| 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: 298 sq km land: 298 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries | total: 0 km |
| Coastline | 644 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August) |
| Terrain | flat, with white sandy beaches |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: 8th tee, golf course, Villingi Island 5 m lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 2 m |
| Natural resources | fish |
| Land use | agricultural land: 23.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 10% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 10% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 3.3% (2018 est.) forest: 3% (2018 est.) other: 73.7% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 0 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 30 million cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | tsunamis; low elevation of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise |
| Geography - note | smallest Asian country; archipelago of 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
