Language

Official language
Dhivehi (100%)

T-index
0.0039%

T-Index ranks countries according to their potential for online sales.

Demography

Capital: Malè
Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa
Population: 543,62 thousand
Population density: 1,802 /km2

Economy

GDP: 4.89 billion USD (2021)
GDP per capita: 8,994.6 USD ‎(2021) ‎
Exports: $214 million (2020)

Statistics

Internet users: 63.2% penetration, 342.7 thousands million
Unemployment rate: 4.6% (2019)
Urbanisation: 91.99% (2020)
Literacy: 98% (2016)

Conventions

Numbering system
Arabic numbering system and point as decimal separator

Date format: yyyy-mm-dd
Time: 24h time system
Country code: 00960

Economy

Imports
$1.38 billion (2020).  Refined Petroleum ($79.9M), Broadcasting Equipment ($40.3M), Other Fruits ($31.5M), Packaged Medicaments ($30.8M), and Other Furniture ($30.7M), importing mostly from China ($273M), India ($196M), United Arab Emirates ($186M), Singapore ($162M), and Sri Lanka ($94.4M).

Ease of doing business
It is very easy to conduct business (rated 53.3 out of 100) 6th out of 8 South Asian countries, 147th worldwide out of 190 countries (2019, World Bank).

Exports
$214 million (2020).  Non-fillet Frozen Fish ($67.6M), Fish Fillets ($53.4M), Processed Fish ($30.8M), Non-fillet Fresh Fish ($19.6M), and Special Purpose Ships ($10M), exporting mostly to Thailand ($65.8M), France ($23M), Germany ($22.9M), India ($17.1M), and United States ($15.7M).

Economic freedom
‘Mostly not free’ (47.3 out of 100) 36th out of 45 countries in Asia Pacific, 161st worldwide out of 186 countries (2019, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal)

Media

Media language Korean, English

Information channels
Private broadcasters operate alongside outlets run by Public Service Media, a state body. Non-state media report coming under pressure and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says journalists operate in a climate of violence and impunity. It says the government “continues to persecute the independent media” and that political parties are the main source of threats. A 2016 law criminalised defamation, allowing the authorities to fine or close media for content deemed defamatory. Raajje TV, a leading pro-opposition outlet, said in 2017 that the authorities were seeking to shut it down by imposing large fines under the legislation.

The press

Mihaaru – Dhivehi-language newspaper; its website publishes in English and Dhivehi
Maldives Independent – news site, in English
Sun Online – news site, in English and Dhivehi
Miadhu – English-language pages

Television

Public Service Media – state-run, operates Television Maldives (TVM)
DhiTV – private
Raajje TV – private, pro-opposition
Sangu TV – private
VTV – private

Radio

Public Service Media – state-run, operates Dhivehi Raajjeyge Adu (Voice of Maldives) and other networks
Sun FM – private

Internet Data

Internet users
63.2% penetration, 342.7 thousands

Share of web traffic by device
69.83% mobile phones, 27.82% computers (laptops and desktops), 2.3% tablet devices, 0.05% other devices

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
48.31 Mbps

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
10.57 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 149.4%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 77.3%

Most popular web search engines
Google (97.92%), Bing (1.62%), Yahoo (0.2%) Duckduckgo (0.14%), Yandex (0.06%), Ecosia (0.03%)

Most used social media
Facebook (87.21%), Pinterest (3.74%), Twitter (3.08%), Instagram (2.55%), Youtube (1.45%), Instagram (2.55%), Reddit (0.94%) Linkedin (0.95%)