Maldives
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Introduction - Maldives: | Location - Maldives: | 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
land: 300 sq km
water: 0 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
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 30%
other: 56.67% (2005) | | Irrigated land | NA | | 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, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
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 | |
People - Maldives: | Government - Maldives: | Economy - Maldives: | Communications - Maldives: | Transportation - Maldives: | Military - Maldives: |
This page was last updated on 16 September, 2007 Source: CIA >>> |