Maldives

Spanning 90,000 sq km of the Indian Ocean, the Maldives comprises 26 coral atolls and 1,192 islands, of which 200 are inhabited. With an average elevation of just 1.5m above sea level — the world's lowest-lying nation — its house reefs shelter over 1,000 species of fish and 200 species of coral. Luxury overwater resorts here pioneered a global hospitality revolution.