Right. And while it sounds strange in English (because Maldives sounds like the plural of Maldive Islands), Maldivians always refer - in English - to their own country simply as Maldives.
@tshalla I'm not sure I follow. Most, if not all archipelagos are named with -s at the end in English. Flaklands, Azores, Canaries, Antilles, etc. What exactly is your point? Are you agreeing or disagreeing? :-)
The name of the country is Maldives. When I first went there, I used to say "the Maldives" all the time. I found that I was alone in doing that - unless I was speaking with other foreigners.
Officially, @armood008 is right, those are the only 2 countries with "The" in their short name. Also, the Congos have the same short name I think, but the long names are more commonly used to differentiate them. And no, I don't think Netherlands has "The" in its short name.
and if you use offical name in official language, Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzm. aka libya probably wins at 12 words, sorry for making 3 comments
Oceania is comprised by all the island-countries that are touched by the Central and South Pacific Ocean (plus Australia).
PNG is touched by the Pacific Ocean, whereas East Timor isn't (Timor Sea is part of the Indian Ocean). Therefore, PNG is in Oceania, East Timor is in Asia.
PNG is touched by the Pacific Ocean, whereas East Timor isn't (Timor Sea is part of the Indian Ocean). Therefore, PNG is in Oceania, East Timor is in Asia.
North Cyprus has two words and is in Asia.