Maldives
/ˈmɔːldaɪvz/(亦作Maldive Islands)
- a country consisting of a chain of coral islands in the Indian Ocean south-west of Sri Lanka; pop. 396,300 (est.2009); official language, Maldivian; capital, Male.马尔代夫（斯里兰卡西南面印度洋岛国, 由一系列珊瑚岛组成; 2009年估计人口396,300; 官方语言马尔代夫语; 首都马累）。
The islands were probably first settled from southern India and Sri Lanka, but later came under Arab influence. A British protectorate from 1887, the Maldives became independent within the Commonwealth under the rule of a sultan in 1965 and then a republic in 1968.