Migration trends in the Maldives
Asia
70.2K people from around the world have made Maldives their home. That's 13.3% of the country population, arriving from 22 different countries
527.8K
Population
70.2K
Immigrants
2.8K
Emigrants
+67.4K
Inflow
Every 8th person in the Maldives was born abroad
The #147 largest immigrant destination worldwide
Top corridors
The largest migration routes in the Maldives
Where people come from
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
8.4K immigrants · 1.7K emigrants
1995
- India overtook Bangladesh as the largest source of new arrivals
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 111%
- The exodus eased — the diaspora abroad shrank by 35%
- Roughly 1 in 20 residents was now foreign-born
2005
- Bangladesh overtook India as the largest source of new arrivals
- A surge of arrivals — the foreign-born population jumped 64%
- Roughly 1 in 10 residents was now foreign-born
2010
- An accelerating exodus — the diaspora abroad grew by 83%
Today
- Since 1990: 61.7K more foreign-born residents and roughly the same number of citizens living abroad