The Maldives consists of 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of twenty-seven atolls situated in the Indian Ocean. Most atolls consist of a large, ring-shaped coral reef supporting numerous small islands.
The country covers an area of approximately 90,000 square kilometers, of which only 298 square kilometers is dry land. The islands are of average one to two square kilometers in area, and no individual island is longer than eight kilometers. The Maldives lies between 1-1.5 meters above sea level, with the highest island situated at 3 meters above sea level.
Maldives is largely flat and has no land features such as hills or rivers, but some islands have dunes such as that found in Hithadhoo island of Addu Atoll, and wetlands and marshes such as those found in the Fuvahmulah island of Gnaviyani Atoll.
The Maldives is renowned for its white sandy beaches, pristine turquoise waters and unique underwater marine life.
The people of the Maldives islands are widely dispersed across the atolls, with about 200 inhabited islands. About 164 islands are developed as tourist resorts and the remaining islands are uninhabited or used for agriculture & other livelihood purposes.
The capital of the Maldives is Male’.
