Population growth rate in Maldives
Maldives: Population growth rate was 0.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Population growth rate in Maldives, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, population growth rate in Maldives stood at 0.3%. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 18.4% on the previous year and down 90.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth rate in Maldives peaked at 4.3% in 1965 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2023.
That places Maldives 161st out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Population growth rate in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.6% | — |
| 1951 | 1.7% | +5.9% |
| 1952 | 1.8% | +3.9% |
| 1953 | 1.9% | +3.8% |
| 1954 | 1.9% | +3.4% |
| 1955 | 2.0% | +5.1% |
| 1956 | 2.1% | +3.5% |
| 1957 | 2.2% | +4.6% |
| 1958 | 2.3% | +3.0% |
| 1959 | 2.3% | +1.9% |
| 1960 | 2.4% | +4.9% |
| 1961 | 2.5% | +2.1% |
| 1962 | 2.5% | +1.1% |
| 1963 | 2.5% | -0.4% |
| 1964 | 2.4% | -2.9% |
| 1965 | 4.3% | +76.6% |
| 1966 | 4.0% | -5.9% |
| 1967 | 3.3% | -18.7% |
| 1968 | 2.9% | -10.0% |
| 1969 | 3.0% | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 3.0% | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 3.1% | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 3.0% | -0.7% |
| 1973 | 3.0% | -2.7% |
| 1974 | 2.9% | -1.1% |
| 1975 | 3.0% | +2.6% |
| 1976 | 3.0% | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 2.9% | -4.4% |
| 1978 | 2.6% | -9.0% |
| 1979 | 2.7% | +2.9% |
| 1980 | 2.8% | +4.4% |
| 1981 | 2.8% | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 2.8% | -1.1% |
| 1983 | 2.7% | -4.4% |
| 1984 | 2.9% | +10.3% |
| 1985 | 3.4% | +17.8% |
| 1986 | 3.5% | +2.8% |
| 1987 | 3.5% | -2.6% |
| 1988 | 3.2% | -6.0% |
| 1989 | 3.2% | -2.8% |
| 1990 | 3.2% | +1.4% |
| 1991 | 3.0% | -6.9% |
| 1992 | 2.8% | -7.2% |
| 1993 | 2.5% | -9.9% |
| 1994 | 2.3% | -7.4% |
| 1995 | 2.3% | -0.7% |
| 1996 | 2.1% | -8.0% |
| 1997 | 1.9% | -7.7% |
| 1998 | 1.8% | -8.8% |
| 1999 | 1.6% | -7.5% |
| 2000 | 1.7% | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 1.7% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 1.7% | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 1.6% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 1.6% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 1.7% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 3.1% | +87.9% |
| 2007 | 3.5% | +13.7% |
| 2008 | 3.5% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 3.5% | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 3.5% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 3.5% | -0.9% |
| 2012 | 3.4% | -1.9% |
| 2013 | 3.3% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 3.3% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 3.6% | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 3.4% | -4.6% |
| 2017 | 3.2% | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 3.1% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 3.0% | -4.3% |
| 2020 | 2.8% | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 2.7% | -5.5% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -85.2% |
| 2023 | 0.3% | -18.4% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 0.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.6%, 59% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 0.3% is below the median for South Asia, which is 0.6%, 51% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population growth rate in Maldives changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +87.9% | 1.7% | 3.1% |
| 2022 | -85.2% | 2.7% | 0.4% |
| 1965 | +76.6% | 2.4% | 4.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.0% | 1.6% | 2.3% | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.0% | 2.4% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.9% | 2.6% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.1% | 2.7% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.3% | 1.6% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.4% | 1.6% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.3% | 3.0% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 0.3% | 2.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More population data for Maldives
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.3006 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -2.44 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.3006 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.378 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 569.91 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.1872 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.2781 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.3% (2100)
- Population density 1,583 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 21,159 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth rate in Maldives?
- Population growth rate in Maldives was 0.3% in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest population growth rate recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 4.3% in 1965.
- What is the lowest population growth rate recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2023.
- How does Maldives rank for population growth rate?
- Maldives ranks 161st out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is population growth rate rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 90.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Population growth rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Annual rate at which the population is growing, expressed as a percentage.