# First Accurate National Census (December 1977)

URL: https://allhistories.com/maldives/timeline/1977-first-accurate-national-census
Location: Maldives
Themes: main-event

The History of Maldives article says that in December 1977 the first accurate census recorded 142,832 residents. The demographics article lists the same figure of 142,832 for 1977, with an annual growth rate of 3.09 per cent, though it does not give a census date or call the count the first modern census. The population had risen from 103,801 in 1967 and 92,744 in 1962 in the article's table, and annual growth peaked at about 3.4 per cent in 1972. The earlier counts, from 72,237 in 1911, were administrative counts of uncertain accuracy, so the Wikipedia account treats 1977 as the first reliable count. The census gave planners a firmer base for education, health and development work as the country changed course in 1978 under a new president. The combination of rapid growth and a small land area also underlies later debates about crowding in Malé. The sources fetched do not describe the method of the count or its organisers. At this point in the timeline (1977), Ibrahim Nasir (11 November 1968 – 11 November 1978) was President of the Second Republic, proclaimed on 11 November 1968 after the sultanate was abolished, and was head of state of the Maldives.

## Why it matters
The first reliable count gave a baseline for planning at a time of fast population growth.

Ruler at the Time: [Ibrahim Nasir](https://allhistories.com/maldives/rulers/ibrahim-nasir-1968)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — History of Maldives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Maldives)
- [Wikipedia — Demographics of the Maldives](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Maldives)