News Desk
MALE’ — The Maldives government has begun preparations for a new central jail to be built in Uthuru Thilafalhu — a reclaimed patch of land near Male’ — as the country grapples with an uncomfortable truth: it locks up more people per capita than any other nation in South Asia.
The facility, which will have capacity for up to 3,000 inmates, is envisioned as a “permanent solution” to the country’s fragmented and outdated prison system, according to Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihsan, a former military man now tasked with overseeing prison reform. Once completed, existing jails in Maafushi and Hinmafushi will be shuttered.
The announcement comes as the Maldives Correctional Service continues using land next to the existing Hulhumale’ Jail on a temporary basis, pending completion of the new facility. Ihsan said the new prison would help reduce costs, improve quality, and consolidate services — including mental healthcare, which is currently almost nonexistent inside prison walls.
But the bigger story lies in the numbers.
According to 2024 data from Prison Insider, the Maldives has the highest incarceration rate in South Asia, with an estimated 314 prisoners per 100,000 people. That dwarfs neighboring India’s rate of 41 and Pakistan’s 38. Even Sri Lanka, long criticized for its crowded jails, comes in at 137.
The Maldives holds about 1,800 inmates across its facilities — more than one in every 300 residents of this Muslim-majority island nation. In a country better known for turquoise lagoons, coral reefs, and high-end resorts, the statistic is jarring. A small, close-knit society, the Maldives has long wrestled with questions of drug use, petty crime, and a slow judicial system that can seem unforgiving.
“It’s a striking contrast,” one former diplomat told EtruthMV. “Paradise paired with prison.”
Minister Ihsan insists the new central jail won’t be filled to capacity. “We are not planning to keep so many people in jail,” he said in an interview, adding that the real goal is rehabilitation and reintegration into society. But with prison density already exceeding 125%, the pressure to act is clear.
The construction, expected to take three years, will include office space, staff accommodation, and tighter security systems aimed at curbing drug smuggling and illegal phone use behind bars. The ministry is also exploring signal-jamming solutions for specific areas — an effort to clamp down on criminal activity within the prison network.
Named facilities include Maafushi Prison, Asseryi Prison in Hinmafushi, Malé Prison, Hulhumalé Detention Centre, Atholhuvehi, and Dhoonidhoo. Of these, the Maldives Police Service (MPS) operates the Dhoonidhoo Pretrial Detention Centre and the Malé Custodial Centre, while the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) manages four main prisons: Maafushi, Asseryi, Malé, and Hulhumalé Detention Centre. Malé Prison has recently closed.
Though the Maldives fares better than others in the region on pretrial detentions — with just 14.3% of inmates awaiting trial. Critics have often pointed to the lack of sentencing alternatives, especially for drug-related offenses, and the limited rehabilitation options for those cycling in and out of the system.
Minister Ihsan says the goal is to fix that. “The permanent solution is coming,” he said. But in the meantime, paradise remains an outlier — a nation of sun-drenched islands with one of South Asia’s darkest incarceration records.
Prison Crisis Grips South Asia, Maldives Tops Incarceration Rates
