World median is the middle country on each statistic: half of all countries with data are above it, half below. It is not an average, so it is never pulled up or down by giants or microstates.
Land
Size, shape and altitude
How big is it, really?
The Maldives fits inside the median country 371 times
Maldives: 300 km² (2024) · World median: 111,370 km² (2024)
How much coast is there?
The Maldives’ coastline is 46% longer than the median country’s
Maldives: 644 km (2026 edition) · World median: 440 km (2026 edition)
How high can you climb?
The median country’s highest peak towers 2,330 m above the Maldives’
Maldives: 5 m (2026 edition) · World median: 2,335 m (2026 edition)
How much of the land is farmed?
Farmland covers 38% of the median country, versus 20% of the Maldives
Maldives: 19.8% (2024) · World median: 37.8% (2024)
People
Who lives there, and how closely
How many people live there?
The median country has 14 times as many people as the Maldives
Maldives: 529,676 (2025) · World median: 7.4 million (2025)
How crowded is it?
The Maldives is 18 times as densely populated as the median country
Maldives: 1,777 per km² (2025) · World median: 98 per km² (2025)
How tall are the men?
Men in the median country are 5.6 cm taller than in the Maldives
Maldives: 167.9 cm (2019) · World median: 173.5 cm (2019)
How tall are the women?
Women in the median country are 6.3 cm taller than in the Maldives
Maldives: 154.3 cm (2019) · World median: 160.6 cm (2019)
How old is the typical person?
The Maldives and the median country are practically level
Maldives: 31.1 years (2023) · World median: 31.1 years (2023)
How many children per woman?
Women in the median country have 0.3 more children on average than in the Maldives
Maldives: 1.56 children per woman (2024) · World median: 1.9 children per woman (2024)
How many people are 65 or older?
8.6% of people in the median country are 65 or older, versus 5.0% in the Maldives
Maldives: 5% (2025) · World median: 8.6% (2025)
How many refugees does it host?
Maldives: no data · World median: 0.8 per 1,000 (2025)
How many Nobel laureates were born there?
Maldives: no data · World median: 0 (2026)
How many official languages?
The Maldives and the median country are practically level
Maldives: 1 (2026) · World median: 1 (2026)
Money
What an economy looks like per person
How big is the economy?
The median country’s economy is 5.9 times the size of the Maldives’
Maldives: $7.74 billion (2025) · World median: $45.5 billion (2025)
How much is produced per person?
The Maldives produces 36% more per person than the median country
Maldives: Int$28,555 (2025) · World median: Int$21,072 (2025)
How evenly is income shared?
Income is more unequally shared in the median country than in the Maldives (Gini 5.1 points higher)
Maldives: 29.3 (2019) · World median: 34.4 (2023)
How many live on less than $3 a day?
1.6% of people in the median country live on less than $3 a day, versus 0% in the Maldives
Maldives: 0% (2019) · World median: 1.6% (2023)
How many people are looking for work?
Unemployment is 5.1% in the median country, versus 4.5% in the Maldives
Maldives: 4.5% (2025) · World median: 5.1% (2025)
How much goes to the military?
Maldives: no data · World median: 1.8% (2025)
How much does the central government collect in tax?
The Maldives’ central government collects 19% of GDP in tax, the median country’s 17%
Maldives: 19.5% (2021) · World median: 17% (2024)
How expensive is it?
The Maldives’ price level (US = 100) is 1.1× the median country’s
Maldives: 51% (2025) · World median: 45% (2025)
Health
Long lives, small beginnings
How much is spent on health?
The Maldives spends 2.5 times as much on health per person as the median country
Maldives: $1,159 (2023) · World median: $470 (2023)
How long do people live?
People in the Maldives live 6.7 years longer than in the median country
Maldives: 81.3 years (2024) · World median: 74.6 years (2024)
How many babies don’t reach their first birthday?
A baby in the median country is 2.7 times as likely to die before turning one as in the Maldives
Maldives: 4.7 per 1,000 (2024) · World median: 12.7 per 1,000 (2024)
How many doctors are there?
The Maldives has 33% more doctors per person than the median country
Maldives: 2.2 per 1,000 (2019) · World median: 1.7 per 1,000 (2022)
How many hospital beds are there?
The Maldives has 88% more hospital beds per person than the median country
Maldives: 4.6 per 1,000 (2021) · World median: 2.4 per 1,000 (2023)
How common is suicide?
The suicide rate in the median country is 3 times that in the Maldives
Maldives: 3.3 per 100k (2023) · World median: 10 per 100k (2023)
How common is obesity?
24% of adults in the median country are obese, versus 18% in the Maldives
Maldives: 18.1% (2024) · World median: 24% (2024)
How many adults smoke?
26% of adults in the Maldives smoke, versus 19% in the median country
Maldives: 25.5% (2024) · World median: 19% (2024)
Everyday life
Plates, glasses and happiness
How do people rate their lives?
People in the median country rate their lives 0.64 points higher than in the Maldives
Maldives: 5.20 (2020) · World median: 5.83 (2025)
How much do people drink?
Adults in the median country drink 77% more alcohol than in the Maldives
Maldives: 2.5 litres (2023) · World median: 4.3 litres (2023)
How much meat is on the menu?
The median country has 90% more meat per person than the Maldives
Maldives: 29.6 kg (2023) · World median: 56.2 kg (2023)
How much food is there per day?
The median country has 266 kcal more food per person per day than the Maldives
Maldives: 2,671 kcal (2023) · World median: 2,938 kcal (2023)
How long do people work?
Maldives: no data · World median: 1,974 hours (2023)
How long do people go to school?
Adults in the median country went to school 2.5 years longer than in the Maldives
Maldives: 7.4 years (2023) · World median: 9.9 years (2023)
How many tourists visit?
The Maldives welcomed 9.3 times as many tourists per resident as the median country (2019)
Maldives: 3.2 (2022) · World median: 0.34 (2024)
How many World Heritage sites?
The median country has 3 more World Heritage sites than the Maldives (3 against 0)
Maldives: 0 (2026) · World median: 3 (2026)
How many Olympic medals has it won?
The median country has won 4 Olympic medals, the Maldives none
Maldives: 0 (2026 edition) · World median: 4 (2026 edition)
Connected
Online, electrified, urban
How many people are online?
85% of people in the Maldives are online, versus 82% in the median country
Maldives: 85% (2024) · World median: 82% (2024)
How fast is home internet?
Home internet in the median country is 3.5 times as fast as in the Maldives
Maldives: 45 Mbps (2026) · World median: 161 Mbps (2026)
Who has electricity at home?
The Maldives and the median country are practically level
Maldives: 100% (2024) · World median: 100% (2024)
How many live in cities?
64% of people in the median country live in cities, versus 43% in the Maldives
Maldives: 43% (2025) · World median: 64% (2025)
How many phones per person?
The Maldives has 148 mobile subscriptions per 100 people, the median country 115
Maldives: 148 (2024) · World median: 115 (2024)
How much railway is there?
Maldives: no data · World median: 2,141 km (2021)
How much do they fly?
Airlines from the Maldives fly 11 times as many passengers per resident as those from the median country
Maldives: 2.67 (2023) · World median: 0.24 (2023)
Planet
Air, forests and energy
How much of the land is forest?
Forest covers 33% of the median country, but only 12% of the Maldives
Maldives: 12.5% (2024) · World median: 32.8% (2024)
How much CO₂ does each person emit?
The average person in the Maldives emits 46% more CO₂ than someone in the median country
Maldives: 4.4 t (2024) · World median: 3 t (2024)
How green is the power grid?
31% of the median country’s electricity is renewable, versus 7.1% in the Maldives
Maldives: 7.1% (2024) · World median: 30.8% (2024)
How clean is the air?
The air in the median country carries 55% more fine dust than in the Maldives
Maldives: 10.7 µg/m³ (2024) · World median: 16.6 µg/m³ (2024)
Safety
Measured risk, not vibes
How common is murder?
You are 3.7 times as likely to be murdered in the median country as in the Maldives
Maldives: 0.6 per 100k (2019) · World median: 2.3 per 100k (2023)
How dangerous are the roads?
Roads in the median country are 16 times as deadly as in the Maldives
Maldives: 1.2 per 100k (2023) · World median: 18.6 per 100k (2023)
Climate
What the year feels like
How warm is it?
Maldives: no data · World median: 23°C (2016–2025 avg)
How much rain falls?
Maldives: no data · World median: 1,014 mm (2016–2025 avg)
Quick answers
Is the Maldives bigger than the median country?
The median country is larger. The Maldives fits inside the median country 371 times.
Which has more people, the Maldives or the median country?
The median country has 14 times as many people as the Maldives (2025 estimates).
Where do people live longer, the Maldives or the median country?
People in the Maldives live 6.7 years longer than in the median country. Life expectancy at birth is 81.3 years in the Maldives and 74.6 in the median country.
Are people taller in the Maldives or the median country?
Men in the median country are 5.6 cm taller than in the Maldives (NCD-RisC, cohort born 2019).