South Asia
A life that begins in Maldives
One in every 23,917 babies in the world is born here: about 5,608 a year, 0.011 a minute.
- Population
- 529,676
- Births a year
- 5,608
- Life expectancy
- 81.5
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 5.4
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
83
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
80
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
4.7
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
5.4
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
32
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
0.1
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
26
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
1.5
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
1.6
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
0.62
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
1.56
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
2
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
95
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
79
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
49
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
≈ 10.7
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$24,401
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
29
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
0
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
4.5
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
11
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
41
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
18
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
43
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
100
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
100
World: 91
Internet users (%)
85
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
5.2
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.01
World: 0.34
≈ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 38.3 → 2026: 81.2 → 2050: 86.1
World
1960: 334 → 2026: 5 → 2050: 2
World
1960: 6.7 → 2026: 1.6 → 2050: 1.5
World
1960: 11 → 2026: 43 → 2050: 62
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Maldives comes up about once in every 23,917 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in South Asia
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.