The Maldives is an archipelagic state and country in South Asia, situated in the Indian Ocean. It lies southwest of Sri Lanka and India, about 750 kilometers from the Asian continents mainland. The Maldives is an independent island country and not part of India or Sri Lanka. It consists of about 1200 low-lying small coral islands and sandbanks, some 200 of which are inhabited, grouped in clusters, or atolls. The capital of Maldives is Male, which is located in the Central Atoll. The official language is an Indo-European language called Dhivehi (or Maldivian). The population of Maldives belongs almost entirely to the Maldivian ethnic group, which is the result of various peoples settling in the islands successively through the country’s history. The economy revolves around tourism, and scores of islands have been developed for the top end of the tourist market.