Maldivian in Maldives


Population
Main Language
Largest Religion
Christian
Evangelical
Progress
Progress Gauge
* Data can be from various sources including official census, agencies, and local research. Data from these sources can sometimes differ even by orders of magnitude. Joshua Project attempts to present a conservative, balanced estimate.

Introduction

Most of the Maldivians are fishermen, merchants and boat builders who take advantage of their position in the center of Indian Ocean trade routes. Despite their trade travels, the Maldivians are resistant to ideas from the outside world. Each inhabited island has its own chief, and no one may leave or come onto the island without the chief's knowledge. Islamic law is the law of the land, so marriages with non-Muslims are illegal acts and all the children bear Arabic names. Ironically, however, the Islamic religion is only a ritualistic tradition that most people nominally follow. Maldivians embrace folk beliefs and often live in fear of evil spirits.


Ministry Obstacles

Any kind of Christian witness is prohibited. Maldivians cling to various forms of Islam, so they are less open to accepting the singular truth of grace.


Prayer Focus

Pray that the people of the Maldives would soon be delivered from fear.
Pray for an unstoppable movement to Christ among the Maldivian that will spread from family to family.
Pray for the gospel of Christ to become easily available via radio, television and the internet.
Pray that the Lord would raise up witnesses to go to the Maldives and show them the way to the cross.


Scripture Prayers for the Maldivian, Malki in Maldives.


Profile Source:   Joshua Project  

People Name General Maldivian
People Name in Country Maldivian, Malki
Natural Name Maldivian
Pronunciation mahl-DEE-vee-un
Alternate Names Dhivehi; Divehi; Mahl; Malki
Population this Country 478,000
Population all Countries 481,000
Total Countries 2
Indigenous Yes
Progress Scale 1
Unreached Yes
Frontier People Group Yes
GSEC 1  (per PeopleGroups.org)
Pioneer Workers Needed 10
PeopleID3 13450
ROP3 Code 106169
Country Maldives
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank 16  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Widespread   Source:  Ethnologue 2010
Country Maldives
Region Asia, South
Continent Asia
10/40 Window Yes
Persecution Rank 16  (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking)
Location in Country Widespread.   Source:  Ethnologue 2010
Website South Asia Peoples
Primary Religion: Islam
Major Religion Percent *
Buddhism
0.40 %
Christianity  (Evangelical 0.00 %)
0.00 %
Ethnic Religions
0.00 %
Hinduism
0.35 %
Islam
99.25 %
Non-Religious
0.00 %
Other / Small
0.00 %
Unknown
0.00 %
* From latest Maldives census data.
Current Christian values may substantially differ.
Primary Language Maldivian (478,000 speakers)
Language Code div   Ethnologue Listing
Language Written Yes   ScriptSource Listing
Total Languages 1
Primary Language Maldivian (478,000 speakers)
Language Code div   Ethnologue Listing
Total Languages 1
People Groups Speaking Maldivian
Photo Source Copyrighted © 2025  Andrea Izzotti - Shutterstock  All rights reserved.  Used with permission
Map Source Bethany World Prayer Center  
Profile Source Joshua Project 
Data Sources Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more.