The country of Maldives is located in the Indian Ocean, south of India. The country consists of 26 atolls and 2 islands. The capital is Male. It has a population of 332,000 people. The official language is Dhivehi. The Maldives began as a collection of small islands in the early 1200s and was ruled by foreign powers for centuries. In 1965, the Maldives became an independent country.