CountryQ826· pop 286· linked from 7,583 articles

Maldives

Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the eastern Arabian Sea, within the northern Indian Ocean. Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about from the Asian continent's mainland. Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.

AI overview

The Maldives is an island nation in South Asia made up of 26 atolls spread across the Indian Ocean, located southwest of India and Sri Lanka. It is notable as a unique archipelagic country whose geography spans a vast ocean area along the equator, from its northern to southern atolls.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Weather now

cached 16h ago

28°broken clouds

79% 7.1 m/s OpenWeatherMap

7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Country

Capital: Malé
Population: 515,132
Region: Asia · Southern Asia
Currencies

Article

39 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Ancient history and settlement
Buddhist period
Islamic period
Protectorate period
Independence and republic
21st century
Geography
Climate
Sea level rise
Environment{{anchor|Environmental issues}}
Marine ecosystem
Wildlife
Government and politics
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations
Military
Law
Human rights
Economy
Tourism
Visitors
Fishing industry
Transportation
Demographics
Languages
Thikijehi Thaana
Religion
Education
Health
Culture
Media
Sports
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an archipelagic country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean, near the southeastern boundary of the Arabian Sea. The Maldives is located southwest of India and Sri Lanka, about 750 kilometres (470 miles; 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. The Maldives' chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south.

The Maldives is the smallest country in Asia. Its land area is only 298 square kilometres (115 sq mi), but this is spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi) of the sea, making it one of the world's most spatially dispersed sovereign states. With a population of 515,132 in the 2022 census, it is the second least populous country in Asia and the ninth-smallest country by area, but also one of the most densely populated countries. The Maldives has an average ground-level elevation of around 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, and a highest natural point of only 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in), making it the world's lowest-lying country. Some sources state the highest point, Mount Villingili, as 5.1 metres or 17 feet.