Maafaru (Noonu Atoll)

Maafaru (Dhivehi: މާފަރު) is one of the inhabited islands of Noonu Atoll in the Maldives.

Maafaru މާފަރު
Inhabited island
Maafaru Location in Maldives
Coordinates: 05°49′55″N 73°28′49″E
Country	Maldives
Geographic atoll	Miladhummadulhu Atoll
Administrative atoll	Southern Miladhunmadulu
Distance to Malé	183.23 km (113.85 mi)
Government
• Council	Mohamed Adhnaan
Dimensions
• Length	4.630 km (2.877 mi)
• Width	0.630 km (0.391 mi)
Population  (2022)[1]
• Total	919
Time zone	UTC+05:00 (MST)

Geography

The island is 183.23 km (114 mi; 99 nmi) north of the country's capital, Malé.^[2]

Demography

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
2006	710	—
2014	697	−1.8%
2022	919	+31.9%
2006-2014-2022: Census populations Source: [3][1]

Transport

Maafaru International Airport was built in 2018, having a 2,200 m (7,200 ft) runway,^[4] and built with aid from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.^[5]

9/11 themed Eid celebration

The Adha Eid celebrations that took place at Maafaru in 2018 were criticised after photos of it appeared on Facebook. The images show men acting as terrorists armed with pretend rifles and a tower with a US flag on top of it. The finale featured a plastic plane hanging from a wire and crashing into the tower, with smoke and fire billowing. The Facebook post with the images was later removed. The same spectacle has been held on the island for at least two consecutive years, according to the organizer.^[6][7][8][9]