Fertility rate: births per woman in Maldives
Maldives: Fertility rate: births per woman was 1.57 live births per woman in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
1.57 live births per woman
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
155th
of 236 countries
All-time high
7.4 live births per woman
in 1973
All-time low
1.57 live births per woman
in 2023
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Fertility rate: births per woman in Maldives, 1950–2023
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 1.57 live births per woman for fertility rate: births per woman in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 27.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertility rate: births per woman in Maldives peaked at 7.4 live births per woman in 1973 and was at its lowest, 1.57 live births per woman, in 2023.
That places Maldives 155th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Fertility rate: births per woman in Maldives, year by year
| Year | live births per woman | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 6.18 live births per woman | — |
| 1951 | 6.18 live births per woman | -0.1% |
| 1952 | 6.21 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 1953 | 6.23 live births per woman | +0.3% |
| 1954 | 6.26 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 1955 | 6.33 live births per woman | +1.1% |
| 1956 | 6.39 live births per woman | +1.0% |
| 1957 | 6.45 live births per woman | +0.9% |
| 1958 | 6.5 live births per woman | +0.9% |
| 1959 | 6.56 live births per woman | +0.8% |
| 1960 | 6.71 live births per woman | +2.4% |
| 1961 | 6.79 live births per woman | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 6.89 live births per woman | +1.4% |
| 1963 | 6.94 live births per woman | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 7 live births per woman | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 7.07 live births per woman | +1.0% |
| 1966 | 7.14 live births per woman | +1.1% |
| 1967 | 7.23 live births per woman | +1.1% |
| 1968 | 7.28 live births per woman | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 7.33 live births per woman | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 7.39 live births per woman | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 7.38 live births per woman | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 7.37 live births per woman | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 7.4 live births per woman | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 7.38 live births per woman | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 7.32 live births per woman | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 7.29 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 1977 | 7.27 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 1978 | 7.23 live births per woman | -0.5% |
| 1979 | 7.23 live births per woman | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 7.23 live births per woman | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 7.19 live births per woman | -0.5% |
| 1982 | 7.15 live births per woman | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 7.09 live births per woman | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 7.03 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 6.94 live births per woman | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 6.85 live births per woman | -1.3% |
| 1987 | 6.73 live births per woman | -1.7% |
| 1988 | 6.58 live births per woman | -2.2% |
| 1989 | 6.39 live births per woman | -3.0% |
| 1990 | 6.13 live births per woman | -4.0% |
| 1991 | 5.8 live births per woman | -5.4% |
| 1992 | 5.43 live births per woman | -6.2% |
| 1993 | 5.06 live births per woman | -6.8% |
| 1994 | 4.69 live births per woman | -7.4% |
| 1995 | 4.29 live births per woman | -8.4% |
| 1996 | 3.86 live births per woman | -10.1% |
| 1997 | 3.48 live births per woman | -9.9% |
| 1998 | 3.17 live births per woman | -8.8% |
| 1999 | 2.9 live births per woman | -8.6% |
| 2000 | 2.69 live births per woman | -7.2% |
| 2001 | 2.53 live births per woman | -5.9% |
| 2002 | 2.42 live births per woman | -4.2% |
| 2003 | 2.34 live births per woman | -3.4% |
| 2004 | 2.26 live births per woman | -3.4% |
| 2005 | 2.2 live births per woman | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 2.2 live births per woman | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 2.29 live births per woman | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 2.37 live births per woman | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 2.39 live births per woman | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 2.35 live births per woman | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 2.31 live births per woman | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 2.25 live births per woman | -2.3% |
| 2013 | 2.17 live births per woman | -3.5% |
| 2014 | 2.09 live births per woman | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 2 live births per woman | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 1.9 live births per woman | -5.0% |
| 2017 | 1.8 live births per woman | -5.5% |
| 2018 | 1.71 live births per woman | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 1.64 live births per woman | -4.1% |
| 2020 | 1.61 live births per woman | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 1.6 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 1.58 live births per woman | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 1.57 live births per woman | -0.5% |
Maldives compared with similar countries
- Maldives's 1.57 live births per woman is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.82 live births per woman, 87% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Maldives's 1.57 live births per woman is below the median for South Asia, which is 1.97 live births per woman, 80% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.33 live births per woman | 6.18 live births per woman | 6.56 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1960s | 7.04 live births per woman | 6.71 live births per woman | 7.33 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.33 live births per woman | 7.23 live births per woman | 7.4 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.92 live births per woman | 6.39 live births per woman | 7.23 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.48 live births per woman | 2.9 live births per woman | 6.13 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.37 live births per woman | 2.2 live births per woman | 2.69 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.02 live births per woman | 1.64 live births per woman | 2.35 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.59 live births per woman | 1.57 live births per woman | 1.61 live births per woman | 4 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
- 152 Ireland 1.6 live births per woman compare
- 153 Antigua and Barbuda 1.58 live births per woman compare
- 154 Slovenia 1.58 live births per woman compare
- 156 Slovakia 1.56 live births per woman compare
- 156 United Kingdom 1.56 live births per woman compare
- 158 Malaysia 1.55 live births per woman compare
More reference data data for Maldives
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0011 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0011 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0044 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0044 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 1.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Crop Residues 0.012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Burning - Crop 0.0004 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertility rate: births per woman in Maldives?
- Fertility rate: births per woman in Maldives was 1.57 live births per woman in 2023, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 7.4 live births per woman in 1973.
- What is the lowest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.57 live births per woman in 2023.
- How does Maldives rank for fertility rate: births per woman?
- Maldives ranks 155th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fertility rate: births per woman rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate: births per woman. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.