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This article is about the demographic features of the population of the Maldives, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populous, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Maldives comprises some 1,900 islands in the Indian Ocean. The earliest settlers were probably Dravidians from the shores of southern India and Sri Lanka. Originally the Maldivians were Buddhists who converted to Sunni Islam in the mid-12th century. Islam is now the official religion of the entire population.

The skyline of Male

One of over 800 uninhabited islands of the Maldives

Demography

The Maldives has one of the highest birth rates in the world. The result is that many islands have become overpopulated and are completely covered by homesteads. Hence the country is becoming less self-sufficient by the day.

Demographics of the Maldives, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

301,475 (July 2000 est.) - 369,031 (July 2007 est.) [1]

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 46% (male 71,273; female 67,323) (2000 est.) - 42.9% (male 81,383/female 76,984) (2007 est.)
• 15-64 years: 51% (male 78,598; female 75,331) (2000 est.) - 54% (male 101,699/female 97,518) (2007 est.)
• 65 years and over: 3% (male 4,666; female 4,284) (2000 est.) - 3.1% (male 5,619/female 5,828) (2007 est.)

Population growth rate

1.79% (2006 est.)

Birth rate

38.96 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) - 34.2 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate

8.32 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) - 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Sex ratio

• at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 1.09 male(s)/female
• total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

65.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) - 53.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

• total population: 62.2 years (2000 est.) - 64.76 years (2007 est.)
• male: 61.05 years (2000 est.) - 63.41 years (2007 est.)
• female: 63.4 years (2000 est.) - 66.19 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate

5.62 children born/woman (2000 est.) - 4.78 children born/woman (2007 est.) [2]

Nationality

• noun: Maldivian(s)
• adjective: Maldivian

Ethnic groups

The largest ethnic group is Maldivian (Dhivehin). They are principally an Indo-Aryan people, closely related to Sinhalese, but there are also traces of South Indian, Arab, Malay and African genes in the population.

There is also a small population known as the Giraavaru, who have now been almost completely absorbed into the larger Maldivian society but were once native to the Giraavaru atoll.

Religions

Sunni Muslim is the only accepted religion, though there are small numbers of others, particularly Buddhists workers from Sri Lanka and Hindus from India.

Languages

Maldivian Dhivehi, a language closely related to Sinhala and written in a specialised Arabic script (Tāna), is the official language and is spoken by virtually the whole population. English is also spoken as a second language by many.

Literacy

• definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 96.3%
• male: 96.2%
• female: 96.4% (2000 census)

References

• H.C.P. Bell, The Maldive Islands, An account of the physical features, History, Inhabitants, Productions and Trade. Colombo 1883, ISBN 81 206 1222 1
• Xavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom. Barcelona 1999, ISBN 84 7254 801 5