The Maldives has experienced rapid economic and social change in the
past 30 years.
First, its economy has grown impressively, driven to a large extent by
a vibrant tourism industry, with support from fisheries and the service
sector.
At the same time, the Maldives has almost completed its
demographic transition – the shift from high crude birth and death
rates to low ones. The country’s total fertility rate has declined from
6.4 children per woman in 1990 to 2.5 in 2014, according to Census
estimates. As a result, the country’s age and sex structure has changed
dramatically.
Today, the working-age population (15 to 64 years old) outnumbers
young dependents (those under 15 years old) by a 2 to 1 margin. This
means the country has entered a demographic window of opportunity
and could be poised to capture the benefits of a first demographic
dividend.
Results of the 2014 Population and Housing Census confirm this. The
2014 Census adopted a strict de facto approach, meaning that all people
residing in the country were enumerated.
The 2014 Census counted 402,071 residents in September 2014,
of which 63,637 were foreigners – about 16% of the Maldives’ total
resident population. Although the inclusion of foreigners contributed
to a substantial increase in the total population over previous years,
administrative records indicate that foreigners were significantly
undercounted (Republic of Maldives 2015b: 6). This highlights the issue
of immigration to Maldives.
Youth also emerge as a significant demographic force in the 2014
Census: 47.5% of all resident Maldivians are less than 25 years old.
The government of Maldives last addressed population and
development issues in its 2004 Population Policy of the Maldives, as
well as in its National Development Plans (NDPs). However, both are
now in disuse.
The 2007 Seventh National Development Plan (2006-2010), also
known as the Strategic Action Plan 2009-2013, was the last NDP
to be issued in Maldives. The Seventh NDP discussed in particular
the population and development consolidation policy, whereby the
government elicits voluntary migration in order to regroup scattered
populations in larger, and presumably more economically viable,
communities with the view towards providing better job opportunities,
as well as saving costs on infrastructure and service delivery (namely,
education, health, and energy). The government had also adopted
sectoral policies, including a Health Master Plan (a new one is being
prepared), two youth strategies, and several reproductive health policies.
Moreover, the Government has designed a National Gender Policy 2016-
2021.