The Republic of Maldives (Maldivian: ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya) is the third country in Asia to enter the Numizon catalog. This island state located in the southwest of India in the Indian Ocean is made up of 26 ring-shaped atolls comprising over 1,000 coral islands. They are famous for their beaches, blue lagoons and vast reefs. The Maldives have long been a sultanate, first under Dutch influence and then under British protection. The country gained its independence in 1965 and became a republic in 1968. Before the period of mass tourism (which today brings up to a million visitors per year), the only resources of the archipelago came almost exclusively from the fishing, the main national resource which still employs a large part of the working population. The local currency is the Maldivian rupee or rufiyaa (MVR or MRF) which is only used in Maldivian territory, as it is prohibited to import or export it. Available in banknotes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 MVR, the rufiyaa is divided into 100 laaris. In January 2020, € 1 = MRF 17 and MRF 100 = € 5.90.

The first banknotes were issued by the Government of Maldives between 1947 and 1983. The Maldives Monetary Authority then took over issuance to this day ... In 73 years, only 52 banknotes will be issued!



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