Gender equality is a strong underlying principle in the Maldives’ approach towards social progress, entrepreneurship, climate resiliency and inclusive growth.  Increasing the participation of women, particularly at all levels of decision-making, would have significant positive spillover effects for attaining the SDGs in the Maldives. The gender gaps that the Maldives needs to address are both social and political in nature. Data show that women occupy 5% of seats in the parliament and have a lower labour force participation rate compared to men (45.6% for women and 77.1% for men), particularly in the private sector. The participation rate in the informal sector is higher for women with 44% compared to 36% for men, reflecting a greater need for specific strategies  to transition from the informal to the formal sector.

Recognizing these obstacles, the Government has made significant promises towards gender equality, including the release of its national Gender Equality Action Plan (GEAP) in 2023. The President of the Maldives chairs the national steering committee operationalizing the GEAP that has set ambitious targets to change current scenarios (e.g. by 2026 60% of female labour force participation). In 2019, the Maldives also introduced gender quotas to allocate 33% of local council seats to women, significantly boosting the number of women councillors in the 2021 local council elections. In addition, the Maldives has recently endorsed its Gender-Responsive Climate Financing Strategy, which has also proposed budgetary reforms to track expenditure by SDGs to establish baseline investments going into priority SDGs (SDG 5 and 13), so that funding gaps can be identified.

Collectively, these measures are expected to have significant positive spillover effects for all SDGs. In particular, the improvements in women’s participation in political discourse will increase gender considerations in critical financing decisions, improve entrepreneurship opportunities and create a level playing field for increasing women’s participation in the labour force. The integration of gender considerations has been shown to benefit both climate mitigation and adaptation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2022), and the Maldives stands to benefit from a mainstreamed approach to gender-equality.

The Maldives has embraced inclusive and sustainable growth as an important pillar in its national development, designating a blue economy approach for development in its Strategic Action Plan.

Development of sustainable fisheries and agriculture and transforming the national energy sector are essential industries for value generation and diversifying the economy away from tourism and closely linked sectors such as construction. This approach, coupled with improved vocational education and training (VET) for youths, is expected to have significant positive spillover effects into other SDGs (such as SDGs 1, 6, 7), as new investments are made in renewable energy and in building small-scale manufacturing capabilities in both fisheries and agricultural sectors. These policies are expected to significantly boost small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the country as sectoral strategies highlight the importance of private sector to augment the investments of public sector investment programmes (such as private-public partnerships, SME loans).

To develop the SME sector, the Maldives has passed its National SME Act, which provides the overarching policy environment, and established two priority institutions charged with fostering SME growth: (1) the Business Center Corporation which provides SME mentorship programmes and common investments; and (2) a national SME Finance Development Corporation to provide concessional loans for SMEs. This policy environment and additional financing is expected to play a significant role in facilitating the Maldives’ diversification plans over the next decade. However, moving forward, the targeting of national entrepreneurship policies on youth empowerment with vocational education, the facilitation of public and private networking and adopting effective policies for fostering green and inclusive practices by the SMEs will further strengthen the role of the private sector in national development.

The Maldives has experienced a period of rapid urbanization for decades following the introduction of tourism, and the growth that followed it. The 2023 Census shows that 41% of the population of the Maldives lives in the capital region. According to the 2016/19 Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), 74% of households living in the capital city rented their homes in 2019.

Although urbanization has slowed in recent years, it has resulted in a housing shortage in the region and in a rise in demand for critical services such as health care and education. The Maldives, as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), faces land scarcity, and its geographical dispersion makes quality and cost-effective service delivery difficult.

The Maldivian Government in recent years has heavily invested in large-scale public housing programmes and on improving the connectivity of the Maldives. This is expected to create positive spillover effects in health, education and sustainable water and sanitation management (SDG 3, 4 and 6) as the investments in modern dwellings, facilities and transportation networks are expected to facilitate easier movement of people, goods and services between remote communities and major urban sectors and attract private investments to provide services, such as investments in tertiary hospitals, international schools, regional research and innovation hubs across the country.

Such investment will also push increased resource-use efficiency and the greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes (SDG 9.4).

A flagship programme ("Raajje Transport Link – RTL") to connect the entire country through a network of high-speed ferries is already underway, which will bring small communities closer to major population centres and ease access to essential services. Continuing the momentum of investments in housing, health care, education and transport connectivity can further improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of public services, and ensure that remote and vulnerable communities are not left behind.

Climate Action has been at the forefront of the Maldives’ development strategy, given its climate vulnerability. Changing climate patterns and extreme weather events are expected to affect traditional sectors such as tourism, posing a threat to the country’s continued fast pace of development. It is estimated that over 70% of the Maldives’ critical infrastructure is within 100 metres of its shorelines. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicts that economic damages from climate change for the Maldives could reach 2.3% of GDP by 2050. 

Investments in climate action will have strong positive spillover effects on virtually all SDGs for the Maldives. Building mitigation measures will ensure critical infrastructure, such as public dwellings, telecommunication structures and transportation networks, remain resilient to climate change, allowing economic mainstays to continue. The Maldives will also need to build its adaptive capacities, such as building safer islands. Recent research suggests that building higher islands could help safeguard against long-term risks from sea-level rise and storms.

The Maldives’ Integrated National Financing Framework Climate Finance Strategy estimates that the country will require $400 - $800 million per annum until 2030, to shore-up its climate defences. The country faces significant challenges in leveraging climate finance given current limitations in international borrowing and internal budgetary constraints. However, greater alignment of domestic capital markets towards sustainable investments and policy changes to attract climate-smart investments, particularly for experimental technologies, could help additional resource mobilization for the Maldives.

The Government has been making notable policy changes to position the Maldives as a destination for experimental technologies, such as introducing special regulations for floating cities. Building momentum on this policy shift and additional reforms towards sustainable finance will help the Maldives protect its economic base and catalyse new industries in the decades to come.