Maldives Flag

Maldives

Population

531,969

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
174th
Share of world
< 0.01%
Annual change
+1,8410.59%

Population of Maldives

0500K1M1.5M95% prediction intervalProjected peak2026532K2050 projection590K↑ 11% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

Current population estimate: 531,969. 2050 projection: 589,962.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for Maldives. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
2026531,5170.59%174
2025529,6761.07%174
2020502,1182.95%175
2019487,7313.09%175
2018473,0993.23%175
2017458,2873.38%175
2015428,1543.48%175
2010360,7923.32%179
2005306,4291.67%179
2000282,0191.90%178

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Male is home to 249,059 people, 46.86% of Maldives' population.

City population200K100K40K
Male 249.1KHulhumale 80.3KHithadhoo 15.3KKulhudhuffushi 11.3KFuvahmulah 9.5KFeydhoo - Maradhoo 7.4KThinadhoo 6.8KVilimale 6.2KGan 5.9KMaafushi 5.5K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Male249.1K46.86%
2Hulhumale80.3K15.10%
3Hithadhoo15.3K2.87%
4Kulhudhuffushi11.3K2.13%
5Fuvahmulah9.5K1.79%
6Feydhoo - Maradhoo7.4K1.39%
7Thinadhoo6.8K1.28%
8Vilimale6.2K1.17%
9Gan5.9K1.10%
10Maafushi5.5K1.03%

Maldives by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
Maldives is home to an estimated 531,969 people, the 174th largest population in the world.
Daily change
Maldives has a net population change of approximately 4 people per day, driven by 14 births, 4 deaths, and net emigration of 6 people.
Share of world
Maldives makes up < 0.01% of the world's population and 0.01% of Asia's.
Density
1,771.7 people per km² of land (4,588.7 per mi²), ranking 7th among countries and territories.
Urban living
42.51% of people live in urban areas.

Maldives Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 2100+ years, female: 795–99 years, male: 3395–99 years, female: 5390–94 years, male: 19690–94 years, female: 24885–89 years, male: 65385–89 years, female: 69380–84 years, male: 1,52380–84 years, female: 1,38375–79 years, male: 2,05575–79 years, female: 1,99770–74 years, male: 3,60270–74 years, female: 3,32565–69 years, male: 6,54365–69 years, female: 5,82960–64 years, male: 8,51260–64 years, female: 7,34255–59 years, male: 11,87755–59 years, female: 9,03350–54 years, male: 16,64950–54 years, female: 10,81145–49 years, male: 25,40345–49 years, female: 13,28040–44 years, male: 39,09140–44 years, female: 18,95335–39 years, male: 47,44735–39 years, female: 21,23730–34 years, male: 47,09130–34 years, female: 19,30225–29 years, male: 28,51025–29 years, female: 14,51220–24 years, male: 16,44020–24 years, female: 13,22615–19 years, male: 19,75615–19 years, female: 16,99010–14 years, male: 20,22910–14 years, female: 17,4475–9 years, male: 17,0195–9 years, female: 15,2940–4 years, male: 14,2790–4 years, female: 13,673100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–420K20K40K40K

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

34.4 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

81.7 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

61.50%

Female

38.50%

Life expectancy 80.5Life expectancy 83.3

Ethnicity

Percentages are not reported for these groups.

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

Some groups have no reported percentage.

Data notes

Source estimate: est.

Religion

100%

Sunni Muslim (official), the largest religion

  • Sunni Muslim (official)100%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2020 est.

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - Maldives United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. Maldives Bureau of Statistics
  5. Statistical Yearbook of Maldives