| Location: |
Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India |
| Geographic coordinates: |
3 15 N, 73 00 E |
| Map references: |
Asia |
| Area: |
total: 300 sq km
land: 300 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative: |
about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
644 km |
| Maritime claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
| Climate: |
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August) |
| Terrain: |
flat, with white sandy beaches |
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m |
| Natural resources: |
fish |
| Land use: |
arable land: 13.33%
permanent crops: 30%
other: 56.67% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: |
NA |
| Natural hazards: |
low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise |
| Environment - current issues: |
depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching |
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note: |
1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean |
