Maldives Environment - 2024

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Environment - current issues

rising sea levels threaten land; depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies; inadequate sewage treatment; coral reef bleaching

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)

Land use

agricultural land: 23.3% (2018 est.)

arable land: 10% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 10% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 3.3% (2018 est.)

forest: 3% (2018 est.)

other: 73.7% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 42% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 13 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 1.44 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 0.14 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 211,506 tons (2015 est.)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 300,000 cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural: 0 cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources

30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Maldives on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Maldives 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Maldives 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.