Why is the divorce rate in the Maldives so high?

Couples enter marriage without the key conversations

A common thread through Public Policy Lab’s vulnerability research was that couples did not talk to one another about the things that later strained the marriage – finances, household roles, where they would live, work and education plans, expectations about children. The absence of communication began before marriage, continued through it, and was still present at separation. The marriages that ended were often ones the couple had never properly talked through before entering. Only 13 marriage agreements were registered in the entire country between 2019 and 2025.

Housing and money amplify everything

Overcrowding in Malé is severe, and many lower-income and newly married families share single rooms, small apartments, or accommodation with in-laws. Cited Maldivian studies identify housing congestion, financial stress and economic dependency, gender role expectations, and weak support systems as recurring drivers of marital breakdown. Living with in-laws often produces tensions that erode marriages.

Divorce is procedurally easy, and that is not the problem

Under Islamic family law as practised in the Maldives the procedural threshold for divorce is comparatively low. The low threshold lets women leave abusive marriages with fewer barriers – close to three-fifths of divorce petitions are filed by wives. Stakeholders interviewed reflected that when men initiate divorce around 90% of cases end as the initiating party intended; when women initiate, only around 50% reach the outcome the woman sought.

Expectations have shifted faster than behaviour

Women’s educational attainment now equals or exceeds men’s in many cohorts, and women increasingly expect partnership, respect, and shared decision-making. Where those expectations meet male control of finances and decision-making and a gendered division of labour, marital dissatisfaction follows.

Last checked August 2026. If a figure here is out of date, tell us.