FACTBOX-Key facts about the Maldives

(Reuters) - Twelve tourists were injured in a bomb explosion on Saturday in the Maldives' capital, Male, the islands' government said.

Here are some key facts about the Indian Ocean archipelago:

POPULATION: 369,031 (July 2007 estimate)

ETHNIC GROUPS: South Indians, Sinhalese and Arabs

RELIGION: Mostly Sunni Muslim

LANGUAGE: Maldivian Dhivehi (a dialect of Sinhala)

GEOGRAPHY: The Maldives are a group of 1,192 islands scattered across 500 miles (800 km) of the Indian Ocean off the southern tip of India

CAPITAL: Male

ECONOMY: GDP $1 billion