Per-island civic profiles

Population

152,000

Registered voters

96,400

Council seats

19

FY26 budget

MVR 510.0M

Active threads

87

Open petitions

6

Capital island and the country's densest urban core (≈65,000/km²). Housing pressure, parking gridlock, and harbour-front land-use decisions dominate local civic debate.

Population

60,400

Registered voters

38,200

Council seats

—

FY26 budget

MVR 84.0M

Active threads

64

Open petitions

4

Reclaimed island administered by HDC. Phase 2 density currently 550 ppl/hectare against a design target of 329; Gulhifalhu Phase 3 plan proposes 719/hectare. Most-watched housing site in the country.

Population

33,500

Registered voters

22,900

Council seats

13

FY26 budget

MVR 198.0M

Active threads

38

Open petitions

3

Southernmost city, spanning seven islands with a causeway link. Tourism (Equator Village, Shangri-La) and airport expansion compete with reef and lagoon protection in the active threads.

Population

10,500

Registered voters

7,100

Council seats

7

FY26 budget

MVR 46.0M

Active threads

22

Open petitions

2

Northern regional hub. The 2018 mangrove reclamation for the airport remains a live restoration debate; ferry-network reliability is a recurring thread.

Population

12,300

Registered voters

8,400

Council seats

7

FY26 budget

MVR 52.0M

Active threads

19

Open petitions

2

Single-island atoll with two protected freshwater lakes and a globally known tiger-shark dive site. Climate vulnerability — coastal erosion, freshwater lens stress — drives most of the civic conversation.

Population

711

Registered voters

483

Council seats

5

FY26 budget

MVR 12.4M

Active threads

14

Open petitions

2

Small Noonu island. Maafaru International Airport (commissioned 1 December 2019) was built with a USD 60M+ Abu Dhabi Fund for Development grant; the airport is now positioned as the country's private-jet hub. Ongoing public scrutiny of its predominantly tourist-transit use vs. resident benefit.