THE MALDIVES

The group of 1,200 islands lies in the Indian Ocean, between just south of the equator and 8 degrees north, about 675 km south-west of Sri Lanka. About 200 islands are inhabited. The total area including land and sea is about 90,000 square km.

Republic of the Maldives is a chain of around 1200 islands stretching 750km across the Indian Ocean with the northernmost island at 7° 06" N and the southernmost island just crossing the Equator at 04° 42" S.
The exact number of islands varies according to the season and method of classification - islands come and go with the wind, waves and currents!