Tourist arrivals
In February 2024, total tourist arrivals stood at 217,392, registering an increase of 22.2% compared with the same period of last year. During the month, the highest number of tourist arrivals were recorded from China, followed by United Kingdom and Russia.
Inflation
The rate of inflation (annual percentage change in the national CPI) accelerated to 1.1% in February 2024, from 0.9% in January 2024. The largest contribution to the annual rate of inflation during the month came from Mobile communication services (-0.97 percentage points); Fish (0.45 percentage points); and Vegetables (0.39 percentage points).
Fish exports
The volume of fish exports decreased by 14.4% in February 2024 compared with the same period of last year. This was mainly driven by the decrease in the export of Fresh, chilled or frozen Skipjack tuna by 17.0% (871.0 metric tonnes).
Real GDP growth
The real GDP growth is projected to be decelerated to 5.5% in 2024, from an estimated 8.7% in 2023.
Official reserve assets
Official reserve assets stood at USD 588.8 million in February 2024, reflecting a 6.8% increase from USD 551.1 million in January 2024. However, in annual terms, there was a decrease of 26.0% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
Exports
Despite a decline in fish exports, total exports (f.o.b) increased by 5.8% during February 2024 when compared with February 2023, primarily due to the rise in re-exports.
Imports
Total imports (C.I.F) of February 2024 increased by 4.1% compared to February 2023. Imports of electrical, electronic machinery, equipment and parts had a growth of 67.1 while, imports of food items observed a growth of 15.1% during this period.
Export of goods and service
Export of goods and services for 2023 is estimated to be decreased by 4.6% compared to 2022.
Balance on goods in percent of GDP
Balance on goods in percent of GDP is estimated to be at -42.6% in 2023, while it is expected to be at -41.8% in 2024.
Import of goods in percent of GDP
Import of goods in percent of GDP is estimated to be at 49.0% in 2023, while it is expected to be at 47.7% in 2024.
Current account balance in percent of GDP
The current account balance in percent of GDP stood at -16.3% in 2022. Meanwhile it is expected to widen to -22.4% in 2023. On the other hand, current account balance in percent of GDP is estimated to narrow down to -18.8% in 2024.
Exchange rate
At the end of February 2024, US Dollar reference rate of MMA stood at 15.41 Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) per US Dollar (US$).