Maldives

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
A sultanate since the 12th century, the Maldives archipelago became a British protectorate in 1887. Three years after independence in 1965, the islands established themselves as a republic.

Geography

Area
total : 298 sq km
land: 298 sq km
water: 0 sq km

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

Natural resources
fish

People and Society

Population
total: 388,858 (2024 est.)

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)

Population growth rate
-0.2% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
presidential republic

Capital
name: Malé

Executive branch
chief of state: President Mohamed MUIZZU (since 17 November 2023)
head of government: President Mohamed MUIZZU (since 17 November 2023)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Abdul GHAFOOR Mohamed (since 15 June 2023)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Hugo Yue-Ho YON (since 6 September 2023); note - Ambassador YON is the first resident US ambassador to the Republic of Maldives

Economy

Economic overview
upper middle-income Indian Ocean island economy; major tourism, fishing, and shipping industries; high public debt; systemic corruption; crippled by COVID-19; ongoing deflation; poverty has tripled since pandemic began

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$12.325 billion (2024 est.)
$11.723 billion (2023 est.)
$11.194 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$23,400 (2024 est.)
$22,300 (2023 est.)
$21,400 (2022 est.)

Exports
$5.413 billion (2024 est.)
$4.88 billion (2023 est.)
$5.096 billion (2022 est.)

Exports - partners
Thailand 32%, India 21%, Singapore 9%, UK 7%, Germany 5% (2023)

Exports - commodities
fish, aircraft, refined petroleum, scrap iron, natural gas (2023)

Imports
$5.344 billion (2024 est.)
$4.984 billion (2023 est.)
$4.939 billion (2022 est.)

Imports - partners
India 15%, UAE 15%, Oman 14%, China 12%, Singapore 8% (2023)

Imports - commodities
refined petroleum, plastic products, aircraft, granite, ships (2023)

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.766, ranking it 93rd out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 96th out of 158 countries tested with a score of 5.198. (more information)