Maldives Recovers Economy to Pre-COVID Levels

Number of Tourists in 2022 Similar to 2019 Level
2022 GDP Growth Rate Estimated at 12% Range

Maldives. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Junran] The economy of the island nation Maldives in the Indian Ocean has recovered to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels due to the rebound in tourism demand.

According to statistics from the Maldives Ministry of Tourism on the 2nd (local time), the number of foreign tourists visiting the Maldives last year was recorded at 1.675 million. This is nearly close to the 1.7 million tourists in 2019, just before the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Maldives' tourism industry was severely impacted by COVID-19. The number of tourists sharply dropped to 555,000 in 2020. Since then, it gradually increased to 1.641 million in 2021, and last year it recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

As the tourism industry, which accounts for about 60% of Maldives' foreign currency earnings, survives, the economy is also recovering rapidly. The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate, which was 5.61% in 2019, fell to 3.75% in 2020 and remained at 5.41% in 2021. It is estimated to have rebounded to the 12% range last year.

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Maldives, stated at a press conference at the end of last year, "The Maldives economy successfully recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2022." The Maldives government set a target to attract 1.8 million tourists this year, which is higher than in 2019.

With a population of only 550,000, the Maldives experienced a large-scale spread of COVID-19, with daily new cases exceeding 2,000 in May 2021 and January last year. Since last month, most days have seen no new confirmed cases at all, indicating that the spread has completely subsided. The Maldives has a cumulative total of 185,678 confirmed cases and 311 deaths.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.