The sultanate became an elected rather than a hereditary position when the islands' first constitution was drawn up in 1932. In 1953 the sultanate was abolished and a republic proclaimed, with Amin Didi as the first president. Less than a year later Didi was overthrown; the sultanate was returned, with Mohammed Farid Didi elected as the 94th sultan of the Maldives. Around the same time, the British secured permission to re-establish its wartime airfield on Addu Atoll in the far south of the country. In 1956 the Royal Air Force began developing the base as a staging post, employing hundreds of Maldivians and undertaking the resettlement of the Gan islanders. But when Ibrahim Nasir was elected prime minister in 1957 he immediately called for a review of the agreement, demanding that the lease be shortened and the annual payment increased.

This was followed by an insurrection against the government by the inhabitants of Addu and Suvadiva (Huvadu) atolls, who objected to Nasir's demand that the British cease employing local labour. Influenced by the British presence, they decided to cut ties altogether and form an independent state. In 1962 Nasir sent gunboats to the southern atolls and the rebellion was quashed. Britain recognised the islands' sovereignty soon after and in 1965 the Maldives became fully independent.

Following a referendum in 1968 the sultanate was again abolished and a new republic inaugurated with Nasir as president. His autocratic rule ended a decade later when, fearing for his life, he fled the country for Singapore. The progressive Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected president in his place. Gayoom has been in power ever since, surviving coup attempts in 1980 and 1988.

Recent years have been characterised by modernisation, rapid economic growth, and improvement in most social indicators. The main contributors to this growth have been the fishing industry, tourism and foreign aid. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was elected for a record sixth five-year term in 2003, the same year Amnesty International accused his government of human rights abuses.

The president has been in power since 1978, and faces pressures for political liberalisation and the introduction of multi-party democracy. Pro-democracy demonstrations in August 2004 led to dozens of dissidents being detained without charge, prompting the EU to suspend a multi-million dollar aid package. Many critics of the regime remain under house arrest on deserted outlying islands. Meanwhile, the prospect of environmental annihilation caused by rising sea levels overshadows island life. There has even been talk of the Maldives suing polluting Western nations for damage caused to their islands by rising sea levels linked to global warming.

The December 2004 tsunami sent waves up to 5m high surging over the Maldives. As the highest point on the islands is just 1.5m above sea level, much of the area was completely devastated and had to be evacuated. Some 20,500 islanders were displaced from their homes and 81 people were killed, including three tourists. A further 27 people are missing, presumed lost in the disaster.

The east coast was hardest hit, particularly in the North and South Malé Atolls, although the capital, Malé, was mostly unaffected. In the far south, Vilufushi in the Thaa Atoll and Kolhufushi in the Meemu Atoll were badly damaged. In the north, Kandholhudhoo island in the Raa Atoll was completely destroyed, displacing 3000 people from their homes. Several thousand residents of the worst effected islands are still homeless, staying in temporary accommodation or the homes of neighbouring islanders. The slow pace of reconstruction of replacement housing is causing some resentment, and there are signs that the welcome for refugees is wearing thin. Some people have even suggested that the islands affected by the disaster were punished by god for allowing alcohol and other Western vices to take root in these Muslim islands - not exactly a positive direction for a nation economically dependent on tourism. According to the UN, even though a majority of resorts are now open to tourists, the Maldives will suffer the worst economic effects of all the nations struck by the Indian Ocean tsunami. This is partly due to its dependence on tourism and fishing and partly a consequence of the costs of reconstruction over such geographically spread-out islands.

Politics may prove an even bigger issue for the Maldives. In April 2005, the exiled opposition leader Mohammed Nasheed returned to the Maldives and was promptly arrested, along with 100 supporters, for alleged treason against the Gayoom regime. Independent journalists have reported summary raids on island communities by the security services, who are banned from reading independent newspapers and listening to independent radio stations by a Gayoom edict. With supporters of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party now being arrested at an unprecedented rate, many locals are asking whether the protectionist policies of the Maldivian government are just a ruse to keep the people living under a dictatorship.