My World Factbook
(Learn more about the new, improved World Factbook)
Note: Most information adapted from the popular World Factbook is distributed between the websites GeoWorld (geography, people, communications & transportation), Politix (government) and Great Depression II (economy).
Geography
Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
3 15 N, 73 00 E
Area: 
total: 298 sq km
country comparison to the world: 
209
land: 298 sq km
water: 0 sq km
about 1.7 times the size of Washington, DC
0 km
644 km
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Current Weather
tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
flat, with white sandy beaches
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Viligili in the Addu Atholhu 2.4 m
fish
arable land: 13.33%
permanent crops: 30%
other: 56.67% (2005)
NA
0.03 cu km (1999)
total: 0.003 cu km/yr (98%/2%/0%)
per capita: 9 cu m/yr (1987)
tsunamis; low elevation of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise
depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching
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
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
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
