There are an estimated 1 200 coralline islands, 199 of which are inhabited (although only three of these are larger than 3 square kilometers). The maximum altitude is only 5 meters above sea level. These islands and reefs make up the central and largest sector of the Chagos- Laccadive Ridge, which marks a volcanic trace left by the Réunion hotspot. The atolls rise steeply from the base of the ridge, and are aligned in two parallel chains. The atoll rims are not unusual, with a wide reef flat, typically bearing a number of islands and sand cays broken by deep channels. The atoll lagoons range from 18 to 55 meters in depth, and within these are a number of patch reefs and knolls, but also some reef structures known as faros which are common in the Maldives, but very unusual elsewhere. These have the appearance of miniature atolls, with a central lagoon, and often bear small islands on their rim.

The Maldive archipelago is at the centre of the Laccadive-Chagos ridge, and is 864km long (north to south), 130km wide, and has a land area of approximately 300km². There are 1,190 coral islands, numerous sand cays and faroes within 23 atolls. The exclusive economic zone is approximately 90,000km². Islands of this archipelago have a maximum elevation of about 5m and a narrow fringing reef around each island, which slopes rapidly down to the seabed. The reefs are essential for shoreline protection. Until recently, the Maldives depended on the offshore tuna fisheries; however, tourism is now the mainstay of its economy.

The Maldives are in the centre of the Laccadive-Chagos ridge, and consist of 23 atolls, including 1,190 coral islands and numerous sand cays, within an area of 8,920 km². The archipelago is surrounded by deep oceanic water and reefs are generally less threatened by human activities than in other parts of South Asia, as the human population is low and there are large distances between atolls. Coral reefs form the resource base for the two major economic sectors, tourism and fisheries, including the provision of bait for the offshore pole and line fishery for tuna. The tourism industry has become the largest income earner and the Government expanded the island hotel industry to all atoll groups of the Maldives in 2004, as a diversification strategy. Thus the tourism sector provides most of the reef management by reducing exploitation of fish, coral rock and sand and other reef resources in proximity to the resorts. Government interventions are steadily being reduced.

Coral reef related tourism is of particular importance in the Maldives, where travel and tourism contribute around 56% to the national economy and about half of the visitors are scuba divers (Westmacott et al., 2000). Within the CORDIO program surveys were conducted to evaluate the potential economic impacts on tourism in the Maldives and Sri Lanka, due to the mass mortality of corals in 1998. Results suggest that the tourism industry was adversely affected by the coral mortality in the Maldives (Westmacott et al., 2000; Cesar et al., 2000).