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Administrative divisions of the Maldives

January 07, 2023

The Administrative Divisions of the Maldives refers to the various units of government that provide local government services in the Maldives. According to the Decentralization Act 2010, the administrative divisions of the Maldives would consist of atolls, islands, and cities; each administered by their own local council, under the basic terms of home rule. Geographically, the Maldives are formed by a number of natural atolls plus a few islands and isolated reefs which form a pattern from North to South. Administratively, there are currently 189 islands, 18 atolls and 4 cities in the Maldives.

Each administrative atoll is marked, along with the thaana letter used to identify the atoll. Natural atolls are labelled in light blue. Full view of the map

Background

During the Gayyoom Presidency

During the presidency of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, the administrative divisions consisted of 20 administrative atolls, all controlled by the central government in Malé.

Seven Provinces

In 2008, in an attempt of decentralization, the Nasheed government divided the country into seven provinces. According to this system, the bill submitted by the government to decentralize the country was passed with the support of opposition-majority parliament, with their amendments to the bill. The final bill passed in 2010 by the parliament and ratified by the president saw the country's decentralisation as 21 constituencies.

The seven provinces were the following, followed by the atolls grouped within:

The seven provinces closely correspond to the historic divisions of Uthuru Boduthiladhunmathi. Dhekunu Boduthiladhunmathi, Uthuru Medhu-Raajje, Medhu-Raajje, Dhekunu Medhu-Raajje, Huvadhu (or Uthuru Suvadinmathi) and Addumulah (or Dhekunu Suvadinmathi).[citation needed]

Decentralization

On 15 October 2010, the government released a finalized list of the administrative constituencies established under the Decentralization Act. It listed 189 administrative constituencies. Out of these constituencies:

  • 4 constituencies were declared "cities", as according to the criteria for determining cities in this act. These two constituencies were Male', Fuvahmulah, Kulhudhuffushi and Seenu Atoll. After a referendum among the people, Seenu Atoll was renamed "Addu City". Each city would be served by a city council.
  • 189 constituencies were declared "islands", as according to the criteria for determining islands in this act. These islands are grouped together into 17 atolls. Each atoll shall be served by an atoll council (which will be located on the capital island of the respective atoll), under which each island has its own island council.

Therefore, the final organization of the administrative divisions are as below:

  • 17 atolls
  • 4 cities
  • 189 islands

National Offices

Although the earlier provincial decentralization was rejected by Parliament, President Nasheed reinstated the concept through "National Administrations". The National Administrations of Maldives were in the same divisions as the earlier provinces, and the previous province offices were reinstated as the office of that National Administration, to which the atoll councils reported to accordingly. The National Administrations acted as an extension of the central government in Male' for the convenience of dealing with regional affairs. The National Administrations operated under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The seven National Administrations were:-

  • Upper North National Administration
  • North National Administration
  • North Central National Administration
  • Central National Administration
  • South Central National Administration
  • Upper South National Administration
  • South National Administration

Each administration was headed by a state minister assigned by the president.

All 7 National Offices were abolished by the Waheed administration on 24 April 2012.[1]

Local Council Election 2011

On 5 February 2011, the country's first ever Local council elections were held to elect 188 island councils, 19 atoll councils and 2 city councils. The island of Felivaru, in Lhaviyani Atoll did not participate in the election, since being a newly declared inhabited island, did not have any person registered as a citizen of the island. As of May 2013, the island council election for Felivaru has yet to take place.

Divisions

The first-level divisions are cities and atolls.

City

A city is an inhabited area with a population of 10,000+. The criteria also includes a certain level of economic development and facilities available. A city has a "city council" which governs over the affairs of the city, and keeps communication with the central government. A city will not be included within an administrative atoll. A city has further subdivisions called "wards" or "districts". A city council will also govern over any uninhabited islands or resort islands within its designated area. There are four cities in Maldives. They are Male', Addu, Fuvahmulah and Kulhudhuffushi.

