🇲🇻 Republic of Maldives (ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ)
Visiting: Take careLGBT visiting: High Risk
With a few caveats, the Maldives is a safe place to visit. Same-sex relationships are criminalised, which places it 122nd for LGBT rights, so LGBT travellers should weigh this carefully. That said, there is no conflict at all, ranking 1st, and road deaths are among the very fewest, at 3rd. Its weak spot is freedom, which is tightly restricted, placed 135th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Maldives: 2.1
Ranked 70th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
Two killings per 100,000 people a year is low. The safest countries sit under one, and on a population this small a few cases move the rate.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine for a visitor. The Maldives' last count, from 2019, was next to nothing, and the WHO's estimate we use runs only a little higher.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Maldives: 1.3
Ranked 3rd in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Just over one death per 100,000 people a year is under half the EU average of four and a half.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. Mostly scooters where anything happens.
Conflict — world number one
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Maldives: 1.00
Ranked 1st least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing on record. The Uppsala conflict database has never recorded a conflict death in the Maldives since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. Nothing reaches a visitor on the resort islands or in Malé.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Maldives: 4.28
Ranked 46th least free country in the world.
Why this rank?
In the Maldives religion is rated 0, meaning absent. Due process and movement are 1 and 2, so a visitor who keeps the rules is left alone. Total 7 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Religion is rated absent, the only freedom scored that low. Many basic freedoms remain restricted and journalism is limited by restrictive laws and harassment. A visitor who keeps religion and politics private is left alone.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Maldives: Illegal
Ranked 59th least equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Sharia-based law criminalises same-sex acts, up to eight years with lashings imposed. Red by law.
Is it safe to visit?
Not safe to be open. Resort islands live by different rules than local ones, but the law is the law. For Maldivians invisibility is absolute.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Maldives: 6.61
Ranked 59th least safe country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Partner violence is six percent and no attacks on women are recorded. The courts rate poorly for women, and only 43 percent of women feel safe out alone at night.
Is it safe to visit?
Take care as a woman travelling alone in the Maldives.