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| Location: |
Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
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| Geographic coordinates: |
3 15 N, 73 00 E
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| Area: |
total:
300 sq km
land:
300 sq km
water:
0 sq km
|
| Area - comparative: |
about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC
|
| Maritime claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone:
24 NM
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
territorial sea:
12 NM
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| Climate: |
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
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| Terrain: |
flat, with white sandy beaches
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| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point:
unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu Atoll 2.4 m
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| Land use: |
arable land:
10%
permanent crops:
0%
permanent pastures:
3%
forests and woodland:
3%
other:
84% (1993 est.)
|
| Natural hazards: |
low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise
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| Environment - current issues: |
depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching
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| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
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 of strategic location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean
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