Atoll

The administrative definition of an "atoll" differs from the actual meaning of the word 'atoll'. While naturally, an "atoll" refers to a ring of islands, an "atoll" in the administrative sense, refers to a group of "island" class constituencies, not necessarily within the requirements of a natural atoll. While the majority of administrative atolls are indeed natural atolls, there are exceptions. Each administrative atoll has an "atoll council" which monitors the work of the "island councils" in the atoll, and keep communications with the central government. An atoll council also governs all uninhabited islands and resort islands in their area. There are 18 atolls in Maldives.

Island

The administrative definition of an "island" differs from the actual meaning of the word 'island'. While naturally, an "island" refers to a land-mass surrounded by water, an "island" in the administrative sense, refers to a specified inhabited area within an administrative atoll, which is governed over by an "island council". While the majority of "island" class constituencies are indeed natural islands. There are 189 such islands, each with its own island council. (Except for Felivaru, Lhaviyani Atoll)

Codes and Names of the Administrative Divisions

Every first-level administrative division of the Maldives have the following:

  1. An official name, for example Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi (meaning Thiladhunmathi North).
    This corresponds to the geographical Maldivian name of the Atoll.
  2. A Maldivian code letter, for example: Haa Alifu. When there are two letters, the second stands either for "North" (Alifu) or for "South" (Dhaalu).
    This code was adopted for convenience. It began in order to facilitate radio communication between the atolls and the central administration. As there are certain islands in different atolls that have the same name, for administrative purposes this code is quoted before the name of the island: for example, Baa Funadhoo, Kaafu Funadhoo, Gaafu-Alifu Funadhoo. This code denomination has been very much misused by foreigners and tourists who do not understand the proper use of these names, and the true Maldivian names have often been ignored in publications for tourists. Maldivians may use the letter code name in colloquial conversation, but in serious geographic, historical or cultural writings, the true geographical name always takes precedence.
  1. A Latin code letter, for example: (A).
    The Latin code letter is normally used in boat registration plates. The letter stands for the atoll and the number for the island.

Each atoll has a capital island. All islands of every atoll have their own official name. All cities have an official name, and names for their subdivisions. They also have a Latin code letter assigned to them.

Traditionally, Maldivians call the atolls ending in '-madulu' or '-mathi' by their name without adding the word 'Atoll' at the end. For example, it is correct to write simply Kolhumadulu, without adding the word 'Atholhu' or 'Atoll'. This is also the case in the atoll known as Faadhippolhu as well as the small detached atoll of Fuvahmulah.

First-level administrative Divisions of Maldives

Atolls

ISO 3166-2:MV Latin Letter Code Abbr. Local letter Code Name Official Name Capital Population
(2014 census)[2]
MV-07 A HA ހއ Haa Alif Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi Didhdhoo 13,004
MV-24 C Sh ށ Shaviyani Miladhunmadulu Uthuruburi Funadhoo 12,127
MV-25 D N ނ Noonu Miladhunmadulu Dhekunuburi Manadhoo 10,556
MV-13 E R ރ Raa Maalhosmadulu Uthuruburi U'ngoofaaru 14,934
MV-20 F B ބ Baa Maalhosmadulu Dhekunuburi Eydhafushi 8,919
MV-03 G Lh ޅ Lhaviyani Faadhippolhu Naifaru 7,996
MV-26 H K ކ Kaafu Malé Atholhu Thulusdhoo 12,232
MV-02 U AA އއ Alif Alif Ari Atholhu Uthuruburi Rasdhoo 5,915
MV-00 I ADh އދ Alif Dhaal Ari Atholhu Dhekunuburi Mahibadhoo 8,183
MV-04 J V ވ Vaavu Felidhu Atholhu Felidhoo 1,622
MV-12 K M މ Meemu Mulak Atholhu Muli 4,711
MV-14 L F ފ Faafu Nilandhe Atholhu Uthuruburi Nilandhoo 4,140
MV-17 M Dh ދ Dhaalu Nilandhe Atholhu Dhekunuburi Kudahuvadhoo 5,329
MV-08 N Th ތ Thaa Kolhumadulu Veymandoo 8,923
MV-05 O L ލ Laamu Haddhunmathi Fonadhoo 11,841
MV-27 P GA ގއ Gaafu Alif Huvadhu Atholhu Uthuruburi Villingili 8,477
MV-28 Q GDh ގދ Gaafu Dhaalu Huvadhu Atholhu Dhekunuburi Thinadhoo 11,653

