Q 01/05

The Maldives lies in which ocean?

A) Indian

B) Pacific

C) Atlantic

D) Southern

Answer · why

A) Indian

Indian Ocean: the chain sits astride busy east-west shipping lanes, which is why far bigger powers compete for influence over so small a country.

Q 02/05

Under Maldivian law, where are tourists allowed to drink alcohol?

A) In the capital

B) On any island after dark

C) On resort islands

D) Nowhere at all

Answer · why

C) On resort islands

On resort islands: in this officially Muslim country visitors cannot bring alcohol in or carry it off a resort, and drinking on an inhabited island ca...

Q 03/05

Which line crosses the Maldives' island chain?

A) Tropic of Cancer

B) Prime Meridian

C) Tropic of Capricorn

D) Equator

Answer · why

D) Equator

Equator: it is hot and humid here all year, so the seasons are told apart by the monsoon winds, one dry and one wet, and not by the temperature.

Q 04/05

Of the roughly 1,200 islands in the Maldives, most are what?

A) Uninhabited

B) Nature reserves

C) Man-made

D) Privately owned

Answer · why

A) Uninhabited

Uninhabited: only about 200 have permanent residents, and the tourist resorts sit on separate islands of their own, away from local communities.

Q 05/05

The Maldives holds which superlative among the world's countries?

A) Sunniest

B) Lowest-lying

C) Least populous

D) Most islands

Answer · why

B) Lowest-lying

Lowest-lying: most of its land lies less than a metre above the waves, so rising seas threaten the country's very existence.