(Note that some sources state the highest point, Mount Villingili, as 5.1 meters) With an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 metres (4В ft 11В in) above sea level, and a highest natural point of only 2.4 meters, it is the world's lowest-lying country. The Maldivian Archipelago is located on the ChagosвЂ“Laccadive Ridge, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean this also forms a terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos Archipelago and Lakshadweep. MalГ© is the capital and the most populated city, traditionally called the 'King's Island' where the ancient royal dynasties ruled for its central location. The chain of 26 atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south (across the Equator).Д¬omprising a territory spanning roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000В sqВ mi) including the sea, land area of all the islands comprises 298 square kilometres (115В sqВ mi), Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed sovereign states and the smallest Asian country as well as one of the smallest Muslim-majority countries by land area and, with around 557,751 inhabitants, the 2nd least populous country in Asia.

It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometres (470 miles 400 nautical miles) from the Asian continent's mainland. Maldives ( / Л€ m Й”Лђ l d iЛђ v z/, US: / Л€ m Й”Лђ l d aЙЄ v z/ Dhivehi: Ю‹ЮЁЮ€Ю¬ЮЂЮЁЮѓЮ§Ю‡Ю°Ю–Ю¬, romanized: Dhivehi Raajje, Dhivehi pronunciation: ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( Dhivehi: Ю‹ЮЁЮ€Ю¬ЮЂЮЁЮѓЮ§Ю‡Ю°Ю–ЮЮЋЮ¬ Ю–ЮЄЮ‰Ю°ЮЂЮ«ЮѓЮЁЮ‡Ю°Ю”Ю§, romanized: Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, Dhivehi pronunciation: ), is an archipelagic country located in Southern Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean.

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