Entity dossier · IFI / development & credit agency
World Bank
Multilateral development institution; the Maldives' largest multilateral lender by active commitments
worldbank.org/en/country/maldives (opens in a new window)
This page records the Maldives' relationship with the World Bank: when it joined each institution of the Group, what it is borrowing now, the strategy that governs it, and the terms it borrows on, which were tightened in 2023 after the country repeatedly breached its non-concessional borrowing ceiling.
- Maldives membership
- IBRD and IDA since 1978
- Active portfolio
- 10 projects, US$193.83m
- Country strategy
- CPF 2023–2027
- Borrowing terms
- 100% credits, no grants
- Why it still qualifies for IDA
- Small island exception
- Country office
- Malé
Reviewed · Every claim carries an evidence grade and numbered sources Portfolio and office details from the Bank's Maldives country page; membership dates from the Group's member lists; terms from the IDA20 Mid-Term Review of November 2023. Whether the proposed move to Blend terms took effect on 1 July 2026 is left as an open question.
01Snapshot
The Maldives and the World Bank
Ten active projects, an IDA exception, and terms that hardened in 2023.
The World Bank lends to and advises developing countries through two institutions, the IBRD and the International Development Association, and sits alongside the IFC and MIGA in the World Bank Group. The Maldives joined the IBRD and IDA on 13 January 1978. Its active portfolio is ten projects worth US$193.83 million, delivered under a Country Partnership Framework for 2023 to 2027. The Maldives borrows on IDA terms through an exception for small island economies, and since 1 July 2023 receives no IDA grants.
Maldives membership
The IBRD and the International Development Association on 13 January 1978, the International Finance Corporation on 2 February 1983, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency on 19 May 2005. The Maldives does not appear in the ICSID member list.
Active portfolio
10projects, US$193.83m
Ten projects worth US$193.83 million: eight IDA projects, one IDA guarantee operation and one regional project.
As of 29 Oct 2026
Country strategy
A Country Partnership Framework for 2023 to 2027, launched in January 2023, covering the World Bank, the IFC and MIGA.
Borrowing terms
100%credits, no grants
IDA Small Economy Terms, under the Small Island Economies Exception. Since 1 July 2023 the Maldives receives 100 per cent credits and no grants, a hardening applied under IDA's Sustainable Development Finance Policy after repeated breaches of its non-concessional borrowing ceiling in the financial years 2021 to 2023.
As of 1 Jul 2023
Why it still qualifies for IDA
The Small Island Economies Exception. The Maldives was classified IDA-only and small island in the IDA20 Mid-Term Review, with GNI per capita of US$11,030 and upper-middle-income status: six to eight times the IDA operational cut-off.
Country office
Hotel Jen, 4th floor, #404 Ameer Ahmed Magu, Malé. The World Bank and the IFC are the Group institutions the country page names as operating in the Maldives.
Also known as World Bank Group · IBRD · International Bank for Reconstruction and Development · IDA · International Development Association
02The Group
Four institutions, not one
"The World Bank" is two lending institutions; the Group adds two more. Which one is involved decides the terms.
IBRD and IDA: the World Bank
The Maldives joined both the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association on 13 January 1978. IDA is the concessional arm; it is the one that finances the current Maldivian portfolio.
IFC: the private sector arm
The Maldives joined the International Finance Corporation on 2 February 1983. The country page names the IFC, with the World Bank, as operating in the Maldives.
MIGA: guarantees
The Maldives joined the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency on 19 May 2005. MIGA is covered by the current Country Partnership Framework.
ICSID: not a member
The Maldives does not appear in the member list for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
03What is being financed
Ten projects, US$193.83 million
The programme has grown by about US$16 million in net commitments since the current strategy was agreed.
Net commitments, then and now
World Bank, January 2023 · Nine IDA projects and one IDA guarantee operation
World Bank, current · Eight IDA projects, one IDA guarantee and one regional project
The two counts are not directly comparable: the composition changed as well as the total, and projects close and open between the two dates.
What the money is for
At the start of the current framework the programme covered renewable energy, youth resilience and employability, digital development, urban development, solid waste management, Covid-19 response, health, education and social protection.
The three objectives
The Country Partnership Framework for 2023 to 2027 sets three high-level objectives: "increased access to economic opportunities", "improved human capital outcomes" and "improved resilience to shocks". Named work areas include strengthening education and health systems, protecting vulnerable people, improving fiscal efficiency and transparency, using natural resources for growth while protecting coral reefs, and using digital technology to improve services, particularly for women and young people.
What the Bank said at the launch
Faris Hadad-Zervos, then World Bank Country Director for Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, said the partnership would support "building a green, resilient, and inclusive future for all Maldivians". Hector Gomez Ang, then IFC Regional Director for South Asia, said "unlocking the potential of the private sector is key to help spur economic transformation for Maldives".
Both officials held those posts in January 2023; whether they still do was not checked for this page.
04Terms and eligibility
An exception that keeps the cheap money, and a penalty that took the grants away
The Maldives is an upper-middle-income country borrowing on terms meant for the poorest. In 2023 IDA kept the eligibility but withdrew the grant element.