Cities

ISO 3166-2:MV Latin Letter Code Abbr. Local letter Code Name Official Name Capital Population
(2014 census)
MV-MLE T - - Malé Malé City Malé 133,412
MV-29 R Gn ޏ Gnaviyani Fuvahmulah City Fuvahmulah 8,095
MV-01 S S ސ Seenu/Addu Addu City Hithadhoo 19,827
MV-23 B HDh ހދ Haa Dhaalu Thiladhunmathi Dhekunuburi Kulhudhuffushi 10,189

See also

References

  1. ^ . Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013. HaveeruOnline news article
  2. ^ "Total Maldivian Population by Islands, Census 2014" (PDF).
  • Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee. Divehiraajjege Jōgrafīge Vanavaru. G.Sōsanī. Malé 1999.
  • Hasan A. Maniku. The Islands of Maldives. Novelty. Male 1983.
  • Hasan A. Maniku. Changes in the Topography of the Maldives. Novelty. Male 1990.
  • Inaaz A. Wahhab. The katheeb of the island. Kaamaraa. Male 1970.

External links

  • Attols of Maldives site
  • statoid site

January 07, 2023
administrative, divisions, maldives, administrative, divisions, maldives, refers, various, units, government, that, provide, local, government, services, maldives, according, decentralization, 2010, administrative, divisions, maldives, would, consist, atolls, . The Administrative Divisions of the Maldives refers to the various units of government that provide local government services in the Maldives According to the Decentralization Act 2010 the administrative divisions of the Maldives would consist of atolls islands and cities each administered by their own local council under the basic terms of home rule Geographically the Maldives are formed by a number of natural atolls plus a few islands and isolated reefs which form a pattern from North to South Administratively there are currently 189 islands 18 atolls and 4 cities in the Maldives Each administrative atoll is marked along with the thaana letter used to identify the atoll Natural atolls are labelled in light blue Full view of the map Contents 1 Background 1 1 During the Gayyoom Presidency 1 2 Seven Provinces 1 3 Decentralization 1 3 1 National Offices 1 4 Local Council Election 2011 2 Divisions 2 1 City 2 2 Atoll 2 3 Island 3 Codes and Names of the Administrative Divisions 4 First level administrative Divisions of Maldives 4 1 Atolls 4 2 Cities 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksBackground EditDuring the Gayyoom Presidency Edit During the presidency of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom the administrative divisions consisted of 20 administrative atolls all controlled by the central government in Male Seven Provinces Edit In 2008 in an attempt of decentralization the Nasheed government divided the country into seven provinces According to this system the bill submitted by the government to decentralize the country was passed with the support of opposition majority parliament with their amendments to the bill The final bill passed in 2010 by the parliament and ratified by the president saw the country s decentralisation as 21 constituencies The seven provinces were the following followed by the atolls grouped within Upper North Province consisting of Haa Alif Haa Dhaalu and Shaviyani Atolls capital Kulhudhuffushi North Province consisting of Baa Lhaviyani Noonu and Raa Atolls capital Felivaru North Central Province consisting of Alif Alif Alif Dhaal Kaafu and Vaavu Atolls and Male City capital Thulusdhoo Central Province consisting of Dhaalu Faafu and Meemu Atolls capital Kudahuvadhoo South Central Province consisting of Thaa and Laamu Atolls capital Gan Upper South Province consisting of Gaafu Alif and Gaafu Dhaalu Atolls capital Thinadhoo South Province consisting of Gnaviyani Atoll and Addu City capital Hithadhoo The seven provinces closely correspond to the historic divisions of Uthuru Boduthiladhunmathi Dhekunu Boduthiladhunmathi Uthuru Medhu Raajje Medhu Raajje Dhekunu Medhu Raajje Huvadhu or Uthuru Suvadinmathi and Addumulah or Dhekunu Suvadinmathi citation needed Decentralization Edit On 15 October 2010 the government released a finalized list of the administrative constituencies established under the Decentralization Act It listed 189 administrative constituencies Out