Male

Maldives

Population
104,000
Coordinates
4.18ยฐ N, 73.51ยฐ E
Time zone
Indian/Maldives
Status
Capital city
Prices for
Sep 2026

One person needs about $1,676 a month in Male, rent included: 72% less than in New York. The average net salary is $827 a month.

Medium confidence14 contributors
Male at 4.18ยฐ N, 73.51ยฐ E

Livability

Seven domain scores, weighted. 5 of them have data for Male; a missing one is left out of the average, not counted as zero.

51out of 100
LivabilityMedium confidence
  • Purchasing power25%38
  • Safety20%37
  • Health care15%No data
  • Climate10%69
  • Air quality10%94
  • Connectivity10%No data
  • Cost10%48
How each domain is scored
Purchasing power, 25%
What a local net salary buys against local prices, as a percentile.
Safety, 20%
Numbeo safety index for the city, or for its country when the city has no survey.
Health care, 15%
Numbeo health care index, city first, then country.
Climate, 10%
Numbeo climate index where surveyed, otherwise a comfort score from NASA climate normals.
Air quality, 10%
30-day mean US AQI on a 0-100 scale: 100 at AQI 25 or cleaner, 0 at 150 or worse.
Connectivity, 10%
Percentile of median fixed broadband download speed, city first, then country.
Cost, 10%
Cheaper places score higher: the percentile of the cost-of-living plus rent index, inverted.
Livability rank in Maldives
#1
Cheapest-city rank, worldwide
#1,773

What it costs

US dollars a month. Indices compare with New York, which is 100; changes are against the same month a year earlier.

Cost of living index
48.4
New York = 100, rent excluded
Rent index
23.6
New York = 100
Purchasing power
56.4
Net salary against costs, New York = 100
Net salary
$827
Average, after tax
One person
$1,676
$727 without rent
Family of four
$4,114
$2,076 without rent
Rent, one bedroom in the centre
$949
115% of a net salary
Price to income
11.0
Years of income to buy a 90 mยฒ flat

Prices

55 everyday prices in US dollars, the median of this month's contributions, each against a base you choose.

Compare with

Differences are against New York; teal marks a price that is lower (or a salary that is higher).

Prices in Male, US dollars, compared with New York
ItemMaleNew YorkDifference
Restaurants
Meal, inexpensive restaurant$5.99$25.00โˆ’76%
Meal for 2, mid-range restaurant (3 courses)$38.83$140โˆ’72%
McMeal at McDonald's (or equivalent combo meal)$9.71$14.00โˆ’31%
Domestic beer (0.5 l, draught)$4.85$8.00โˆ’39%
Imported beer (0.33 l bottle, restaurant)$4.85$10.00โˆ’52%
Cappuccino (regular)$3.54$6.37โˆ’44%
Coke/Pepsi (0.33 l bottle)$1.62$3.80โˆ’57%
Water (0.33 l bottle)$0.30$2.89โˆ’90%
Markets
Milk (1 l)$2.03$1.36+49%
Loaf of fresh white bread (500g)$1.65$4.68โˆ’65%
Rice, white (1 kg)$1.22$6.97โˆ’82%
Eggs (12)$1.92$5.73โˆ’66%
Local cheese (1 kg)$10.65$17.38โˆ’39%
Chicken fillets (1 kg)$6.08$15.11โˆ’60%
Beef round (1 kg, or equivalent red meat)$9.44$17.77โˆ’47%
Apples (1 kg)$3.96$6.11โˆ’35%
Bananas (1 kg)$3.05$2.20+39%
Oranges (1 kg)$4.08$5.77โˆ’29%
Tomato (1 kg)$2.68$6.25โˆ’57%
Potato (1 kg)$2.05$3.47โˆ’41%
Onion (1 kg)$1.89$4.17โˆ’55%
Lettuce (1 head)$2.10$2.72โˆ’23%
Water (1.5 l bottle)$0.60$2.50โˆ’76%
Bottle of wine, mid-range$12.35$20.00โˆ’38%
Domestic beer (0.5 l bottle)$2.72$3.21โˆ’15%
Imported beer (0.33 l bottle)$1.96$3.96โˆ’51%
Cigarettes (20 pack, Marlboro)$14.89$19.00โˆ’22%
Transport
One-way ticket, local transport$0.65$3.00โˆ’78%
Monthly pass, regular price$30.74$140โˆ’78%
Taxi start, normal tariff$1.94$3.00โˆ’35%
Taxi, 1 km, normal tariff$1.94$2.18โˆ’11%
Taxi, 1 hour waiting, normal tariff$10.00$42.00โˆ’76%
Gasoline (1 l)$0.98$1.10โˆ’11%
Volkswagen Golf 1.4 90 KW Trendline (or equivalent new car)$32,361$35,458โˆ’9%
Toyota Corolla Sedan 1.6l 97kW (or equivalent new car)$29,320$25,309+16%
Utilities, per month
Basic utilities, 85mยฒ apartment (electricity, heating, cooling, water, garbage)โ€”โ€”โ€”
Mobile plan (calls + 10GB data)$30.05$73.50โˆ’59%
Internet (60 Mbps+, unlimited, cable/ADSL)$72.81$71.93+1%
Sports and leisure
Fitness club, monthly fee (1 adult)$70.66$126โˆ’44%
Tennis court rent (1 hour, weekend)$33.98$62.38โˆ’46%
Cinema, 1 seat, international release$9.71$23.00โˆ’58%
Childcare
Preschool, full day, private (monthly, 1 child)$185$3,366โˆ’95%
International primary school (yearly, 1 child)$2,999$60,589โˆ’95%
Clothing and shoes
1 pair of jeans (Levi's 501 or similar)$39.42$72.80โˆ’46%
1 summer dress, chain store (Zara, H&M)$49.52$53.22โˆ’7%
1 pair of Nike running shoes, mid-range$86.93$118โˆ’26%
1 pair of men's leather business shoes$52.41$125โˆ’58%
Rent, per month
Apartment (1 bedroom) in city centre$949$4,417โˆ’79%
Apartment (1 bedroom) outside centre$698$3,033โˆ’77%
Apartment (3 bedrooms) in city centre$2,038$9,242โˆ’78%
Apartment (3 bedrooms) outside centre$1,552$5,461โˆ’72%
Buying an apartment
Price per square meter, apartment in city centre$2,257$18,759โˆ’88%
Price per square meter, apartment outside centre$1,395$6,523โˆ’79%
Salary and financing
Average monthly net salary, after tax$827$5,178โˆ’84%
Mortgage interest rate, 20-year fixed rate (%)14.00%6.49%+7.5 pts

