Languages of Maldives

The official and common language is Dhivehi, an Indo-Aryan language closely related to the Sinhala language of Sri Lanka. The first known script used to write Dhivehi is eveyla akuru, which is found in historical recording of kings (raadhavalhi). Later a script called dhives akuru was used for a long period. The present-day script is called Thaana and is written from right to left. Thaana is said to have been introduced by the reign of Mohamed Thakurufaanu. The Dhivehi language is spoken by virtually the whole population.

Arabic (عربي) is the religious language of Muslims as well as the language of the Quran and Sunnah. Arabic is taught as a religious language in mosques. Some of the population has some formal or informal education in the reading, writing and pronunciation of the Arabic language, as part of religious education.

English is widely spoken[3] by the locals of Maldives.[4]

• Demographics of the Maldives