| Geography | Maldives |
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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 |
Total renewable water resources:
 | 0.03 cu km (1999) |
Total renewable water resources - per capita:
 | 76 cubic meters per capita |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
 | Total: 0.003 cu km/yr (98%/2%/0%) Per capita: 9 cu m/yr (1987) |
Natural hazards:
 | low level of islands makes them 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 |
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