Birth rate rises in atolls, but drops in Male’

Statistics released by Health Ministry show a drop in the birth rate in the Maldivian capital, while the birth rate in islands outside the greater Male’ region increased.

Health Ministry released Maldives Health Statistics 2020 on Sunday.

The statistics show 2,185 children were born in the atolls in 2018. The figure dropped to 1,959 births in 2019, and then rose to 3,235 in 2020.

Meanwhile, 4,364 children were born in the greater Male’ region in 2018. The figure dropped to 4,359 in 2019, and 3,203 in 2020.

Looking at the rate of births by Maldivians, the figure had been in the 7,000’s in 2016 and 2017, but dropped to 6,800 in 2018. The figure continued to drop to 6,350 in 2019, before increasing to 6,516 in 2020.

The statistics show 51 percent of the children born in 2020 were males, while 49 percent were females.