Population & Development

Population growth, ageing, migration, and urbanization shape our societies, directly influencing consumption, production, employment, income distribution and poverty. These complex dynamics complicate our efforts to ensure equal access to health, education, housing and more, but also provide significant opportunities for sustainable development.

The Maldives is currently entering a period of demographic opportunity, characterized by a healthy, educated working-age population, and fewer young dependents. This shift can spur economic growth through higher per-child investment, increased workforce participation for women, and greater household savings for old age. Yet, harnessing this potential necessitates strategic planning and effective policy responses.

Our approach to leveraging population dynamics for sustainable development encompasses:

• Demographic Intelligence and Assessment: We aim to strengthen national capacities to generate evidence and utilize demographic assessments, using the Census and other main databases to analyze and envision solutions through research and modern data sources.
• Bringing Population Issues within Overall Development Priorities: We strive to integrate population trends in the context of low population growth and increasing population aging into both social and economic policies, including addressing gender issues arising from family dynamics and access to the tourism sector.
• Moving Toward a More Resilient Planet: We aim to understand and address the relationship between population and climate change, designing policies that protect people’s rights, particularly their reproductive choices, while preserving the planet.

Under the umbrella of the United Nations Sustainable Development Corporation Framework, UNFPA’s 7th country program prioritizes:

• Collecting and Analyzing Population Data: We aim to strengthen the national referral coordination system for a survivor-centered response.
• Policy Advocacy: Influencing social and economic policies, aligning them with population trends from a life-cycle approach that is climate resilient. 
• Strengthening Partnerships: With policymakers, academics, and young people to develop thought pieces on demographic change.

Demographic dynamics are powerful forces that shape our world. Join us today in our endeavor to navigate these forces towards a sustainable and prosperous future for Maldives.