Lakshadweep | |
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Union Territory | |
Minicoy, an island in Southeastern Lakshadweep
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Coordinates: 10°36′N 72°36′E / 10.6°N 72.6°ECoordinates: 10°36′N 72°36′E / 10.6°N 72.6°E | |
Country | India |
Formation | 1 November 1956 |
Capital | Kavaratti |
Government | |
• Administrator | Farooq Khan IPS (Retd.) |
• MP | Mohammed Faizal P. P. (Nationalist Congress Party) |
Area | |
• Total | 32.69 km2 (12.62 sq mi) |
Area rank | 36th |
Population (2011 Census) | |
• Total | 65,473 |
• Density | 2,000/km2 (5,200/sq mi) |
Languages | |
• Official | Malayalam, English |
• Spoken | Dhivehi Language (Mahl) |
• Additional | Hindi |
Ethnicity | |
• Ethnic groups | ≈83% Malayali ≈17% Mahls |
Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
ISO 3166 code | IN-LD |
Vehicle registration | LD,LH |
No. of districts | 1 |
Largest city | Andrott |
HDI |
0.796 |
HDI Year | 2005 |
HDI Category | high |
Literacy | 91.85% |
Website | www |
Animal | Butterfly fish | |
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Bird | Noddy tern | |
Tree | ||
Flower | Not designated |
Lakshadweep (/ləkˈʃɑːdwiːp/, Lakṣadvīp , Lakshadīb), formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands (/ˌlækədaɪv ˌmɪnɪkɔɪ ... ˌæmɪnˈdiːvi/), is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km (120 to 270 mi) off the south western coast of India. The archipelago is a Union Territory and is governed by the Union Government of India. They were also known as Laccadive Islands, although geographically this is only the name of the central subgroup of the group. Lakshadweep comes from Lakshadwipa, which means "one hundred thousand islands" in Sanskrit. The islands form the smallest Union Territory of India: their total surface area is just 32 km2 (12 sq mi). The lagoon area covers about 4,200 km2 (1,600 sq mi), the territorial waters area 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi) and the exclusive economic zone area 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi). The region forms a single Indian district with 10 subdivisions. Kavaratti serves as the capital of the Union Territory and the region comes under the jurisdiction of Kerala High Court. The islands are the northernmost of the Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands, which are the tops of a vast undersea mountain range, the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge.