Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The Maldives fits inside Nepal 491 times
Maldives: 300 km² (2024) · Nepal: 147,181 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
Maldives: 644 km (2026 edition) · Nepal: 0 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
Nepal’s highest peak towers 8,844 m above the Maldives’
Maldives: 5 m (2026 edition) · Nepal: 8,849 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 26% of Nepal, versus 20% of the Maldives
Maldives: 19.8% (2024) · Nepal: 26.1% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
Nepal has 56 times as many people as the Maldives
Maldives: 529,676 (2025) · Nepal: 29.6 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The Maldives is 8.6 times as densely populated as Nepal
Maldives: 1,777 per km² (2025) · Nepal: 207 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the Maldives are 3.5 cm taller than in Nepal
Maldives: 167.9 cm (2019) · Nepal: 164.4 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the Maldives are 1.9 cm taller than in Nepal
Maldives: 154.3 cm (2019) · Nepal: 152.4 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The typical person in the Maldives is 6.4 years older than in Nepal
Maldives: 31.1 years (2023) · Nepal: 24.7 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in Nepal have 0.4 more children on average than in the Maldives
Maldives: 1.56 children per woman (2024) · Nepal: 1.96 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
6.6% of people in Nepal are 65 or older, versus 5.0% in the Maldives
Maldives: 5% (2025) · Nepal: 6.6% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Maldives: no data · Nepal: 0.7 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Maldives: no data · Nepal: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
The Maldives and Nepal are practically level
Maldives: 1 (2026) · Nepal: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
Nepal’s economy is 5.9 times the size of the Maldives’
Maldives: $7.74 billion (2025) · Nepal: $45.5 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The Maldives produces 4.6 times as much per person as Nepal
Maldives: Int$28,555 (2025) · Nepal: Int$6,175 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in Nepal than in the Maldives (Gini 0.7 points higher)
Maldives: 29.3 (2019) · Nepal: 30 (2022)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
2.4% of people in Nepal live on less than $3 a day, versus 0% in the Maldives
Maldives: 0% (2019) · Nepal: 2.4% (2022)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 10% in Nepal, versus 4.5% in the Maldives
Maldives: 4.5% (2025) · Nepal: 10.5% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Maldives: no data · Nepal: 1% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
The Maldives’ central government collects 19% of GDP in tax, Nepal’s 14%
Maldives: 19.5% (2021) · Nepal: 13.9% (2023)
How expensive is it?
The Maldives’ price level (US = 100) is 2.1× Nepal’s
Maldives: 51% (2025) · Nepal: 25% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The Maldives spends 14 times as much on health per person as Nepal
Maldives: $1,159 (2023) · Nepal: $84 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the Maldives live 11 years longer than in Nepal
Maldives: 81.3 years (2024) · Nepal: 70.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in Nepal is 4.7 times as likely to die before turning one as in the Maldives
Maldives: 4.7 per 1,000 (2024) · Nepal: 22.2 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The Maldives has 2.2 times as many doctors per person as Nepal
Maldives: 2.2 per 1,000 (2019) · Nepal: 1 per 1,000 (2023)
How many hospital beds are there?
The Maldives has 8.4 times as many hospital beds per person as Nepal
Maldives: 4.6 per 1,000 (2021) · Nepal: 0.5 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in Nepal is 5.5 times that in the Maldives
Maldives: 3.3 per 100k (2023) · Nepal: 18 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
18% of adults in the Maldives are obese, versus 7.7% in Nepal
Maldives: 18.1% (2024) · Nepal: 7.7% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
29% of adults in Nepal smoke, versus 26% in the Maldives
Maldives: 25.5% (2024) · Nepal: 28.7% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the Maldives rate their lives 0.05 points higher than in Nepal
Maldives: 5.20 (2020) · Nepal: 5.15 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in the Maldives drink 25% more alcohol than in Nepal
Maldives: 2.5 litres (2023) · Nepal: 2 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The Maldives has 2 times as much meat per person as Nepal
Maldives: 29.6 kg (2023) · Nepal: 14.5 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
Nepal has 248 kcal more food per person per day than the Maldives
Maldives: 2,671 kcal (2023) · Nepal: 2,920 kcal (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the Maldives went to school 2.9 years longer than in Nepal
Maldives: 7.4 years (2023) · Nepal: 4.5 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The Maldives welcomed 154 times as many tourists per resident as Nepal (2019)
Maldives: 3.2 (2022) · Nepal: 0.02 (2022)
How many World Heritage sites?
Nepal has 4 more World Heritage sites than the Maldives (4 against 0)
Maldives: 0 (2026) · Nepal: 4 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
The Maldives and Nepal are practically level
Maldives: 0 (2026 edition) · Nepal: 0 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
85% of people in the Maldives are online, versus 46% in Nepal
Maldives: 85% (2024) · Nepal: 46% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in Nepal is 2.5 times as fast as in the Maldives
Maldives: 45 Mbps (2026) · Nepal: 116 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
100% of people in the Maldives have electricity, versus 98% in Nepal
Maldives: 100% (2024) · Nepal: 97.9% (2024)
How many live in cities?
67% of people in Nepal live in cities, versus 43% in the Maldives
Maldives: 43% (2025) · Nepal: 67% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The Maldives has 148 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, Nepal 100
Maldives: 148 (2024) · Nepal: 100 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Maldives: no data · Nepal: 59 km (2018)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the Maldives fly 18 times as many passengers per resident as those from Nepal
Maldives: 2.67 (2023) · Nepal: 0.14 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 44% of Nepal, but only 12% of the Maldives
Maldives: 12.5% (2024) · Nepal: 43.6% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the Maldives emits 6.9 times as much CO₂ as someone in Nepal
Maldives: 4.4 t (2024) · Nepal: 0.6 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
100% of Nepal’s electricity is renewable, versus 7.1% in the Maldives
Maldives: 7.1% (2024) · Nepal: 100% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in Nepal carries 3.8 times as much fine dust as in the Maldives
Maldives: 10.7 µg/m³ (2024) · Nepal: 40.7 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 3.5 times as likely to be murdered in Nepal as in the Maldives
Maldives: 0.6 per 100k (2019) · Nepal: 2.1 per 100k (2020)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in Nepal are 47 times as deadly as in the Maldives
Maldives: 1.2 per 100k (2023) · Nepal: 56 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Maldives: no data · Nepal: 13.6°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Maldives: no data · Nepal: 2,197 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Between them
People, goods and passports that cross from one to the other
Quick answers
Is the Maldives bigger than Nepal?
Nepal is larger. The Maldives fits inside Nepal 491 times.
Which has more people, the Maldives or Nepal?
Nepal has 56 times as many people as the Maldives (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, the Maldives or Nepal?
People in the Maldives live 11 years longer than in Nepal. Life expectancy at birth is 81.3 years in the Maldives and 70.6 in Nepal.
Are people taller in the Maldives or Nepal?
Men in the Maldives are 3.5 cm taller than in Nepal (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).
