Chapter 1 | Page 28 1.4.3.1 Background to the case studies: The Maldives The Maldives is a small State, consisting of 1,192 islands situated across a strategic shipping route in the Indian Ocean. The economy has been closely associated with marine resources, including nature-based tourism and fishing. Despite a highly dispersed population of approximately 350,000 across 200 inhabited islands,68 the Maldives has achieved notable development progress in recent decades through a combination of private-sector-led tourism development and improving public service provision. According to the World Bank, from being one of the world’s 20 poorest countries in the 1980s, the Maldives has achieved middle-income status with a per capita annual income of over US$6,300 by 2012.69 The country has an executive presidential system; the president and vice president are directly elected for five year terms and an 87 member unicameral parliament is elected by popular vote for a term of five years. The Maldives has achieved significant success in addressing extreme poverty and underdevelopment, although much more needs to be done. Poverty has declined sharply over recent decades, as indicated by the most recent Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) for the period 20032010.70 About 8 percent of Maldivians lived on less than US$1.25 per day in 2009-10, compared to 9 percent in 2002-03.71 Key human development indicators such as infant mortality, maternal mortality, and educational attainment have registered significant improvements in recent years, and the Maldives remains the best-ranked country in the UNDP’s Human 68 Department of National Planning, Statistical Year Book 2013 (DNP-Maldives, Male', 2014), <http://planning.gov.mv/yearbook2013/yearbook.html>. 69 The World Bank, Maldives Overview (2014) <http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ maldives/overview>. 70 Department of National Planning, Household Income and Expenditure Survey- Maldives (Department of National Planning/Ministry of Finance and Treasury- Maldives, Male', Maldives, 2012) <http://planning.gov.mv/hies/HIES2012/FINAL% 20HIES%20REPORT%20april%202012.pdf>. 71 Ibid.