Population and Housing Census 2000

The Population and Housing Census 2000 was conducted from 31 March to 7 April 2000. The data was collected for the 200 administrative islands, 84 resort islands and 14 industrial islands of the Maldives. Data relating to the size, geographical distribution and socio-economic characteristics of the population such as sex, age, educational attainment, marital status and employment are given in the census tables presented.

A total of 3820 census staff were involved in the whole operation countrywide. The preliminary results were formally released on 24 April 2000 by H.E. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in a function attended by senior representatives of the government and private sector.

The enumeration of people in Census 2000 was conducted on a de facto basis, i.e. counting the person where he or she was present at the time of enumeration. However, Maldivians who were temporarily out of the country at the time of the census were also included.

The first modern census was conducted in 1977, which laid the foundation for a new era of census taking in the country. In view of this experience and rapid changes in the population characteristics, the Government decided to conduct National Censuses every 5 years instead of every 10 years as in most other countries. The new series began in 1985, followed by censuses in 1990, 1995 and 2000.