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Foreigner population doubles, total population grows by 1.5 percent: Census

Farah Ahmed
01 April 2023, MVT 21:14
A census enumerator observing a map of Malé at the Census 2022 centre in Hulhumalé on 13th September 2022. PHOTO: MIHAARU
Farah Ahmed
01 April 2023, MVT 21:14

The resident Maldivian population has grown by 1.5 percent since 2014, when the last census was conducted, and the total population of the Maldives is now 515,122, the provisional results of the Maldives Population and Housing Census 2022 have revealed.

The provisional results were published by the National Bureau of Statistics on March 30.

According to the census results, there are 382,751 Maldivian citizens and 132,371 foreigners living in the country.

Approximately 26 percent of the total population are foreigners, and for every three Maldivians, there is one foreigner living in the country. The foreign population in 2014 was around 63,000.

The distribution of population in the Maldives shows that 41 percent of the resident population lives in the capital city, Malé. The majority of the population still lives on administrative islands across the atoll, which is about 46 percent. Ten percent of the population lives in resorts, while about 3 percent lives on industrial islands.

The most populated areas in the Maldives besides Malé are: Hithadhoo in Addu City with over 11,000 Maldivians and 2,500 foreigners; Kulhudhuffushi City in Haa Dhaalu atoll with approximately 9,000 locals and 950 foreigners; and Fuvahmulah City with 7,800 locals and 1,200 foreigners.

The least populated islands are: Vaavu atoll Rakeedhoo with 63 locals and 14 foreigners; Alifu Dhaalu atoll Dhidhdhoo with 111 locals and 29 foreigners; and Raimandhoo in Meemu atoll with 118 locals and 52 foreigners. In Vaavu atoll Thinadhoo, there are more foreigners than locals; there are only 75 locals residing on the island while there are 184 foreigners.

The resident population by age group indicates that the bulk of the Maldives population, at 69 percent, is of working age. The number of children in the population is decreasing due to the low birth rates.

The sex ratio of the Maldivian population is 104, meaning that for every 100 women, there are 104 men in the population. The presence of men is less in Malé and administrative islands because a large portion of the male population reside in resorts and industrial islands.

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