Three years of prices

Each line starts at 100 in its first month, so a rise in rent can be read against a rise in salary on the same scale. The core basket is twelve everyday prices. Hover for the actual values.

Show the monthly values
MonthCore basket indexRent, 1 bedroomNet salary
Sep 2026โ€”$949$827
Jul 2026โ€”โ€”โ€”
Jun 2026โ€”โ€”โ€”
May 202648.1$902$862
Jan 202650.8$923$908
Dec 202548.8$967$1,039
Nov 202549.1$957$975
Aug 202545.1$957$1,178
Jul 202545.1$958$1,120
May 202544.8$921$1,105
Apr 202545.0$923$1,097
Mar 202543.6$917$1,260
Feb 202543.8$920$1,264
Jan 202546.4$958$1,122
Dec 202446.4$917$1,041
Nov 202448.9$903$1,023
Oct 202446.9$916$1,015
Sep 202451.1$922$1,014
Aug 202449.9$973$1,015
Jul 202451.8$974$1,057
Jun 202452.0$963$1,056
May 202452.4$943$1,013
Mar 202454.1$927$1,034
Jan 202454.2$927$1,068
Dec 202354.3$892$1,017
Nov 202353.9$899$927
Oct 202354.6$896$925

Safety

Numbeo crime survey, 2023. Both indices run 0 to 100; they are two sides of the same answers.

Safety index37.4Higher is safer+1.3 since the previous survey
Crime index62.6Lower is better
  • Feeling safe overall37.4

Quality of life

Numbeo's published indices for Male. Listed as Numbeo computes them, next to this index's own figures above.

PollutionLower is better
78.4
Cost of living (Numbeo)New York = 100
55.6
Rent (Numbeo)New York = 100
24.6
Groceries (Numbeo)New York = 100
47.7
Restaurants (Numbeo)New York = 100
33.7

Climate

Monthly means from NASA POWER climate normals. Temperature bands use the same scale on every city page.

Annual mean
27.9 ยฐC
Warmest monthMay
28.7 ยฐC
Coldest monthJanuary
27.3 ยฐC
Rain a year
1,721 mm
HumidityRelative, annual mean
80%
SunshineSolar energy per day
5.6 kWh/mยฒ
Clear-sky daysA year
4
Comfort score0-100, 100 at 14-22 ยฐC
69

Air, internet and housing

The last 30 days of air, the latest month of broadband tests, and the property survey.

Air

Good
US AQI, the latest day
Unhealthy days
0AQI above 100
Worst day
33
PM2.5
8.1ยตg/mยณ, mean
Air score
940-100

Internet

No internet speed measurements for Male or its country.

Housing

$2,257Per mยฒ to buy in the centre, $1,395 outside
Price to income
11.0Years of income, 90 mยฒ flat
Price to rent
10.0Years of rent, centre
Rental yield
10.0%Gross, centre
Mortgage rate
14.00%20-year fixed
80 mยฒ in the centre
18.2Years of net salary

Numbeo property survey, 20 Sept 2026.

Cities like Male

In other countries, with the closest livability score and cost of living index.

About these numbers

What the figures on this page rest on.

Confidence
Medium confidence
Contributors
14Numbeo price survey
Latest prices
Sep 20261 readings that month
Months with prices
5 of 12Last 12 months
Items priced
98%1 basket items from the country median
Location
Matched to a GeoNames reference city
Index rebuilt
24 Sept 2026

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