Sept 29 (Reuters) - Twelve tourists were injured in a bomb explosion on Saturday in the Maldives' capital, Male, the islands' government said. Here are some key facts about the Indian Ocean archipelago: POPULATION: 369,031 (July 2007 estimate) ETHNIC GROUPS: South Indians, Sinhalese and Arabs RELIGION: Mostly Sunni Muslim LANGUAGE: Maldivian Dhivehi (a dialect of Sinhala) GEOGRAPHY: The Maldives are a group of 1,192 islands scattered across 500 miles (800 km) of the Indian Ocean off the southern tip of India CAPITAL: Male ECONOMY: GDP $1 billion CURRENCY: Rufiyaa MAIN INDUSTRIES: Tourism, fish processing, boat building and coconut processing MAIN EXPORTS: Fish and clothing MAIN IMPORTS: Consumer goods, capital goods MODERN HISTORY: From the 12th Century, the Maldives were governed as a sultanate. The islands were under British protection from 1887 to 1965, when they became independent The Maldives became a republic in 1968. In 1988 Indian troops suppressed a coup by invading Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, currently in his sixth term, has ruled the archipelago since 1978 and is Asia's longest-serving ruler Source: Reuters, CIA's "The World Factbook", and World Bank
