How old age is raising new questions for the Maldives

While these are issues deserving of our attention and debate, a quieter and more insidious challenge has emerged – one that is gradually changing the future of our society.

Our population is growing older. It is estimated that around one in 20 Maldivians are aged 65 and above. By 2050, one in five could be over this age. In other words, the Maldives we are planning for today is not the Maldives we will have tomorrow.

This is not to suggest that ageing should be viewed as a problem. It reflects one of our greatest national achievements, with life expectancy having increased from around 55 years in 1980 to more than 80 today. 

Better healthcare, improved living standards, and sustained economic progress have enabled Maldivians to live longer than any previous generation. This is evidence that many things have gone right. Yet every success brings new responsibilities.

Population ageing is unlike most policy challenges. It does not arrive suddenly, like an economic crisis or a natural disaster, but unfolds gradually over decades. Yet it is among the most predictable transformations a country can face and one that affects almost every aspect of national life.

Ageing is not simply a healthcare issue. It has far-reaching implications for housing, transportation, the labour market, public finances and social services. Ultimately, it is a question of quality of life and dignity for our senior citizens.

As the Maldives becomes an ageing society – defined by the OECD as having more than 7% over the population aged over 65 – it is imperative that we recognise how the decisions we make today will shape how old age is experienced by future generations.

Many developed countries became wealthy before they had to confront the challenges associated with an ageing population. The Maldives may face a different reality, with its population ageing rapidly while it continues to address the developmental challenges of a small island nation.

Traditionally, old age in the Maldives was supported by strong family systems. Parents grew old surrounded by children, grandchildren and extended family networks, who were the primary source of care, companionship and security.

That reality no longer holds true. Families are becoming smaller and more nuclear, while housing is increasingly concentrated in apartments. As the cost of living continues to rise, the need for both parents to participate in the workforce has become an economic necessity for many households. At the same time, migration between islands and overseas is becoming more common, often separating families and, in some cases, effectively creating single-parent households.

These developments are, in many respects, the natural consequences of social and economic progress. But they also suggest the experience of growing old in the future may be very different from that of previous generations.

Around the world, countries are beginning to rethink what ageing means. Conversations are shifting from simply caring for older people to enabling them to age well.

Singapore, one of Asia's fastest-ageing societies, promotes the concepts of “successful ageing” and “ageing in place”, which is the ability of older people to remain independent while staying connected to their communities and actively engaged in society for as long as possible.

The idea may appear straightforward, but the challenge is not simply to help people live longer. It is to help them live longer with dignity, independence and a higher quality of life.

As the Maldives undergoes its own demographic transition, perhaps this idea deserves a place in conversations about national development. Nowhere is this more pressing than in the Greater Malé region.

For decades, we have debated how many more people Malé can accommodate and how much land should be reclaimed to meet growing housing demands and address worsening traffic congestion in the capital. Perhaps the time has come to ask another set of equally important questions.

These are not questions for the distant future. The people who will be 65 in 2050 are already among us, raising families, building businesses and paying rent. The cities we build today, the housing policies we adopt and the communities we create will ultimately determine how they experience old age tomorrow.

It is time for ageing to become part of our broader policy debates – not because the Maldives is old, but because it is growing older.

The best time to prepare for the future is before it arrives.