Maldives Environment - 2024

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.)