Which has higher population, Maldives or Western Sahara?

Western Sahara, at 579,734 people against 526,009 people in Maldives as of 2023.

What is the difference in population between Maldives and Western Sahara?

53,725 people, with Western Sahara ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Maldives and Western Sahara?

89 years are reported by both, from 1800 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Maldives vs Western Sahara: Population

Maldives

526,009 people

in 2023

Western Sahara

579,734 people

in 2023

Maldives rank

173rd

Western Sahara rank

171st

Population over time

Maldives
Western Sahara

How they compare

Western Sahara currently reports 579,734 people against 526,009 people in Maldives, a difference of 53,725 people.

That makes Western Sahara's figure about 1.1 times Maldives's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 89 shared years of data; in 1800 it was Maldives ahead.

Maldives ranks 173rd and Western Sahara ranks 171st of 238 countries.

Across the 23 decades both report, Maldives averaged higher in 20 and Western Sahara in 3.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Maldives	Western Sahara	Difference	Ahead
1800s	42,378 people	743 people	41,635 people	Maldives
1810s	42,378 people	745 people	41,633 people	Maldives
1820s	42,528 people	752 people	41,776 people	Maldives
1830s	44,950 people	758 people	44,192 people	Maldives
1840s	47,677 people	764 people	46,913 people	Maldives
1850s	50,569 people	771 people	49,798 people	Maldives
1860s	53,047 people	777 people	52,270 people	Maldives
1870s	55,639 people	793 people	54,846 people	Maldives
1880s	58,350 people	809 people	57,541 people	Maldives
1890s	61,186 people	826 people	60,360 people	Maldives
1900s	64,150 people	843 people	63,307 people	Maldives
1910s	66,898 people	860 people	66,038 people	Maldives
1920s	65,426 people	1,720 people	63,706 people	Maldives
1930s	73,027 people	3,441 people	69,586 people	Maldives
1940s	78,873 people	6,883 people	71,990 people	Maldives
1950s	81,199 people	19,850 people	61,348 people	Maldives
1960s	104,025 people	43,536 people	60,490 people	Maldives
1970s	141,443 people	78,764 people	62,678 people	Maldives
1980s	189,182 people	147,995 people	41,187 people	Maldives
1990s	252,775 people	212,465 people	40,310 people	Maldives
2000s	308,759 people	332,663 people	23,904 people	Western Sahara
2010s	422,563 people	476,886 people	54,323 people	Western Sahara
2020s	517,104 people	564,120 people	47,016 people	Western Sahara

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher population, Maldives or Western Sahara?: Western Sahara, at 579,734 people against 526,009 people in Maldives as of 2023.
What is the difference in population between Maldives and Western Sahara?: 53,725 people, with Western Sahara ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Maldives and Western Sahara?: 89 years are reported by both, from 1800 to 2023.
How do Maldives and Western Sahara rank globally for population?: Maldives ranks 173rd and Western Sahara ranks 171st of 238 countries.
Where does this data come from?: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: Population
Unit: people
Source: HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.