Why an upper-middle-income country gets IDA money
The Small Island Economies Exception. The IDA20 Mid-Term Review records that "Samoa, Vanuatu, the Maldives, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Sao Tome and Principe, Comoros and the Solomon Islands were granted the Exception when their per capita incomes rose above the IDA cut-off". It lists the Maldives as IDA-only and small island, with GNI per capita of US$11,030 and upper-middle-income status.
How far above the cut-off
The review states that "Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Grenada, and Maldives continue to be eligible for IDA Small Economy Terms despite having per capita incomes ranging from US$8,460 to US$11,160, which are six to eight times above the IDA operational cut-off".
The grants the Maldives would otherwise get
The review's footnote is explicit: "As an IDA-only country, Maldives is eligible for 100 percent grants given its high risk of debt distress. However, as per IDA's SDFP, financing terms for Maldives were hardened to 100 percent credits effective July 1, 2023, due to repeated breaches of the non-concessional borrowing ceiling over FY21-FY23." It adds that the Maldives had previously faced a hardening of terms under the Non-Concessional Borrowing Policy for non-compliance with that policy.
In plain terms: the country's debt position qualifies it for grants, and its borrowing behaviour cost it those grants. This is a policy consequence applied by IDA, not a finding of wrongdoing by any court or investigative body.
A proposal to harden them again
The same review proposed that countries whose GNI per capita exceeds the graduation discussion income threshold for two consecutive years should move to Blend terms from the 2027 financial year. It names the Maldives among five countries that had already met that test and says that, on then-current trends, "these six countries will be the first to transition to Blend terms starting July 1, 2026". Whether that took effect was not established for this page.
Why the terms matter: IDA credits are concessional borrowing, not aid. Blend terms are harder again. After its 2026 Article IV mission the IMF said "the risk of overall and external debt distress remains high" for the Maldives, so the price and concessionality of multilateral lending bears directly on the debt path. Confirmed
05Timeline
From membership to hardened terms
Scroll sideways, or jump to a year.
13 January 1978
The Maldives joins the IBRD and IDA
2 February 1983
The Maldives joins the International Finance Corporation
19 May 2005
The Maldives joins the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
12 January 2023
The Country Partnership Framework for 2023 to 2027 is discussed by the Board
The programme at the time was nine IDA projects and one IDA guarantee operation, worth US$178 million in net commitments.
1 July 2023
IDA terms harden to 100 per cent credits
The grant element is withdrawn under IDA's Sustainable Development Finance Policy, after repeated breaches of the non-concessional borrowing ceiling in the financial years 2021 to 2023.
22 November 2023
The IDA20 Mid-Term Review proposes Blend terms from the 2027 financial year
It names the Maldives among the countries whose income has exceeded the graduation discussion threshold for two consecutive years, and says they would be the first to move, from 1 July 2026.
06Fact checks & open questions
Common claims, corrected — and what is still unknown
The World Bank gives the Maldives aid.
Its current Maldivian portfolio is IDA credits and a guarantee, which are concessional borrowing. The Maldives would qualify for 100 per cent grants on debt-distress grounds, but IDA withdrew the grant element with effect from 1 July 2023.
The Maldives is too rich for IDA.
Its income is six to eight times the IDA operational cut-off, but it remains eligible under the Small Island Economies Exception, which was granted to it and seven other small island economies when their per capita incomes rose above the cut-off.
The World Bank and the IMF lend on the same basis.
They do not. The Bank finances projects and programmes under a multi-year country strategy; the IMF lends for balance of payments need, and the Maldives has had no IMF programme since 2012.
Open questions as of 29 October 2026
- Did the Maldives move to IDA Blend terms on 1 July 2026, as the IDA20 Mid-Term Review proposed? No confirmation either way was found for this page.
- Which eight IDA projects, which guarantee and which regional project make up the current US$193.83 million portfolio, and what are their closing dates?
- Has the Maldives since complied with the non-concessional borrowing ceiling, and has any part of the grant element been restored?
- Who are the current World Bank Country Director and IFC Regional Director responsible for the Maldives?
07Sources
Every source cited
Numbers match the citations throughout the page.
- 1Maldives: OverviewWorld Bank
- 2Member countries of the World Bank GroupWorld Bank
- 3World Bank Group and Maldives Enhance Cooperation through New Country Partnership FrameworkWorld Bank · 12 January 2023
- 4IDA20 Mid-Term Review: IDA Access, Terms and Graduation ProspectsInternational Development Association · 22 November 2023
- 5IMF Staff Completes 2026 Article IV Mission to the MaldivesInternational Monetary Fund · 17 June 2026
About this record
Revision history
Last reviewed 29 October 2026. Portfolio and office details from the Bank's Maldives country page; membership dates from the Group's member lists; terms from the IDA20 Mid-Term Review of November 2023. Whether the proposed move to Blend terms took effect on 1 July 2026 is left as an open question.
Data
How to cite
Good Morning Maldives, "World Bank", independent record (graded), retrieved 29 October 2026, www.goodmorningmaldives.com/entities/world-bank
Add the fact’s own link (#fact-…) to cite one line. Citation guide
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Source 3
World Bank Group and Maldives Enhance Cooperation through New Country Partnership Framework
World Bank · 12 January 2023
Source 4
IDA20 Mid-Term Review: IDA Access, Terms and Graduation Prospects
International Development Association · 22 November 2023
Source 5
IMF Staff Completes 2026 Article IV Mission to the Maldives
International Monetary Fund · 17 June 2026