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 baselines
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
contiguous zone: 24 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: 3%
permanent crops: 7%
other: 90% (1998 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 with strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

NOTE: The information regarding Maldives on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Maldives Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Maldives Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.