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
water: 0 sq km
land: 300 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
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
contiguous zone: 24 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: 13.33%
permanent crops: 16.67%
other: 70% (2001) |
| 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 with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean
Source: CIA World Factbook
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