| Geography | Maldives |
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Location:
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Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India |
Geographic coordinates:
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3 15 N, 73 00 E |
Map references:
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Asia |
Area:
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total: 298 sq km
land: 298 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative:
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about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC |
Land boundaries:
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0 km |
Coastline:
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644 km |
Maritime claims:
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measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Climate:
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tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August) |
Terrain:
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flat, with white sandy beaches |
Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m |
Natural resources:
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fish |
Land use:
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arable land: 13.33%
permanent crops: 30%
other: 56.67% (2005) |
Irrigated land:
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NA |
Total renewable water resources:
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0.03 cu km (1999) |
Total renewable water resources - per capita:
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76 cubic meters per capita |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 0.003 cu km/yr (98%/2%/0%)
per capita: 9 cu m/yr (1987) |
Natural hazards:
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tsunamis; low elevation of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise |
Environment - current issues:
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depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching |
Environment - international agreements:
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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:
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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 |
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