Maldives People - 2024

Population

521,021 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Maldivian(s)

adjective: Maldivian

Ethnic groups

homogeneous mixture of Sinhalese, Dravidian, Arab, Australasian, and African resulting from historical changes in regional hegemony over marine trade routes

Languages

Dhivehi (official, closely related to Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English (spoken by most government officials)

Religions

Sunni Muslim (official)

Age structure

0-14 years: 22.25% (male 44,185/female 42,495)

15-64 years: 71.97% (male 146,154/female 134,233)

65 years and over: 5.78% (2023 est.) (male 9,866/female 12,635)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 35.6

youth dependency ratio: 29.5

elderly dependency ratio: 6.2

potential support ratio: 16.2 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 31.3 years (2023 est.)

male: 30.8 years

female: 31.9 years

Population growth rate

-0.17% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

15.3 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

4.2 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-12.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

about a third of the population lives in the centrally located capital city of Male and almost a tenth in southern Addu City; the remainder of the populace is spread over the 200 or so populated islands of the archipelago

Urbanization

urban population: 42% of total population (2023)

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

Major urban areas - population

177,000 MALE (capital) (2018)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.09 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

23.2 years (2016/17 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio

57 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 25 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 28 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 21.9 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 77.2 years (2023 est.)

male: 74.8 years

female: 79.7 years

Total fertility rate

1.7 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

0.83 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

18.8% (2016/17)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 99% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 99.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 1% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0.4% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

11.4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

2.05 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

Hospital bed density

4.3 beds/1,000 population

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 99.1% of population

total: 99.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0.9% of population

total: 0.5% of population (2020 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

8.6% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 1.38 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.33 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 25.2% (2020 est.)

male: 44.4% (2020 est.)

female: 6% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

14.8% (2016/17)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

71.9% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 18: 2.2%

men married by age 18: 2.2% (2017 est.)

Education expenditures

5.8% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 97.9%

male: 97.6%

female: 98.4% (2021)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 13 years

male: 12 years

female: 14 years (2019)