Maldives Economy Grows 2.4% in August as Fisheries Output Falls 65.6%
Financial services drove growth, according to the statistics bureau's monthly estimates. Tourism output rose on a year earlier for the first time since February.
The Maldivian economy grew 2.4% in August compared with the same month last year, according to monthly estimates released by the Maldives Bureau of Statistics on 15 October. Fisheries output fell 65.6%, the biggest drag on growth.
The bureau’s Monthly Indicators of Economic Growth put economic output at MVR9,638 million in August, at 2019 constant prices, up from MVR9,408 million in August 2025. Output rose 5.4% from July.
The bureau said the estimates are benchmarked to quarterly GDP up to the second quarter of 2026 and may be revised.
What Drove Growth
Financial services made the largest contribution, adding 1.4 percentage points to growth. Real estate added 0.8 points and wholesale and retail trade 0.7 points.
Financial services output rose 21.9% year on year to MVR748 million. The sector has grown by more than 16% on a year earlier in every month of 2026. The bureau linked its movements to changes in financial intermediation and insurance services.
Wholesale and retail trade grew 8.1% to MVR864 million, which the bureau attributed to changes in import volumes. Real estate rose 9.7%. Construction output was 10.4% higher than a year earlier at MVR487 million, but 9.7% lower than in July.
Fisheries
Fisheries output was estimated at MVR104 million in August, down from MVR303 million a year earlier and 35.6% lower than in July. The sector took 2.1 percentage points off growth. Manufacturing, down 11.4%, took off a further 0.2 points.
Fisheries accounted for 1.1% of the economy in August, compared with 3.2% a year earlier. Its output has been lower than a year earlier in every month since February, according to the bureau’s tables. The bureau does not give reasons for the fall.
| 2026 | Economy | Fisheries | Accommodation and food services |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | +7.3% | +3.9% | +6.0% |
| February | +4.3% | −55.4% | +9.4% |
| March | +2.6% | −34.8% | −9.0% |
| April | −3.2% | −17.7% | −25.5% |
| May | +0.9% | −64.9% | −3.0% |
| June | +2.9% | −66.1% | −9.8% |
| July | +2.0% | −44.5% | −1.9% |
| August | +2.4% | −65.6% | +0.7% |
Change on the same month of 2025 at constant prices, as published in the August 2026 release. Figures for earlier months may differ from first estimates.
Tourism Output
Accommodation and food services, the largest sector at 23.1% of output, was estimated at MVR2,231 million in August. That was 0.7% more than in August 2025 and 10.6% more than in July. The bureau attributed the year-on-year rise mainly to an increase in tourist bed-nights, using data from the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises.
It was the sector’s first increase on a year earlier since February. Its output fell 25.5% in April, the only month this year in which the economy as a whole contracted.
Tourism Ministry figures show total visitor arrivals in April were 24.4% lower than a year earlier. Tourist arrivals for the first 14 days of October were 3.9% lower, as Maldives Today reported on 15 October.
Transport and communication, the second-largest sector at 11.7% of output, grew 0.8% in August.
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