The 7th National Development Plan of Maldives, a key strategic agenda to guide the development of the Maldives from 2006 to 2010, emphasizes the importance of higher education, skills training and talent development, in order to meet the growing demand for human capital in the development process. However there is no mention of a vision or any effort to retain the talent we cultivate. I believe it’s not really surprising that our own talent is leaving the country, while the government is spending heavily to import talent from overseas!

In recent years, similar to many developing countries in the region, a significant number of Maldivians have been leaving the country and settling abroad. Among these are some of our best and brightest minds, which the country is in dire need of. In the absence of any natural resources, we survive on a service-based economy and the future of our economy depends on our human capital. If many of our creative, gifted and innovative minds leave the country, it will lead to disastrous consequences in the foreseeable future. Therefore, we must understand what is really pushing our talent away and take swift action to minimise these factors.

Maldives invests heavily on higher education for its youth. For 2007, the government proposed approximately 1% of its total recurrent budget (Rufiyaa 63 million), for further education and skills development for employees. While large numbers of students are sent overseas to study in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Singapore and Malaysia, not all of them return home after completion of their studies. And many among those who do return, plan to leave at a later stage. So, what is causing some of our brightest minds to forsake their home?

Many among our educated are dissatisfied with the limited scope for personal and professional development in the country. There are no opportunities within the small isolated islands for the erudite and ambitious. The few available opportunities are constrained to the capital island, Male’. Our financial sector is poor and opportunities available for individuals to become successful with new businesses are limited. Our business sector is dominated by a few already established tycoons and the government offers little to young ambitious entrepreneurs.

Let’s look at a different scenario in East Asia with remarkable results. The government of South Korea spends billions of dollars each year, to facilitate the new small and medium scale enterprises including providing incubators, low interest loans and technical education. This push to their innovative minds creates 88.1% of employment resulting in a thriving business sector in the country.

Moreover, in our government sector, absence of well defined promotion schemes, disproportionate top-heavy administration (approximately 0.03% of the population as ministers, deputy ministers
or posts at that level), evident mismatch between the field of education and job description along with inadequate salaries are some factors that leave a number of employees de-motivated and frustrated with the system, ready for flight, at
the first available opportunity.

Adding to the frustration, our capital is too congested for comfortable living. Government administration and private sector is centralized on the small capital island, causing intense migration from other islands. According to the 2006 census, more than one third of our total population (34.68%) live in Male’ (the other two-
thirds are dispersed over 193 islands), making our capital the world’s most densely populated city (53,676.88 people per square kilometre) in the world. This has caused the living atmosphere in the city not only socially undesirable, but also economically unaffordable to the average Maldivian. This is a major factor, fuelling the mindset of the bright and young Maldivians, to leave home and find refuge elsewh
ere in the world.

Due to severe congestion there is an exceptionally high demand for housing on the capital. Hence, prices of housing in Male’ have skyrocketed in recent years (increase of 8% since base year 2004), while there were no simultaneous increase in average income. A government employee with Masters Degree, earns maximum of Rufiyaa 6000 every month, which barely covers the rent for a single room including utility bills. Conversely, in the United Kingdom, someone with the same qualification earns an average income of about £3000 (approximately Rufiyaa 80,000) per month which is more than sufficient to live comfortably in an independent apartment in London, after paying a high rent. For this reason, many are forced to live in tiny crowded apartments with no privacy, resulting in migration to other regional areas where housing is more affordable relative to income.

Apart from the economic consequences, congestion has also bred many social evils in the city, adding to the undesirable living conditions in Male’. The alarmingly increasing number of drug abuse among our youth is an example. The number of drug abuse cases reported to the Police has more than tripled between 2001 and 2006, (from 216 cases in 2001 to 783 in 2006) and more than 1,290 people were arrested in 2006 in drug related offences. Unreported drug abuse is likely to be much higher. Given these circumstances many parents do not want their children to grow up in Male’ for fear that their children may get caught in the web of drug abuse. Living abroad is the next best alternative available to these families.


Scarcity of space in the households in Male’ has also lead to numerous domestic issues and has resulted in an enormous number of broken families. At present, Maldives has the highest divorce rate per capita in the world (5,028 got married in 2006 while 2,146 divorced in Male’). This naturally causes insecurities among many couples who in turn, find solace overseas, where they can afford space for themselves as well as their children rather than sharing tiny apartments with huge joint families at home and suffering the probable repercussions.

Our human capital flight is also fuelled by the recent eruption of political turmoil in the country. Maldives, once known and praised for its peace and social harmony has found its way to violence and societal dissonance due to political clashes. Political party-orchestrated public disturbances, demonstrations, public gatherings, violence against opposing party members, riots and such have added to a feeling that Maldives is no longer a healthy environment to nurture our children. This feeling of distrust in the system has increased the number of Maldivian families migrating from the country.

This issue of human capital flight is not an isolated situation found in the developing world alone. The same way it has become a national concern for semi-peripheral countries like the Philippines, India, China, South Africa and Brazil, it’s also an apparent condition in first world countries like Singapore, Canada and some countries in Europe. This does not mean that we are completely helpless. We mustn’t sit and watch while our nation looses the much vital building blocks of its future economy. The costs are too high and we have too much at stake.

Even though there is little a small country like Maldives can do to compete with the attractive opportunities offered in more advanced countries in order to grab talent, there are policies the government can adopt to stem the flight or at least reduce it. It is necessary to do sufficient research on the reasons why our talent is leaving and design policies to minimize such causes depending on the findings. Until and unless we address this issue and take effective remedial action, our nation will continue to lose our very best and the consequences will be devastating.

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  3. How should Maldives downsize its government?
  4. Congestion in Male’, an obstacle to national progress
  5. Implementing sound policies – Easy to tell, difficult to do