Share of population living in urban areas in Maldives
Maldives: Share of population living in urban areas was 56.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Maldives, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Maldives recorded 56.5% for share of population living in urban areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Maldives peaked at 56.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 12.9%, in 1950.
That places Maldives 191st out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 13.4% | 12.9% | 13.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 15.9% | 15.2% | 16.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 20.2% | 19.0% | 21.3% | 2 |
| 1980s | 31.3% | 29.6% | 33.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 40.8% | 40.3% | 41.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 43.6% | 42.5% | 44.8% | 2 |
| 2010s | 49.3% | 47.8% | 50.8% | 2 |
| 2020s | 56.5% | 56.5% | 56.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Maldives
More reference data data for Maldives
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Consumer price index 150.41 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Democracy 6 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 5 (2025)
- Free country 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Maldives?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Maldives was 56.5% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Maldives?
- The highest recorded value was 56.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Maldives?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.9% in 1950.
- How does Maldives rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Maldives ranks 191st out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Maldives?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Maldives data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.