① 马尔代夫英语导游词

The Maldives ([ˈmɒldaɪvz] (help·info) or [ˈmɒldiːvz], or Maldive Islands), officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands between the Minicoy and the Chargos archipelagoes, and about seven hundred kilometres (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of Indian Ocean. The twenty-six atolls of Maldives encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, two hundred and fifty islands of which are inhabited.

The inhabitants were Buddhist, probably since Ashoka's period, in the 3rd century BC and possibly Hin before that. Islam was introced in 1153. The Maldives then came under the influence of the Portuguese (1558) and the Dutch (1654) seaborne empires. In 1887 it became a British protectorate. In 1965, the Maldives obtained independence from Britain (originally under the name "Maldive Islands"), and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a Republic.

The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of population. It is also the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world. Adherence to Islam is required for citizenship by a revision of the constitution in 2008: Article 9, Section D states that "a non-Muslim may not become a citizen of the Maldives."

Source from: wikipedia Maldives