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Maldives ( / ˈ m ɒ l d iː v z / , / ˈ m ɔː l d iː v z / , i / ˈ m ɔː l d aɪ v z / or / ˈ m æ l d aɪ v z / ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( Dhivehi Raa'jeyge Jumhooriyya ), is an island country and archipelago in the Indian Ocean . It lies southwest of India and Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea . The chain of twenty six atolls stretches from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll to the Addu Atoll . The capital and largest city is Malé , traditionally called the " King's Island ."
Historically linked with the Indian subcontinent , Maldives is a Muslim -majority country. From the mid-sixteenth century colonial powers dominated the islands: Portugal , the Netherlands and Britain. The islands gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, becoming a republic in 1968. The country is ruled by a president and its government is authoritarian . The Maldivian economy is dominated by tourism and fishing . The World Bank classifies the country as having an upper middle income economy.
Encompassing a territory spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres (35,000 sq mi) , Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed countries. It is the smallest Asian country in both land area and in population. The archipelago is located atop the Chagos-Maldives-Laccadive Ridge , a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean, which also forms a terrestrial ecoregion , together with the Chagos and the Lakshadweep. With an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 i