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South Asia

Maldives

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

Muslim populationMajority Muslimno percentage published

Population515,132people (current)

CapitalMaléUTC+5

Currency15.39 = $1Rufiyaa (MVR) (2024)

Country basics

The Maldives is an archipelago republic of coral atolls in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India.

The Maldives is the lowest-lying country in the world, with Malé as its capital and Dhivehi as its official language. The rufiyaa is the currency, and resort tourism spread across the atolls, plus fishing, lead its foreign earnings.

Official name

Republic of Maldives

Region

Asia · Southern Asia

Government

Unitary presidential republic

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+05:00

Driving side

Left

Phone code

+960

Currency

Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR, .ރ)

Member of

Commonwealth; UN

Website

https://presidency.gov.mv

Faith and language

Religions

Sunni Muslim (official)

Languages

Divehi

People and cities

Population

515,132 (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

32.4 years (2025)

Living in cities

42% (2023)

Largest cities

Male (capital) 177,000

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

15.39 rufiyaa (MVR) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$23,400 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

1.4% (2024)

Unemployment

4.7% (2024)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

77.4 years (2024)

Doctors

2.24 per 1,000 people (2019)

Hospital beds

5 per 1,000 people (2020)

Safe drinking water

99.6% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

85% of people (2023)

Literacy

98.2% of adults (2019)

Land and climate

Climate

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

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

300 sq km

Natural hazards

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 26 July (1965)