Maldives People 2024, CIA World Factbook
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)
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.