Urban population in Maldives
Maldives: Urban population was 42.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Maldives, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 42.5% for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 10.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Maldives peaked at 42.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 11.3%, in 1967.
That places Maldives 169th out of 217 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 11.4% | — |
| 1961 | 11.4% | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 11.4% | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 11.4% | +0.2% |
| 1964 | 11.5% | +0.1% |
| 1965 | 11.5% | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 11.4% | -0.6% |
| 1967 | 11.3% | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 11.4% | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 11.6% | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 11.9% | +2.4% |
| 1971 | 12.5% | +4.8% |
| 1972 | 13.5% | +7.9% |
| 1973 | 14.7% | +9.4% |
| 1974 | 16.2% | +9.7% |
| 1975 | 17.6% | +9.1% |
| 1976 | 19.0% | +7.8% |
| 1977 | 20.2% | +6.0% |
| 1978 | 21.1% | +4.6% |
| 1979 | 22.0% | +4.1% |
| 1980 | 22.8% | +3.9% |
| 1981 | 23.6% | +3.5% |
| 1982 | 24.3% | +3.0% |
| 1983 | 24.9% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 25.3% | +1.6% |
| 1985 | 25.5% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 25.6% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 25.7% | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 25.8% | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 25.8% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 25.9% | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 25.8% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 25.7% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 25.6% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 25.6% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 25.5% | -0.0% |
| 1996 | 25.7% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 26.0% | +1.3% |
| 1998 | 26.5% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 27.0% | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 27.6% | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 28.5% | +3.4% |
| 2002 | 29.9% | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 31.4% | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 32.9% | +4.7% |
| 2005 | 34.1% | +3.7% |
| 2006 | 34.9% | +2.3% |
| 2007 | 35.4% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 35.9% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 36.4% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 36.8% | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 37.1% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 37.5% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 37.8% | +0.9% |
| 2014 | 38.2% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 38.6% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 39.0% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 39.3% | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 39.7% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 40.0% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 40.4% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 40.7% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 41.1% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 41.5% | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 42.0% | +1.2% |
| 2025 | 42.5% | +1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 11.4% | 11.3% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 16.9% | 11.9% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 25.0% | 22.8% | 25.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.9% | 25.5% | 27.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 32.7% | 27.6% | 36.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 38.4% | 36.8% | 40.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 41.4% | 40.4% | 42.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More climate change data for Maldives
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1.17 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1.17 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 0.0028 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.0044 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.0001 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) 1.14 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1.14 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Emissions 0.0043 kt (2050)
- Synthetic Fertilizers — Direct emissions 0.0033 kt (2050)
- Burning - Crop residues — Emissions (CO2eq) 0.0028 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Maldives?
- Urban population in Maldives was 42.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 42.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.3% in 1967.
- How does Maldives rank for urban population?
- Maldives ranks 169th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.