Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The Maldives fits inside India 10,958 times
India: 3,287,260 km² (2024) · Maldives: 300 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
India’s coastline is 11 times as long as the Maldives’
India: 7,000 km (2026 edition) · Maldives: 644 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
India’s highest peak towers 8,581 m above the Maldives’
India: 8,586 m (2026 edition) · Maldives: 5 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 60% of India, versus 20% of the Maldives
India: 59.9% (2024) · Maldives: 19.8% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
India has 2,764 times as many people as the Maldives
India: 1.46 billion (2025) · Maldives: 529,676 (2025)
How crowded is it?
The Maldives is 3.6 times as densely populated as India
India: 492 per km² (2025) · Maldives: 1,777 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the Maldives are 1.4 cm taller than in India
India: 166.5 cm (2019) · Maldives: 167.9 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in India are 0.9 cm taller than in the Maldives
India: 155.2 cm (2019) · Maldives: 154.3 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the Maldives is 3.1 years older than in India
India: 28.1 years (2023) · Maldives: 31.1 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in India have 0.4 more children on average than in the Maldives
India: 1.96 children per woman (2024) · Maldives: 1.56 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
7.4% of people in India are 65 or older, versus 5.0% in the Maldives
India: 7.4% (2025) · Maldives: 5% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
India: 0.2 per 1,000 (2025) · Maldives: no data
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
India: 0.1 (2026) · Maldives: no data
How many official languages?
India has 3 official languages, the Maldives 1
India: 3 (2026) · Maldives: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
India’s economy is 511 times the size of the Maldives’
India: $3.96 trillion (2025) · Maldives: $7.74 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The Maldives produces 2.4 times as much per person as India
India: Int$11,748 (2025) · Maldives: Int$28,555 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in the Maldives than in India (Gini 6.3 points higher)
India: 23 (2023) · Maldives: 29.3 (2019)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
2.6% of people in India live on less than $3 a day, versus 0% in the Maldives
India: 2.6% (2023) · Maldives: 0% (2019)
How many people are looking for work?
The Maldives and India are practically level
India: 4.2% (2025) · Maldives: 4.5% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
India: 2.3% (2025) · Maldives: no data
How much does the central government collect in tax?
The Maldives’ central government collects 19% of GDP in tax, India’s 6.9%
India: 6.9% (2022) · Maldives: 19.5% (2021)
How expensive is it?
The Maldives’ price level (US = 100) is 2.2× India’s
India: 23% (2025) · Maldives: 51% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The Maldives spends 14 times as much on health per person as India
India: $85 (2023) · Maldives: $1,159 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the Maldives live 9 years longer than in India
India: 72.2 years (2024) · Maldives: 81.3 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in India is 5 times as likely to die before turning one as in the Maldives
India: 23.3 per 1,000 (2024) · Maldives: 4.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The Maldives has 3.1 times as many doctors per person as India
India: 0.7 per 1,000 (2020) · Maldives: 2.2 per 1,000 (2019)
How many hospital beds are there?
The Maldives has 2.9 times as many hospital beds per person as India
India: 1.6 per 1,000 (2021) · Maldives: 4.6 per 1,000 (2021)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in India is 4.6 times that in the Maldives
India: 15.3 per 100k (2023) · Maldives: 3.3 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
18% of adults in the Maldives are obese, versus 8.0% in India
India: 8% (2024) · Maldives: 18.1% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
26% of adults in the Maldives smoke, versus 23% in India
India: 22.6% (2024) · Maldives: 25.5% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the Maldives rate their lives 0.66 points higher than in India
India: 4.54 (2025) · Maldives: 5.20 (2020)
How much do people drink?
Adults in India drink 2.1 times as much alcohol as in the Maldives
India: 5.2 litres (2023) · Maldives: 2.5 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The Maldives has 3.6 times as much meat per person as India
India: 8.1 kg (2023) · Maldives: 29.6 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The Maldives and India are practically level
India: 2,669 kcal (2023) · Maldives: 2,671 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
India: 2,383 hours (2023) · Maldives: no data
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the Maldives went to school 0.53 years longer than in India
India: 6.9 years (2023) · Maldives: 7.4 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The Maldives welcomed 472 times as many tourists per resident as India (2019)
India: 0.01 (2024) · Maldives: 3.2 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
India has 45 more World Heritage sites than the Maldives (45 against 0)
India: 45 (2026) · Maldives: 0 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
India has won 41 Olympic medals, the Maldives none
India: 41 (2026 edition) · Maldives: 0 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
85% of people in the Maldives are online, versus 70% in India
India: 70% (2025) · Maldives: 85% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in India is 2 times as fast as in the Maldives
India: 91 Mbps (2026) · Maldives: 45 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
The Maldives and India are practically level
India: 99.9% (2024) · Maldives: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
43% of people in the Maldives live in cities, versus 36% in India
India: 36% (2025) · Maldives: 43% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The Maldives has 148 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, India 79
India: 79 (2024) · Maldives: 148 (2024)
How much railway is there?
India: 68,103 km (2021) · Maldives: no data
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the Maldives fly 22 times as many passengers per resident as those from India
India: 0.12 (2023) · Maldives: 2.67 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 24% of India, but only 12% of the Maldives
India: 24.4% (2024) · Maldives: 12.5% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the Maldives emits 2 times as much CO₂ as someone in India
India: 2.2 t (2024) · Maldives: 4.4 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
24% of India’s electricity is renewable, versus 7.1% in the Maldives
India: 24.1% (2025) · Maldives: 7.1% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in India carries 4.1 times as much fine dust as in the Maldives
India: 44.2 µg/m³ (2024) · Maldives: 10.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 4.6 times as likely to be murdered in India as in the Maldives
India: 2.8 per 100k (2022) · Maldives: 0.6 per 100k (2019)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in India are 21 times as deadly as in the Maldives
India: 25.4 per 100k (2023) · Maldives: 1.2 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
India: 24.5°C (2016–2025 avg) · Maldives: no data
How much rain falls?
India: 1,268 mm (2016–2025 avg) · Maldives: no data
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is India bigger than the Maldives?
India is larger. The Maldives fits inside India 10,958 times.
Which has more people, India or the Maldives?
India has 2,764 times as many people as the Maldives (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, India or the Maldives?
People in the Maldives live 9 years longer than in India. Life expectancy at birth is 72.2 years in India and 81.3 in the Maldives.
Are people taller in India or the Maldives?
Men in the Maldives are 1.4 cm taller than in India (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
