Andaman-Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India consisting of 572 islands, with 38 inhabited. It is divided into three districts: Nicobar, South Andaman, and North and Middle Andaman, and its capital is Port Blair. The islands are located between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, and they share maritime borders with Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand. The territory has a population of 380,581 and a total land area of 8,249 square kilometers. The indigenous Andamanese people are believed to have been isolated from other populations for over 30,000 years, and the islands have a rich cultural and archaeological history dating back to 2,200 years. The islands were part of the British Raj and were invaded by Japan during World War II. After Indian independence, the region became a province and later a union territory. The territory is home to the Andaman and Nicobar Command, and the major spoken languages include Bengali, Tamil, and Telugu, with Hinduism being the majority religion. The islands include North Sentinel Island, home to the uncontacted Sentinelese people.