Maldives

The Maldives is a collection of 1190 Islands in the Indian Ocean. These tiny islands spread over an area of 90,000 Square Kilometers, and this number is presented as the land area of Maldives. The dry area of the islands is approximately 300km².

Many of the islands are very small and only 200 are inhabited. The highest point on the Maldives rises just 8 feet above sea level, and the maldives is under threat of being submerged if the polar ice caps melt.

These islands are surrounded by stunningly beautiful coral reeves and not surprisingly tourism is Maldives main source of foreign income. Despite being a Moslem nation no restrictions on dress and alcohol are enforced in the tourist resort islands. However foriegn visitors are not allowed to visit the populated islands.

The capital of Maldives is Male, an island that is less than 4 km at it's widest. It's also one of the few capital cities in the world without pigeons. It's official policy to destroy birds on populated islands as the only source of fresh water in many islands is rainwater collected from the rooftops.

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