MALDIVES

also called Maldive Islands, officially Republic of Maldives, Divehi Divehi Jumhuriyya independent island nation consisting of a chain of about 1,300 small coral islands and sandbanks (202 of which are inhabited), grouped in clusters, or atolls, in the Indian Ocean. The islands extend more than 510 miles (820 km) from north to south and 80 miles (130 km) from east to west. The northernmost atoll is about 370 miles (600 km) south-southwest of the Indian mainland, and the central area, including the capital island of Male, is about 400 miles (645 km) southwest of Sri Lanka. The population in 1991 was estimated at 220,700.