British Virgin Islands vs Maldives
Maldives is 97% larger than British Virgin Islands. British Virgin Islands would fit into Maldives about 2.0 times.
British Virgin IslandsMaldivesBritish Virgin Islands moved onto Maldives · Equal-area projection
0.51×
British Virgin Islands is 0.51× the area of Maldives. Put the other way, Maldives is 1.97× the size of British Virgin Islands.
 British Virgin Islands |  Maldives | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaMaldives: 1.97× the area | 151 km² | 298 km²#187 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMaldives: 13.3× the population | 39,7322025 | 529,676#167 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMaldives: 6.76× the density | 263 / km² | 1,777 / km²#6 of 194 |
| Urban populationBritish Virgin Islands: 1.35× the urban share | 57%2025 | 43%#145 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateMaldives: 1.49× the births per woman | 1.05 per woman2024 | 1.56 per woman#127 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthBritish Virgin Islands: 0.31 points higher | +0.66%2025 | +0.35%#141 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMaldives: 1.29× the birth rate | 8.2 per 1,0002024 | 10.6 per 1,000#132 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBritish Virgin Islands: 2.5× the death rate | 6.0 per 1,0002024 | 2.4 per 1,000#186 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Maldives: 4.9 points higher | 14.1%2025 | 19.0%#119 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65British Virgin Islands: 5.1 points higher | 10.1%2025 | 5.0%#123 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationBritish Virgin Islands: 8.2 per 1,000 higher | +3.9 per 1,0002025 | −4.3 per 1,000#171 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroad | 0.00 per 1,0002025 | 0.12 per 1,000#113 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMaldives: 3.9 years longer | 77.4 years2024 | 81.3 years#37 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityBritish Virgin Islands: 2.43× the infant mortality | 11.4 per 1,000 births2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 2.24 per 1,000#80 of 178 · 2019 |
| University enrolmentMaldives: 1.64× the university enrolment | 29.6%2024 | 48.5%#77 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development Index | — | 0.766#92 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $12,950#72 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $7.74B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $28,555#72 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +6.3%#26 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +4.0%#55 of 176 · 2025 |
| Unemployment | — | 4.5%#106 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 0.0%#136 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 29.3#125 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agriculture | — | 11.3% of jobs#105 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industry | — | 16.9% of jobs#115 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in services | — | 71.8% of jobs#44 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 11.1% of GDP#12 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 78.2% of GDP#16 of 168 · 2024 |
| Internet users | — | 85%#78 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsMaldives: 1.59× the mobile subscriptions | 93 per 1002024 | 148 per 100#28 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBritish Virgin Islands: 1.93× the forest share | 24% of land2023 | 13% of land#140 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personMaldives: 1.53× the CO₂ per person | 2.33 t a year2024 | 3.57 t a year#73 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBritish Virgin Islands: 0.1 points higher | 1.3%2022 | 1.2%#172 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | — | 11.2 µg/m³#145 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBritish Virgin Islands: 7.5 points higher | 10.5% of land2025 | 3.0% of land#176 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landBritish Virgin Islands: 0.1 points higher | 13.2% of land2024 | 13.1% of land#79 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | — | 15.7%#74 of 176 · 2022 |
| Precipitation | — | 1,972 mm#35 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | — | +0.08#100 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption | — | −0.33#105 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Territory of United Kingdom | Independent state |
| Government | Dependent territoryOverseas Territory of the UK with limited self-government; parliamentary democracy | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Road Town | Male |
| Currency | United States dollar (USD) | Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) |
| Official languages | English | Maldivian |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−4 | UTC+5 |
| Calling code | +1 284 | +960 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Southern Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. British Virgin Islands sits at about 19° N and is stretched to 1.11× its true area; Maldives at 4° N is stretched to 1.0×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is British Virgin Islands bigger than Maldives?
- No. British Virgin Islands is 49% smaller than Maldives. British Virgin Islands covers 151 km² and Maldives covers 298 km².
- How many times does British Virgin Islands fit into Maldives?
- About 2.0 times: Maldives has 1.97× the area of British Virgin Islands.
- Why do British Virgin Islands and Maldives look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. British Virgin Islands is drawn about 1.11× its true area there and Maldives about 1.0×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, British Virgin Islands or Maldives?
- Maldives: 529,676 people against 39,732. Density: British Virgin Islands 263 per km², Maldives 1,777 per km².
- Where do people live longer, British Virgin Islands or Maldives?
- In Maldives: life expectancy at birth is 81.3 years, against 77.4 — 3.9 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do British Virgin Islands and Maldives have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — British Virgin Islands: dependent territory; Maldives: presidential republic.