Maldives Overwater Villas
몰디브 수상 빌라
The Maldives is an island country in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka and about 750 kilometres from the Asian mainland. A chain of 26 atolls stretches across the equator from Ihavandhippolhu Atoll in the north to Addu Atoll in the south. It is the smallest country in Asia: only 298 square kilometres of land are scattered across roughly 90,000 square kilometres of sea.
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- Country
- Maldives
- Location
- Maldives
Quick answers
Where is Maldives Overwater Villas?
Maldives Overwater Villas is in Maldives.
An Indian Ocean island nation famous for overwater villas above turquoise coral lagoons.
The country is also the world's lowest-lying. Its average ground level is about 1.5 metres above the sea and its highest natural point is only about 2.4 metres, although some sources give 5.1 metres. The capital and biggest city is Malé, traditionally called the King's Island. In the 2022 census 515,132 people lived in the Maldives, which makes it one of the most densely populated countries.
People and history
The Maldives has been inhabited for over 2,500 years. Arab travellers began visiting around 947 CE, and Islam reached the islands in the 12th century because Arabs and Persians were important traders in the Indian Ocean. The islands became a sultanate with strong links to Asia and Africa. They were influenced by European powers from the mid-16th century and became a British protectorate in 1887. Independence came in 1965, and a presidential republic was set up in 1968.
What the name means
Nobody is sure where the name comes from. One idea is the Sanskrit words for garland and island, meaning a garland of islands. The islanders call themselves Dhivehin and their country Dhivehi Raajje. The traveller Ibn Battuta used a name that came from the Arabic word for palace, probably from the way he heard the name of Malé. A sixteenth-century writer even claimed it meant four islands.
Fishing, tourism and rising seas
Fishing was long the main economic activity and is now the second largest sector, behind fast-growing tourism. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as an upper-middle income economy. Because the islands are so low, climate change and rising seas are serious challenges for the country.
Fun facts
- The Maldives is the world's lowest-lying country, with an average height of about 1.5 metres.
- Its 298 square kilometres of land are spread across roughly 90,000 square kilometres of sea.
- Its chain of 26 atolls crosses the equator.
- People have lived on the islands for more than 2,500 years.
On the globe
The model shows small coral islands ringed by turquoise water with overwater villas. Look for the ring-shaped atoll.
Nearby on the globe
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14