Nicobar Islands
a group of islands in the Indian Ocean, forming with the Andamans, to the S. of which group they lie, an extension of the great island chain of which Java and Sumatra are the principal links; area 634 square miles; pop. about 10,000. Nineteen in number, 12 of which are inhabited, they consist of two divisions-the N. low and planted with cocoanut trees, and the S. mountainous (2,000 feet) and covered with timber. Malaria prevails nearly all the year round; the temperature emperatu seldom moves outside the limits 80°-85° F. The people are a variety of the Malay race.
There is an extensive trade in copra and cocoanuts. The archipelago was occupied by Denmark, 1756-1856. In 1869 it was annexed by Great Britain.