who cannot bear to choose divorce.
3. The only capital without asphalt roads
The capital of Malé is the size of our community, only 2 square kilometers, but the population reaches a terrifying 250,000 people, more than half of the country's population is crammed into this community, one of the most densely populated capitals in the world, because the place is too small to build roads, Malé's roads are still paved with Portuguese colonial stone bricks.
4. The only motor vehicle allowed on the road
There are no car sales shops in the Maldives, only the capital Malé has about 500 taxis, most of which are second-hand cars eliminated from Japan, and all other vehicles are banned from the road. As a result, the Maldives became the only country in the world without traffic rules.
5. A bottle of Coke costs 30 yuan
As a small island nation, the Maldives imports almost everything from neighboring India, from rice and vegetables to household items. Here, a bottle of Coke costs as much as 30 yuan.
6. Cheap seafood
According to statistics, the average monthly salary in the Maldives in 2021 is about 3,000 yuan, but the house prices here are outrageously high, and the average price is 10,000 yuan per flat, but few people live in their own after buying a house, but they have been changed to homestay hotels to attract foreign tourists. The only consolation is that the price of seafood is extremely low.
7. The islands of the Maldives can be bought and sold freely
In the Maldives, a thousand islands are uninhabited, and the government allows residents and tourists to purchase island use rights, with rents ranging from 10,000 to 1 million per decade.
8. Most of the islands in the Maldives are piled up by bug droppings
In addition to being the smallest in Asia, the Maldives is also the lowest country in the world, with an average altitude of only 1.2 meters, but hurricanes are not often experienced here, otherwise larger waves can swallow the country. Many of the islands here are made up of ancient animal carcasses and seabird droppings.
9. Zheng He once led a fleet to land in the Maldives Islands
During the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He led a fleet to the Maldives, where the king was graciously entertained. Zheng He translated the name "Slipping Mountain Country" here. Before the last century, Maldives was the poorest country in Asia, but in the new century, it has vigorously developed tourism and has become the richest country in South Asia.
10. The Maldives implements free visas on arrival for Chinese
In 2019, the "China-Malaysia Friendship Bridge" built by China to the Maldives was officially opened to traffic, and the Maldives government provided a 30-day free visa on arrival policy for Chinese in order to thank China.
11. One of the hottest countries in Asia
The Maldives is tropical, with an average annual temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius, regardless of the four seasons of the year. Because of the small land, the government purposely opened an island to build an airport, and in 2015 opened another to store garbage across the country.
12. Conservative religious state
The Maldives not only has beautiful beaches and seascapes, it is also a religious country, most of the country's people believe in Islam, the government requires both men and women to wear long skirts and trousers when going out, swimming naked on the beach can be arrested, and the whole country cannot find a bar and entertainment hall.