Male’ overcrowded, with ‘tile-sized’ land area per capita

A land audit conducted by Male’ City Council shows that Male’s land per capita stands at a ‘tile-sized’ area with 41 percent of the Maldivian population residing in the capital city.

Of Malé City’s population, 68 percent live in Malé and Vilimale’, while the remaining 32 percent reside in Hulhumale’.

In its audit, the Council stated that the high population density within small land area has led to overcrowding in certain districts of Malé, where living conditions fall below acceptable standards for human habitation.

The City Council explained that World Health Organization (WHO) and other relevant authorities have recommended 96.8 square feet land per capita as the ideal standard for suitable human habitation.

While Vilimale’s land per capita stands at 193 square feet and Hulhumale’s land per capita stands at 27 square feet – Male’s land per capita stand at just 5.4 square feet. This accounts for the width of a big tile.

According to the City Council, it is using drone imagery and georeferencing to compile the chart showcasing the land plots in Male’ and Vilimale’ and how they are being utilized.

While sharing the latest updates of the land audit during the 207th meeting of the fourth session of Male’ City Council, Male’ City Mayor Adam Azim said this marks the first time the Council is compiling such a detailed land audit.

He expressed his belief that residents of Male’ should have easy access to information regarding their households.

He announced plans to launch a portal that residents of a household can use to access information regarding it. The Mayor detailed that the portal will feature information regarding businesses run in the building or whether a garage permit has been issued.