Location: Southern Asia, in the Indian Ocean off the southwest coast of India

Map references: Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 300 sq km
land area: 300 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 644 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 35-310 nm as defined by geographic coordinates; segment of zone coincides with maritime boundary with India
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

Terrain: flat with elevations only as high as 2.5 meters

Natural resources: fish

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 3%
forest and woodland: 3%
other: 84%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues: depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies
natural hazards: low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea

Note: 1,200 coral islands grouped into 19 atolls; archipelago of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

NOTE: The information regarding Maldives on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Maldives Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Maldives Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.