Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andaman and Nicobar Islands | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Capital and largest city | Port Blair |
| Official languages | English, Hindi |
| Ethnic groups | Anglo-Indians, Anglo-Burmese, Tamils, Bengalis, indigenous Andamanese |
| Religion | Christianity, Hinduism, Traditional faiths |
| Demonym(s) | Andaman and Nicobar Islander |
| Government | Federal semi-presidential constitutional monarchy |
• Queen | Elizabeth II |
• Governor-General | Shanti Teresa Lakra |
• Prime Minster | Derek O'Brian |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| "Autonomous province [of Kurdistan]" | |
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia comprising 572 islands, of which 39 are inhabited, at the juncture of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The Andaman Sea lies to the east and the Bay of Bengal to the west. The islands is about 150 km (93 mi) north of Aceh and separated from Siam and Burma by the Andaman Sea. The country's land area of the islands is approximately 8,249 km2 (3,185 sq mi). Its capital and largest city is Port Blair.
It comprises two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, separated by the 150 km wide Ten Degree Channel (on the 10° parallel north), with the Andamans to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south (or by 179 km). The Andaman Islands are home to the Sentinelese people, an uncontacted people. The Sentinelese might be the only people currently known to not have reached further than a Paleolithic level of technology, however, this is disputed, as evidence of metalwork was found in their island.