The Maldives Bureau of Statistics released its Monthly Indicators of Economic Growth for February 2025, revealing that real GDP reached MVR 9,542 million at market prices. This marks a year‑on‑year expansion of 4.7%, signalling continued recovery from the previous year. However, on a month‑on‑month basis, the economy contracted by 3.9% compared with January 2025, suggesting a temporary slowdown early in the first quarter .
Sectoral contributions were led by transportation and communication, which added 1.8 percentage points to growth, followed closely by public administration at 1.7 points and construction at 0.9 points. In contrast, fisheries and manufacturing weighed on performance, subtracting 1.5 and 0.2 points, respectively. These figures underscore the shifting composition of output, with traditional sectors like fisheries facing headwinds even as infrastructure‑related activities remain robust.
A breakdown of sector shares shows that accommodation and food services remain the largest component of monthly GDP at 24.8%, unchanged from February 2024. Transportation and communication account for 14.1%, while public administration and defence hold 8.3% of the total . Within transport, telecommunications and broadcasting services enjoyed a 51.0% year‑on‑year surge, whereas air transport and warehousing both saw declines compared with January, reflecting volatility in tourism‑related travel and logistics .
Construction activity rose strongly, with gross value added up 25.5% year‑on‑year and 1.4% month‑on‑month, driven by a near‑30% increase in imports of building materials over the same period last year . Financial services also posted moderate gains, growing 1.6% year‑on‑year and 2.0% sequentially, supported by expanded insurance and auxiliary intermediation services .
Fisheries saw the steepest downturn, with GVA plunging 39.7% year‑on‑year despite a 7.0% rebound from January. This reflects persistent fluctuations in catch volumes and marine resource availability. Meanwhile, tourist arrivals dipped 0.4% from the previous month, with China remaining the top source market at 13.5% of total arrivals.
On an annual basis, the sum of monthly GDP for 2024 amounted to MVR 101,837 million, an increase of MVR 4,973 million over 2023, equivalent to 5.1% growth. While early 2025 has seen some softness, policymakers will take encouragement from the underlying momentum in key infrastructure and government services sectors as they monitor developments over the coming quarters.
