KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1982 Population: 345,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 5.8% p.a. 1990–2011 GNI p.c.: US$5,600 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 103 Life expectancy: 78 years (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 10 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Cardiovascular diseases Government health expenditure: 3.9% of GDP (2012) General information The Republic of Maldives lies in the Indian Ocean, some 670 km west-south-west of Sri Lanka. The 1,190 coral islands, 200 of which are inhabited, occur on a double chain of 26 coral atolls. 206 Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 The archipelago is 823-km long and 130-km wide at its widest. The islands are divided into 20 administrative units, called atolls (although they do not necessarily correspond to geographical atolls). Each is known by a letter in the Maldivian alphabet in addition to its geographical name. Huvadhu Atoll, for example, is divided into two administrative units: Gaaf Alif and Gaaf Dhaal. Climate: Maldives has a hot tropical climate. The rainy south-west monsoon season is April–October; the north-east December–March. Average annual rainfall is 1,654 mm. The temperature range is 25–30°C, but generally stays around the average 27°C. Gales occur during the monsoon. In May 1991 abnormal tidal waters caused great damage through the archipelago. Environment: The most significant issues are: depletion of freshwater aquifers threatening water supplies; global warming and sea level rise; and coral reef bleaching. Population: 345,000 (2013); 43 per cent of people live in urban areas, mostly in Malé, which, in the mid-1990s, doubled in area thanks to land reclamation. The population growth rate stood at two per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2013 the birth rate was 22 per 1,000 people (40 in 1970) and life expectancy was 78 years (50 in 1970). Economy: Maldives is classified as an upper-middle-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: Infant mortality in Maldives was eight deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of ten deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. There has been a consistent decline in the under-five mortality rate since 1990. This decline is impressive and has seen the country exceed its target of 31 deaths per 1,000 live births as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2010 the most prominent causes of death for children below the age of five years were congenital anomalies (30 per cent) and prematurity (24 per cent). Other contributory causes were acute respiratory infections (eight per cent), intrapartum-related complications (eight per cent), injuries (five per cent), neonatal sepsis (four per cent) and diarrhoea (two per cent). In 2013 Maldives had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 31 deaths per 100,000 live births (this figure was estimated at 60 deaths per 100,000 by UN agencies/World Bank in 2010). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Maldives accounted for an estimated 81 per cent of all mortality in 2012. The most prevalent NCDs in Maldives are cardiovascular diseases, which accounted for 39 per cent of total deaths across all age groups in 2012. Cancer, non-communicable variants of respiratory diseases and diabetes contributed 12 per cent, ten per cent and two per cent to total mortality, respectively (2012). Injuries accounted for seven per cent of deaths in 2012. Maldives
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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