Which Asian country is the smallest by land area?

Which Asian country is the smallest by land area? The Maldives is.

The Maldives is Asia’s smallest country by land area, with only about 298 square kilometres of land. That territory is scattered across a long chain of coral islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka, rather than concentrated in one compact landmass.

The country consists of roughly 1,190 islands grouped into 26 natural atolls. Its land is spread across an ocean area of about 90,000 square kilometres, so the Maldives can appear geographically large on a map even though its actual land surface is tiny. Malé, the capital, is the most densely settled urban center.

The Maldives is often confused with Singapore or Bahrain because all three are very small Asian states. However, both Singapore and Bahrain have substantially more land area. The Maldives is also the world’s lowest-lying country: its highest natural point is only about 2.4 metres above sea level, making land area and climate vulnerability especially important parts of its geography.