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, 17 atolls and 4 cities in the Maldives.
Background
During the Gayyoom Regime
During the regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, the administrative divisions consisted of 20 administrative atolls, all controlled by the central government in Male'.
Seven Provinces
In 2008, in an attempt of decentralization, the Nasheed government divided the country into seven provinces. This maneuver was the first time that governing power has been moved away from the capital Male' since 1117 A.D. However, the bill submitted by the government to decentralize the country according to this system was rejected by the opposition-majority parliament, who amended the bill, restricting decentralization as seven provinces. The final bill that was passed in 2010 by the parliament and ultimately ratified by the president, saw the decentralization of the country 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 and Addumulah.
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, 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:-
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.
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., 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.
An official name, for example Thiladhunmathi Uthuruburi.
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" or for "South".
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:.
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.
