Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean, South Asia, south-southwest of India. It has a total land size of which makes it the smallest country in Asia. It consists of approximately 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres, making this one of the most geographically dispersed countries in the world. It has the 31st largest exclusive economic zone of . Composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, the atolls are situated atop a submarine ridge, long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs from north to south. Only near the southern end of this natural coral barricade do two open passages permit safe ship navigation from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other through the territorial waters of Maldives.
The largest island of Maldives is Gan, which belongs to Laamu Atoll or Hahdhummathi Maldives. In Addu Atoll the westernmost islands are connected by roads over the reef and the total length of the road is .
Physical geography
thumb|left|upright=1.35|Cross section of a coral reef in the Maldives
Most atolls of the Maldives consist of a large, ring-shaped coral reef supporting numerous small islands. Islands average only one to two square kilometres in area, and lie between above mean sea level.
The Maldives has no hills, but some islands have dunes which can reach above sea level, like the NW coast of Hithadhoo (Seenu Atoll) in Addu Atoll. The islands are too small to have rivers, but small lakes and marshes can be found in some of them.
On average, each atoll has approximately 5 to 10 inhabited islands; the uninhabited islands of each atoll number approximately 20 to 60.
Some islands are marshy, while others are higher owing to sand and gravel having been piled up by wave action. Often the soil is highly alkaline, and a deficiency in nitrogen, potash, and iron severely limits agricultural potential.
|source 2 = Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)
Climate change
Area and boundaries
thumb|North Miladhun madulu atoll, Maldives
Area:
<br>total:
<br>land:
298 km<sup>2</sup>
<br>water:
0 km<sup>2</sup>
Coastline:
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
<br>territorial sea:
<br>contiguous zone:
<br>exclusive economic zone:
Elevation extremes:
<br>lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m
<br>highest point:
unnamed location on Vilingili Island in the Addu Atoll . The Maldives have the lowest high-point of any country in the world.
Resources and land use
Natural resources:
fish
Land use:
<br>arable land:
10%
<br>permanent crops:
10%
<br>other:
80% (2011)
Irrigated land:
0 km<sup>2</sup> (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
0.03 km<sup>3</sup> (2011)
Environmental concerns
Natural hazards:
tsunamis; low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise. <br>
Some scientists fear it could be underwater by 2050 or 2100. The UN's environmental panel has warned that, at current rates, sea level would be high enough to make the country uninhabitable by 2100.
President Mohamed Nasheed aims to turn the Maldives into an entirely carbon neutral nation by 2020.
Environment – current issues:
depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies, global warming and sea level rise, coral reef bleaching