Maldives

The world's lowest-lying country, scattered across 1,192 coral islands/Landforms

The Maldives is a nation of 1,192 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India. It holds the distinction of being the lowest-lying country on Earth, with an average ground-level elevation of just 1.5 meters above sea level and the highest natural point at only 5.1 meters. The total land area is just 298 square kilometers, but the atolls are spread across roughly 90,000 square kilometers of ocean. Climate change and rising sea levels pose an existential threat to the nation: scientists estimate that much of the country could become uninhabitable by 2100 if ocean levels rise as projected.