Mondo Knows Facts
The Maldives is the world's lowest-lying country
Its average land height is about 1.5 metres, and nothing natural rises much above 2.4 metres Around 1,190 islands are grouped into 26 atolls, and only about 200 of them are inhabited. Most of the land sits less than a metre above the sea. Malé, the capital, is one of the most crowded small islands anywhere and has been enlarged by reclamation. It sits in Mondo's world geography collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
Lake Assal is the lowest point in AfricaIts shore sits about 155 metres below sea level in a crater-like basin in DjiboutiThe shores of the Dead Sea mark the lowest land elevation on EarthSitting at more than 430 metres below sea level, the Dead Sea surface is the lowest exposed land area on the planet.La Paz is the highest administrative capital city on EarthLa Paz in Bolivia sits in a high-altitude canyon at approximately 3,640 metres above sea level.Manitoulin is the largest island in a freshwater lakeThe island sits in Lake Huron and holds more than a hundred lakes of its ownA tombolo ties an island to the shoreSand accumulates in the calmer water behind an island until a ridge connects the twoGreenland is the largest non-continental island in the worldCovering over two million square kilometres, roughly eighty per cent of Greenland is blanketed by a permanent ice sheet.
🗺️ World Geographyfact 133 of 200
← → to keep reading, or swipe
Tags: islands, maldives, elevation
The Maldives is the world's lowest-lying country: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Its average land height is about 1.5 metres, and nothing natural rises much above 2.4 metres. The figure is taken from CIA World Factbook, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a world geography fact?
- Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.