What the numbers look like day to day
Around 9.5 divorces took place every day in 2024 – an average of one divorce every 152 minutes. For every 3 marriages in the Maldives in a year, 2 divorces take place, and around 1 in every 27 households experienced a divorce over the year. There were 3,464 divorces in 2024 and 3,510 in 2023, against 5,170 marriages registered in 2024. The marriage rate was an estimated 13.6 per 1,000 people.
The trend
The rate has come down from its peak: the Maldives recorded 10.97 divorces per 1,000 people in 2002, the highest ever recorded anywhere. It remains far above regional peers – Singapore and Malaysia record around 1.3–1.8 divorces per 1,000 people.
Where the data comes from
These estimates were calculated by Public Policy Lab from the Vital Statistics Report of Maldives 2024 and Census 2022 population data, with marriage and divorce series compiled directly from the Department of Judicial Administration, the Family Court, and the Maldives High Commission in Colombo. Several of those series are not published anywhere else.
Key facts
- The Maldives had an estimated 8.8 divorces per 1,000 people in 2024; the global rate is around 1.6.
- A divorce took place roughly every 152 minutes in the Maldives in 2024.
- For every 3 marriages in the Maldives in a year, 2 divorces take place.
- The Maldives recorded 10.97 divorces per 1,000 people in 2002, the highest rate ever recorded anywhere.
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