Rural population in Maldives
Maldives: Rural population was 57.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population in Maldives, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Maldives stood at 57.5%. That is the lowest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.9% on the previous year and down 6.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Maldives peaked at 88.7% in 1967 and was at its lowest, 57.5%, in 2025.
Maldives ranks 49th of 217 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Maldives, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 88.6% | — |
| 1961 | 88.6% | -0.0% |
| 1962 | 88.6% | -0.0% |
| 1963 | 88.6% | -0.0% |
| 1964 | 88.5% | -0.0% |
| 1965 | 88.5% | -0.0% |
| 1966 | 88.6% | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 88.7% | +0.1% |
| 1968 | 88.6% | -0.1% |
| 1969 | 88.4% | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 88.1% | -0.3% |
| 1971 | 87.5% | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 86.5% | -1.1% |
| 1973 | 85.3% | -1.5% |
| 1974 | 83.8% | -1.7% |
| 1975 | 82.4% | -1.8% |
| 1976 | 81.0% | -1.7% |
| 1977 | 79.8% | -1.4% |
| 1978 | 78.9% | -1.2% |
| 1979 | 78.0% | -1.1% |
| 1980 | 77.2% | -1.1% |
| 1981 | 76.4% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 75.7% | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 75.1% | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 74.7% | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 74.5% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 74.4% | -0.2% |
| 1987 | 74.3% | -0.1% |
| 1988 | 74.2% | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 74.2% | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 74.1% | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 74.2% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 74.3% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 74.4% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 74.4% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 74.5% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 74.3% | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 74.0% | -0.4% |
| 1998 | 73.5% | -0.6% |
| 1999 | 73.0% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 72.4% | -0.8% |
| 2001 | 71.5% | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 70.1% | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 68.6% | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 67.1% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 65.9% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 65.1% | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 64.6% | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 64.1% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 63.6% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 63.2% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 62.9% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 62.5% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 62.2% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 61.8% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 61.4% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 61.0% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 60.7% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 60.3% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 60.0% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 59.6% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 59.3% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 58.9% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 58.5% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 58.0% | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 57.5% | -0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 88.6% | 88.4% | 88.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 83.1% | 78.0% | 88.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 75.0% | 74.2% | 77.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 74.1% | 73.0% | 74.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.3% | 63.6% | 72.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.6% | 60.0% | 63.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.6% | 57.5% | 59.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More agriculture & rural data for Maldives
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 30.99 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0459 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 670.93 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate -0.5233 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5749 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 4.6% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 4.6% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 1.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Maldives?
- Rural population in Maldives was 57.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 88.7% in 1967.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 57.5% in 2025.
- How does Maldives rank for rural population?
- Maldives ranks 49th out of 217 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.