The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Maldives: The Maldives – island nation comprising a group of atolls in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is located south of India's Lakshadweep islands, and about seven hundred kilometres (435 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka. The twenty-six atolls of Maldives' encompass a territory featuring 1,192 islets, two hundred and fifty islands of which are inhabited. The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of population and area. It is also the smallest entirely Muslim nation in the world.