Short facts about the geography of Maldives

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 baselines contiguous zone:  24 NM exclusive economic zone:  200 NM territorial sea:  12 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:  10% permanent crops:  0% permanent pastures:  3% forests and woodland:  3% other:  84% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land:

NA sq km

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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection 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 of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

Source: World Factbook