how big is maldives

The Maldives has a total land area of about 298 square kilometers (115 square miles), making it the smallest country in Asia by land size. However, the country is spread out over roughly 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 square miles) of ocean, consisting of approximately 1,190 coral islands grouped in 26 atolls. It is one of the most geographically dispersed countries in the world. The Maldives stretches about 960 km (600 miles) from north to south along a submarine ridge in the Indian Ocean. The largest island is Gan, and the capital city is Malé, which itself covers only about 1.7 square kilometers in area. The Maldives is also the world's lowest-lying country, with an average ground elevation of around 1.5 meters above sea level.