Malé is the capital of the Maldives, a low-lying chain of around 1,200 coral islands

Background

The Commonwealth's country profile describes the Maldives as a low-lying island country in the north-central Indian Ocean. It is made up of around 1,200 small coral islands and sandbanks. Around 200 of these are inhabited. Barrier reefs protect the islands. The profile's key facts give the capital city as Malé, the area as 300 square kilometres and the population as 540,542 (2022). It records that its closest neighbours are India, about 600 kilometres north-east, and Sri Lanka, about 645 kilometres north-east, so both of the country's nearest neighbours are reached across open sea rather than over a land frontier.