South Asia

Maldives Travel Podcast with Aishath Nazim

Hosted by Aishath Nazim — a new episode every day from Maldives.

This series follows one resident as she settles in the Maldives and travels it the way a local would: slowly, by ferry and on foot, across the flat coral islands. Travelling here means working around the two monsoons, the dry northeast from November to March and the rainy southwest from June to August.

Her reports range from the capital Malé, where a third of the population lives, to the southern city of Addu, and on to Baa Atoll’s protected reefs and the isolated island of Fuvahmulah. Each place sits on the same submarine volcanic ridge, yet each has its own relationship with the ocean.

The episodes unfold across the two monsoons, returning to places after the dry northeast gives way to the rainy southwest and the currents change. A first visit to an island becomes a second, then a third; knowledge accumulates slowly, as it does when you live somewhere rather than pass through. That rhythm suits an archipelago of 200 inhabited islands where weather and sea state shape everything.

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The basics

Maldives at a glance

Capital

Malé

Population 2025

529,676

Area

298 sq km

Languages

Dhivehi (official, closely related to Sinhala, script derived from Arabic)

Time zone

UTC+5

Currency

Rufiyaa (MVR)

GDP per capita 2025

$14,615

Life expectancy 2024

81.3 years

Urban population 2025

42.5%

Inflation 2025

4.0%

Internet users 2024

85.2%

Government

Presidential republic

Country file

Maldives in depth

Reference data on the country — geography, people, history, economy and transport.

Geography and climate

Location

Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India

Terrain

Flat coral atolls, with white sandy beaches; sits atop the submarine volcanic Chagos-Laccadive Ridge

Climate

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

Elevation

Highest point: 8th tee, golf course, Villingi Island 5 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation: 2 m

Area

Total: 298 sq km
Land: 298 sq km
Water: 0 sq km

Size comparison

About 1.7 times the size of Washington, D.C.

Coastline

644 km

Land borders

Total 0 km

Natural resources

Fish

Land use

Agricultural land: 19.8% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 13.4% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 3% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 3.4% (2023 est.)
Forest: 12.5% (2023 est.)
Other: 67.7% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Tsunamis; low elevation of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise

Note

Smallest Asian country; archipelago of 1,190 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls (200 inhabited islands, plus 80 islands with tourist resorts); strategic location along major sea lanes in Indian Ocean

People and society

Population

Total: 388,858 (2024 est.)
Male: 197,739
Female: 191,119

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)

Median age

Total: 32.4 years (2025 est.)
Male: 31.3 years
Female: 32.4 years

Life expectancy

Total population: 77.4 years (2024 est.)
Male: 75.1 years
Female: 79.9 years

Urbanisation

Urban population: 42% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.34% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

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

Largest cities

177,000 MALE (capital) (2018)

Background and government

Background

A sultanate since the 12th century, the Maldives became a British protectorate in 1887 and a republic in 1968, three years after independence. President Maumoon Abdul GAYOOM dominated Maldives' political scene for 30 years, elected to six successive terms by single-party referendums. After political demonstrations in the capital Male in 2003, GAYOOM and his government pledged to embark upon a process of liberalization and democratic reforms, including a more representative political system and expanded political freedoms. Political parties were legalized in 2005.

In 2008, a constituent assembly -- termed the "Special Majlis" -- finalized a new constitution ratified by GAYOOM. The first-ever presidential elections under a multi-candidate, multi-party system were held later that year. GAYOOM was defeated in a runoff by Mohamed NASHEED, a political activist whom the regime had jailed several years earlier. In 2012, after several weeks of street protests in response to a top judge's arrest, NASHEED resigned the presidency and handed over power to Vice President Mohammed WAHEED Hassan Maniku. A government-appointed Commission of National Inquiry concluded that there was no evidence of a coup, but NASHEED contended that police and military personnel forced him to resign. NASHEED, WAHEED, and Abdulla YAMEEN Abdul Gayoom ran in the 2013 elections with YAMEEN ultimately winning the presidency after three rounds of voting. In 2018, YAMEEN lost his reelection bid to parliamentarian Ibrahim Mohamed SOLIH. YAMEEN was arrested and jailed in 2022 on corruption charges. Maldives' fourth democratic election was held in September 2023. The winner, Male City Mayor Dr. Mohamed MUIZZU, campaigned on a platform of Maldivian sovereignty, vowing to remove Indian military personnel from the country. MUIZZU represents a joint Progressive Pary of Maldives and People's National Congress (PPM/PNC) coalition.

Government

Presidential republic

Capital

Malé

Time zone

UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa

Independence

26 July 1965 (from the UK)

National day

Independence Day, 26 July (1965)

Economy and cost of living

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