Maldives — Population growth
Population Growth (Annual %) for Maldives, 1961–2025.
Population growth for Maldives was 0.35% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 65 years, from 1961 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 4.14% in 1966. The lowest was 0.34% in 2024 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -2.97% per year.
Maldives ranks 151 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 70%. The median for South Asia is 0.65%, so Maldives sits below it. It peaked in 1966 and has fallen 91% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 90%. Within South Asia it ranks 4 of 6 economies; Nepal (-0.11%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was down 76% in 2023. That is 84% below this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
World ranking. Slipped: 93rd of 216 in 1961 → 42nd of 216 in 1970 → 61st of 216 in 1980 → 34th of 216 in 1990 → 90th of 217 in 2000 → 10th of 217 in 2010 → 17th of 217 in 2020 → 151st of 217 in 2025.
Key figures
Full history — 1961 to 2025
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.35% | +0.0 pp |
| 2024 | 0.34% | -0.0 pp |
| 2023 | 0.36% | -1.2 pp |
| 2022 | 1.53% | -1.2 pp |
| 2021 | 2.76% | -0.2 pp |
| 2020 | 2.91% | -0.1 pp |
| 2019 | 3.05% | -0.1 pp |
| 2018 | 3.18% | -0.1 pp |
| 2017 | 3.32% | -0.2 pp |
| 2016 | 3.48% | +0.0 pp |
| 2015 | 3.45% | +0.1 pp |
| 2014 | 3.33% | -0.0 pp |
| 2013 | 3.37% | -0.1 pp |
| 2012 | 3.46% | -0.1 pp |
| 2011 | 3.51% | -0.0 pp |
| 2010 | 3.53% | -0.0 pp |
| 2009 | 3.54% | -0.0 pp |
| 2008 | 3.54% | +0.2 pp |
| 2007 | 3.33% | +0.9 pp |
| 2006 | 2.39% | +0.7 pp |
| 2005 | 1.65% | +0.0 pp |
| 2004 | 1.65% | -0.0 pp |
| 2003 | 1.66% | -0.0 pp |
| 2002 | 1.68% | +0.0 pp |
| 2001 | 1.67% | +0.0 pp |
| 2000 | 1.65% | -0.1 pp |
| 1999 | 1.7% | -0.2 pp |
| 1998 | 1.86% | -0.2 pp |
| 1997 | 2.02% | -0.2 pp |
| 1996 | 2.2% | -0.1 pp |
| 1995 | 2.3% | -0.1 pp |
| 1994 | 2.4% | -0.2 pp |
| 1993 | 2.62% | -0.2 pp |
| 1992 | 2.87% | -0.2 pp |
| 1991 | 3.08% | -0.1 pp |
| 1990 | 3.17% | -0.0 pp |
| 1989 | 3.2% | -0.1 pp |
| 1988 | 3.35% | -0.2 pp |
| 1987 | 3.5% | +0.0 pp |
| 1986 | 3.5% | +0.3 pp |
| 1985 | 3.19% | +0.4 pp |
| 1984 | 2.79% | +0.1 pp |
| 1983 | 2.71% | -0.1 pp |
| 1982 | 2.79% | -0.0 pp |
| 1981 | 2.81% | +0.1 pp |
| 1980 | 2.75% | +0.1 pp |
| 1979 | 2.65% | -0.1 pp |
| 1978 | 2.75% | -0.2 pp |
| 1977 | 2.94% | -0.1 pp |
| 1976 | 3% | +0.0 pp |
| 1975 | 2.96% | +0.0 pp |
| 1974 | 2.94% | -0.1 pp |
| 1973 | 3% | -0.1 pp |
| 1972 | 3.05% | -0.0 pp |
| 1971 | 3.05% | +0.0 pp |
| 1970 | 3.01% | +0.0 pp |
| 1969 | 2.96% | -0.1 pp |
| 1968 | 3.1% | -0.5 pp |
| 1967 | 3.64% | -0.5 pp |
| 1966 | 4.14% | +0.8 pp |
| 1965 | 3.36% | +0.9 pp |
| 1964 | 2.45% | -0.0 pp |
| 1963 | 2.49% | +0.0 pp |
| 1962 | 2.49% | +0.0 pp |
| 1961 | 2.45% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Maldives’s Population growth in 1962?
2.49% (1962). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in annual %, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Maldives’s Population growth growing or shrinking?
Between 1961 and 2025 the series was shrinking overall: -85.5% in total — about 3.0% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SP.POP.GROW. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2025: 0.35%; 2024: 0.34%; 2023: 0.36%; 2022: 1.53%; 2021: 2.76%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SP.POP.GROW — Population Growth (Annual %). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.