Maldives 🇲🇻
Maldives is a country in Asia with a population of 523,787. Its capital is Malé. The official currency is MVR, and the main languages are Dhivehi.
Quick facts
- Capital: Malé
- Continent: Asia
- Population: 523,787
- Area: 298 km²
- Density: 1,758 people per km²
- Currency: MVR
- Languages: Dhivehi
- ISO code: MV
Where Maldives sits
Maldives 🇲🇻 is one of 48 countries in Asia, with its capital at Malé. It covers 298 square kilometres — 189th in the world — and is home to about 523,787 people, 170th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Maldives compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Maldives sits closest to Malta and Cabo Verde. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Malta and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
At 1,758 people per square kilometre it is about 30 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
Dhivehi is listed as official in Maldives alone. The MVR is used by Maldives and no one else.
To see Maldives next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Maldives
Malé, the capital, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, packed onto a small island at the edge of North Malé Atoll. For the flag, picture a green island with a white moon, in a red sea.
The flag of Maldives: red, green and white
🇲🇻 The flag is a red flag with a large green rectangle in the centre and a white crescent moon on the green. Red stands for those who gave their lives defending the country, green for peace and prosperity, and the white crescent for Islam.
Region and neighbours
Maldives is an island country in South Asia, a chain of 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean southwest of India and Sri Lanka, stretching across the equator. As an island country it has no land neighbours.
Three facts about Maldives
- The Maldives is the world's lowest-lying country: the ground is on average about 1.5 m above sea level.
- It is the smallest country in Asia, with only 298 square kilometres of land spread over about 90,000 square kilometres of sea.
- The country used to be known as the Maldive Islands.
Sources: Wikipedia: Maldives, Wikipedia: Flag of the Maldives, Wikipedia: Malé, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Maldives
- Asian capitals quiz — match Maldives to Malé
- Asian flags quiz — spot the Maldives flag among its neighbours
- Island nations quiz — Maldives is an island country
Quizzes that include Maldives
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Maldives those are:
- Asia map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Asia flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Asia capitals quiz — match it to Malé
- Maldives capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Maldives
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Maldives
- Capital of Maldives: Malé — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 48 countries of Asia
Nearby countries
- Afghanistan 🇦🇫 — capital Kabul
- Armenia 🇦🇲 — capital Yerevan
- Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 — capital Baku
- Bahrain 🇧🇠— capital Manama
- Bangladesh 🇧🇩 — capital Dhaka
- Bhutan 🇧🇹 — capital Thimphu
- Brunei 🇧🇳 — capital Bandar Seri Begawan
- Cambodia 🇰🇠— capital Phnom Penh
- China 🇨🇳 — capital Beijing
- Georgia 🇬🇪 — capital Tbilisi
- India 🇮🇳 — capital New Delhi
- Indonesia 🇮🇩 — capital Jakarta
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Maldives flag?
The flag of Maldives is a red flag with a large green rectangle in the centre and a white crescent moon on the green. Red stands for those who gave their lives defending the country, green for peace and prosperity, and the white crescent for Islam.
Which countries border Maldives?
None. Maldives is an island country in South Asia, a chain of 26 atolls in the Indian Ocean southwest of India and Sri Lanka, stretching across the equator, so it has no land borders with other countries.
How can I remember the capital of Maldives?
Malé, the capital, is one of the most densely populated cities in the world, packed onto a small island at the edge of North Malé Atoll. For the flag, picture a green island with a white moon, in a red sea.