Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The Maldives fits inside Nepal 491 times.
Maldives: 300 km² (2023) · Nepal: 147,180 km² (2023)
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)
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 Nobel laureates were born there?
Maldives: no data · Nepal: 0 (2025)
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 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% (2024)
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 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)
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)
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 42% of Nepal, but only 2.8% of the Maldives.
Maldives: 2.8% (2023) · Nepal: 41.6% (2023)
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 22 times as deadly as in the Maldives.
Maldives: 1.3 per 100k (2021) · Nepal: 28.2 per 100k (2021)
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)
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).
