Average Labourer Salary in Maldives for 2026
A labourer in Maldives earns about 57,800 MVR a year. That's 75% below the national average of 228,000 MVR.
Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Maldives sit around 31,380 MVR a year, while the very top stretches to 85,700 MVR. Everything on this page is in Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR, symbol .ރ), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.
The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Maldives, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.
How much does a labourer make in Maldives?
A typical labourer working in Maldives brings home around 4,816 MVR a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 31,380 MVR, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 85,700 MVR for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.
The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior labourer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.
How labourer pay ranges in Maldives
A good way to think about salary in Maldives is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all labourers in Maldives earn less than 53,840 MVR a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".
Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 36,020 MVR (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 63,040 MVR (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of labourers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.
The very lowest reported salaries sit around 31,380 MVR. The highest stretch to 85,700 MVR, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.
Labourer pay by experience in Maldives
Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a labourer in Maldives, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical labourer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.
- 0-2 Years37,620 MVR
- 2-5 Years+16% from previous43,800 MVR
- 5-10 Years+33% from previous58,440 MVR
- 10-15 Years+19% from previous69,400 MVR
- 15-20 Years+13% from previous78,160 MVR
- 20+ Years+6% from previous83,200 MVR
The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 33%. That is the point at which a labourer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.
Labourer pay by education in Maldives
Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving labourer pay in Maldives. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.
Below is the average labourer salary in Maldives broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.
- High School43,800 MVR
- Certificate or Diploma+45% from previous63,700 MVR
- Bachelor's Degree+26% from previous80,480 MVR
Labourer gender pay gap in Maldives
The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Maldives is no exception. Male labourers in Maldives earn an average of 57,820 MVR a year, while female labourers earn around 56,060 MVR. That works out to a 3% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.
A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.
Labourer gender pay gap
3%
Men earn this much more than women on average in Maldives.
Pay raises for a labourer in Maldives
Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.
A typical worker doing this role in Maldives sees a raise of about 4% every 30 months, which works out to roughly 2% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.
Across all jobs in Maldives, the national average raise is around 4% every 29 months.
By industry
Industries with the highest pay raises in Maldives:
- Banking
- Energy1%
- Information Technology
- Healthcare2%
- Travel
- Construction
- Education
By experience level
Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.
- Junior Level3% - 5%
- Mid-Career
- Senior Level
- Top Management
Labourer bonus rates in Maldives
Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.
7% of labourers in Maldives reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a labourer a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.
Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 2% of base salary. The remaining 93% of labourers reported no bonus at all over the same period.
Which careers pay bonuses in Maldives
Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.
- Finance
- Architecture
- Sales
- Business Development
- Marketing / Advertising
- Information Technology
- Healthcare
- Insurance
- Customer Service
- Human Resources
- Construction
- Transport
- Hospitality
Labourer: public vs private sector pay
Public-sector pay in Maldives is about 8% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.
Public vs private pay gap
8%
Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Maldives on average.
Labourer in Maldives: FAQs
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How much does a labourer make per month in Maldives?
A labourer in Maldives earns about 4,816 MVR a month before tax, based on an annual average of 57,800 MVR.
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What's the salary range for a labourer in Maldives?
Entry-level labourers in Maldives start near 31,380 MVR. Top-end pay reaches around 85,700 MVR. The middle 50% of earners sit between 36,020 and 63,040 MVR.
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Is the median labourer salary in Maldives higher or lower than the average?
The median is 53,840 MVR, lower than the average of 57,800 MVR. Half of labourers in Maldives earn below the median, half earn above it.
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What's the gender pay gap for labourers in Maldives?
Men working as a labourer in Maldives earn around 3% more than women on average (57,820 vs 56,060 MVR a year).
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Do labourers in Maldives get bonuses?
About 7% of labourers in Maldives reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 2% of base salary.
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Do labourers earn more in the public or private sector in Maldives?
In Maldives, the public sector pays a labourer about 8% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.
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How often do labourers in Maldives get a pay raise?
A labourer in Maldives sees a raise of around 4% every 30 months, equivalent to roughly 2% a year.