The Maldives, a chain of island atolls in the Indian Ocean south of India, is one of the very few places in the world with no institutional Catholic presence. Islam is defined in the constitution as the state religion. It prohibits any law deemed contrary to Sunni interpretation of Islam. Public conversion to other faiths is culturally impossible. Some Catholics from abroad work in embassies and other settings, and come there as tourists for the islands’ celebrated beaches, but there is no public Catholic practice there. Even foreigners who visit and work there have no organized venues for religious practice, outside of embassy compounds.
National Demographics
Religious Affiliation
Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
Total Population
444,259 1
Urban
39.8% 1
Rural
60.2% 1
Immigrants as % of Population
13.0% 2
Homicides
0.59 per 100,000 people (global median: 5.8) 3
Level of Public Corruption
39 (100 is very clean, 0 is highly corrupt) 4
Fertility Rate
1.70 live births per woman 5
Under-Five Mortality Rate
6.00 deaths per 1,000 live births 5
Life Expectancy at Birth
80 years 5
Adult Literacy Rate
98.40% 6
Internet Users
86% 6
GDP per Capita
US$10,627 5
Population Living Below US$2.15 per Day
0.0% 7
Gender Gap Ranking based on economy, health, education, and politics
124 (146 is the lowest ranked country; 1 is the highest ranked country) 8
Religious Freedom: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)
6.6 - Very High
Religious Freedom: Social Hostilities Index (SHI)
3.2 - Moderate
- 1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition (New York: United Nations, 2018).
- 2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, International Migrant Stock 2020 (New York: United Nations, 2020).
- 3 Data as of 2021. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, "Intentional Homicide," United Nations, Accessed April 9, 2024; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Study on Homicide 2023 (Vienna: United Nations, 2023).
- 4 "2023 Corruption Perceptions Index," Transparency International, Accessed April 9, 2024.
- 5 United Nations Children's Fund, The State of the World's Children 2023 (Florence: UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, 2023).
- 6 International Telecommunication Union, "Individuals using the Internet (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 7 Poverty and Inequality Platform, "Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population)," The World Bank, Accessed April 24, 2024.
- 8 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report 2023 (Geneva: World Economic Forum, 2023).
- 9 As Pew describes it, "Government restrictions on religion include laws, policies and actions that regulate and limit religious beliefs and practices. They also include policies that single out certain religious groups or ban certain practices; the granting of benefits to some religious groups but not others; and bureaucratic rules that require religious groups to register to receive benefits." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the laws are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
- 10 As Pew describes it, "Social hostilities include actions by private individuals or groups that target religious groups; they also include actions by groups or individuals who use religion to restrict others. The SHI captures events such as religion-related harassment, mob violence, terrorism/militant activity, and hostilities over religious conversions or the wearing of religious symbols and clothing." As noted on pp. 45-47 of the report, the index summarizes data from 19 sources. The index does not differentiate whether the hostilities are directed toward Catholics. Pew Research Center, Globally, Government Restrictions on Religion Reached Peak Levels in 2021, While Social Hostilities Went Down (Pew Research Center, 2024).
Catholic Demographics
These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.
Priests
29