The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as Maldive Islands, is a country and archipelagic state in South Asia in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is named after the main island and capital, Malé. The Maldives is the smallest country in Asia. Including the sea, the territory spans roughly 90,000 square kilometres and a land area of 298 square kilometres. The Maldives is one of the world's most geographically dispersed sovereign states, and the smallest Muslim-majority country by land area.