ry, northeast monsoon (November to March);
rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

Terrain:

flat, with white sandy beaches

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Wilingili island in the Addu
Atoll 2.4 m

Natural resources:

fish

Land use:

arable land: 13.33%
permanent crops: 30%
other: 56.67% (2005)

Irrigated land:

NA

Total renewable water resources:

0.03 cu km (1999)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 0.003 cu km/yr (98%/2%/0%)
per capita: 9 cu m/yr (1987)

Natural hazards:

low level of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise

Environment - current issues:

depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; global
warming and sea level rise; coral reef bleaching

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands,
plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); archipelago with strategic
location astride and along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

People
Maldives

Population:

385,925 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 23.5% (male 46,174/female 44,396)
15-64 years: 72.7% (male 172,279/female 108,152)
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 7,510/female 7,414) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 25.1 years
male: 26 years
female: 23.7 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

5.566% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

14.84 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

3.66 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.59 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female
total population: 1.41 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 30.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 33.15 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 27.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 73.72 years
male: 71.55 years
female: 76.01 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.97 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2001 est.)