Maldives in 2025: An Economy Under Strain and a Presidency That Centralised Power
The Maldives closed 2025 grappling with two intertwined realities. The first was economic pressure that…
Section
Report
Why Targeting the Workforce the Maldives Relies On May Backfire
Nationalism is often sold as protection. In practice, it frequently begins with classification, moves into…
The Second Engine of Maldives’ Economy Is Stuttering. Can Fisheries Be Fixed in Time?
When yellowfin vessels gathered off Malé on Fishermen’s Day 2025, the scene had a familiar…
Maldives’ Democracy Is Only As Strong As Its Opposition
The Maldivian Democratic Party enters the final stretch of 2025 arguably in a weaker position…
Debt, Rent and the Race to Keep Up: A Portrait of the Maldivian Middle Class
On most evenings in Malé, the signs of prosperity are easy to spot. New cafés…
Malé’s Taxi Barons and a State Struggling to Respond
On some evenings at Velana International Airport, the taxi queue looks less like a public…
The Mirage of Sustainability: Can SEZ Townships Deliver What They Promise?
When the Maldives amended its Special Economic Zones Act in late 2025, it introduced a…
Fiscal Reform, Except for the People Who Wrote the Budget
The government’s 2026 state budget continues to signal fiscal strain despite claims of progress. Presented…
Maldives’ Declining Birth Rate: The Looming Economic Impact of a Super-Aged Population
The Maldives is heading towards a demographic turning point that could reshape its economy, workforce,…
After the Bans and Levies: What’s Missing in the Maldives’ Climate Agenda
The Maldives has taken visible steps on the environment. Single-use plastics were phased out in…
Maldives’ Payments Revolution: Fast Rails, Slow Habits
If you were to judge the Maldives’ financial future by its instant payment system, Favara,…
Forty-Five Years On: How The Maldives Rewrote Its Economy, And The Risks That Remain
In 1980, the World Bank’s first look at the Maldives read like a dispatch from…
Fenaka’s Audit Is More Than Scandal, It’s a Call for Reform
In a country of small communities and large state companies, corruption rarely looks like a…
A Small State, a Global Voice: Maldives at the General Assembly
In September 1965, only weeks after independence, the Maldives took its first step onto the…
Democracy Dies in the Dark
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on Thursday ratified the controversial media regulation bill, replacing the country’s…
How Structural Inequality Steals the Dreams of Maldivian Youth
The story of Maldivian youth is often told as one of ambition. They talk about…
Turning Fly-In Research into Policy Wins for the Maldives
The Maldives has long attracted international researchers. Our reefs are among the most biodiverse on…
Report: When Duty Becomes Business
The soldier’s duty is to defend the nation. The police officer’s is to uphold the…
When Media Freedom Fails, Democracy Decays
Parliament this week took up a bill that would dissolve the Maldives Broadcasting Commission and…
How Parliament Has Lost Its Voice: No Debate, Only Deals
Parliament is supposed to be the nation’s forum for ideas and debate. At its best,…
Decentralisation Under Threat: Why Local Governance Still Matters in the Maldives
Under heavy criticism, the ruling People’s National Congress pushed through amendments to the Decentralisation Act…
Maldives and the Global South: A Strategic Recalibration Through India and Sri Lanka
Since the election of President Mohamed Muizzu in November 2023, Maldives’ foreign policy has undergone…
VIA’s New Terminal: A Grand Stage for a Nation’s Next Act
On 26 July 2025, the Maldives will mark its 60th Independence Day with more than…
Falling Birth Rates Aren’t a Mystery. They’re a Mirror
The 2025 edition of the United Nations Population Fund’s State of World Population report marks…