of these constituencies 4 constituencies were declared cities as according to the criteria for determining cities in this act These two constituencies were Male Fuvahmulah Kulhudhuffushi and Seenu Atoll After a referendum among the people Seenu Atoll was renamed Addu City Each city would be served by a city council 189 constituencies were declared islands as according to the criteria for determining islands in this act These islands are grouped together into 17 atolls Each atoll shall be served by an atoll council which will be located on the capital island of the respective atoll under which each island has its own island council Therefore the final organization of the administrative divisions are as below 17 atolls 4 cities 189 islandsNational Offices Edit Although the earlier provincial decentralization was rejected by Parliament President Nasheed reinstated the concept through National Administrations The National Administrations of Maldives were in the same divisions as the earlier provinces and the previous province offices were reinstated as the office of that National Administration to which the atoll councils reported to accordingly The National Administrations acted as an extension of the central government in Male for the convenience of dealing with regional affairs The National Administrations operated under the Ministry of Home Affairs The seven National Administrations were Upper North National Administration North National Administration North Central National Administration Central National Administration South Central National Administration Upper South National Administration South National AdministrationEach administration was headed by a state minister assigned by the president All 7 National Offices were abolished by the Waheed administration on 24 April 2012 1 Local Council Election 2011 Edit On 5 February 2011 the country s first ever Local council elections were held to elect 188 island councils 19 atoll councils and 2 city councils The island of Felivaru in Lhaviyani Atoll did not participate in the election since being a newly declared inhabited island did not have any person registered as a citizen of the island As of May 2013 update the island council election for Felivaru has yet to take place Divisions EditThe first level divisions are cities and atolls City Edit A city is an inhabited area with a population of 10 000 The criteria also includes a certain level of economic development and facilities available A city has a city council which governs over the affairs of the city and keeps communication with the central government A city will not be included within an administrative atoll A city has further subdivisions called wards or districts A city council will also govern over any uninhabited islands or resort islands within its designated area There are four cities in Maldives They are Male Addu Fuvahmulah and Kulhudhuffushi Atoll Edit The administrative definition of an atoll differs from the actual meaning of the word atoll While naturally an atoll refers to a ring of islands an atoll in the administrative sense refers to a group of island class constituencies not necessarily within the requirements of a natural atoll While the majority of administrative atolls are indeed natural atolls there are exceptions Each administrative atoll has an atoll council which monitors the work of the island councils in the atoll and keep communications with the central government An atoll council also governs all uninhabited islands and resort islands in their area There are 18 atolls in Maldives Island Edit The administrative definition of an island differs from the actual meaning of the word island While naturally an island refers to a land mass surrounded by water an island in the administrative sense refers to a specified inhabited area within an administrative atoll which is governed over by an island council While the majority of island class constituencies are indeed natural islands There are 189 such islands each with its own island council Except for Felivaru Lhaviyani Atoll Codes and Names of the Administrative Divisions EditEvery first level administrative division of the Maldives have the following An official name for example Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi meaning Thiladhunmathi North This corresponds to the geographical Maldivian name of the Atoll A Maldivian code letter for example Haa Alifu When there are two letters the second stands either for North Alifu or for South Dhaalu This code was adopted for convenience It began in order to facilitate radio communication between the atolls and the central administration As there are certain islands in different atolls that have the same name for administrative purposes this code is quoted before the name of the island for example Baa Funadhoo Kaafu Funadhoo Gaafu Alifu Funadhoo This code denomination has been very much misused by foreigners and tourists who do not understand the proper use of these names and the true Maldivian names have often been ignored in publications for tourists Maldivians may use the letter code name in colloquial conversation but in serious geographic historical or cultural writings the true geographical name always takes precedence A Latin code letter for example A The Latin code letter is normally used in boat registration plates The letter stands for the atoll and the number for the island Each atoll has a capital island All islands of every atoll have their own official name All cities have an official name and names for their subdivisions They also have a Latin code letter assigned to them Traditionally Maldivians call the atolls ending in madulu or mathi by their name without adding the word Atoll at the end For example it is correct to write simply Kolhumadulu without adding the word Atholhu or Atoll This is also the case in the atoll known as Faadhippolhu as well as the small detached atoll of Fuvahmulah First level administrative Divisions of Maldives EditAtolls Edit ISO 3166 2 MV Latin Letter Code Abbr Local letter Code Name Official Name Capital Population 2014 census 2 MV 07 A HA ހއ Haa Alif Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi Didhdhoo 13 004MV 24 C Sh ށ Shaviyani Miladhunmadulu Uthuruburi Funadhoo 12 127MV 25 D N ނ Noonu Miladhunmadulu Dhekunuburi Manadhoo 10 556MV 13 E R ރ Raa Maalhosmadulu Uthuruburi U ngoofaaru 14 934MV 20 F B ބ Baa Maalhosmadulu Dhekunuburi Eydhafushi 8 919MV 03 G Lh ޅ Lhaviyani Faadhippolhu Naifaru 7 996MV 26 H K ކ Kaafu Male Atholhu Thulusdhoo 12 232MV 02 U AA އއ Alif Alif Ari Atholhu Uthuruburi Rasdhoo 5 915MV 00 I ADh އދ Alif Dhaal Ari Atholhu Dhekunuburi Mahibadhoo 8 183MV 04 J V ވ Vaavu Felidhu Atholhu Felidhoo 1 622MV 12 K M މ Meemu Mulak Atholhu Muli 4 711MV 14 L F ފ Faafu Nilandhe Atholhu Uthuruburi Nilandhoo 4 140MV 17 M Dh ދ Dhaalu Nilandhe Atholhu Dhekunuburi Kudahuvadhoo 5 329MV 08 N Th ތ Thaa Kolhumadulu Veymandoo 8 923MV 05 O L ލ Laamu Haddhunmathi Fonadhoo 11 841MV 27 P GA ގއ Gaafu Alif Huvadhu Atholhu Uthuruburi Villingili 8 477MV 28 Q GDh ގދ Gaafu Dhaalu Huvadhu Atholhu Dhekunuburi Thinadhoo 11 653Cities Edit ISO 3166 2 MV Latin Letter Code Abbr Local letter Code Name Official Name Capital Population 2014 census MV MLE T Male Male City Male 133 412MV 29 R Gn ޏ Gnaviyani Fuvahmulah City Fuvahmulah 8 095MV 01 S S ސ Seenu Addu Addu City Hithadhoo 19 827MV 23 B HDh ހދ Haa Dhaalu Thiladhunmathi Dhekunuburi Kulhudhuffushi 10 189See also EditList of islands of the Maldives Atolls of the Maldives ISO 3166 2 MVReferences Edit HaveeruOnline President abolishes National Offices and National Office Units Archived from the original on 7 December 2013 Retrieved 27 April 2013 HaveeruOnline news article Total Maldivian Population by Islands Census 2014 PDF Muhammadu Ibrahim Lutfee Divehiraajjege Jōgrafige Vanavaru G Sōsani Male 1999 Hasan A Maniku The Islands of Maldives Novelty Male 1983 Hasan A Maniku Changes in the Topography of the Maldives Novelty Male 1990 Inaaz A Wahhab The katheeb of the island Kaamaraa Male 1970 External links EditAttols of Maldives site statoid site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Administrative divisions of the Maldives amp oldid 1106319162, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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