The voluntary migration to Hulhumalé, an artificial island in the Maldives, presents a unique context for studying the impacts of internal migration on life satisfaction. This study aims to identify measures that the Maldivian government could implement to mitigate migration impacts and enhance life satisfaction in Hulhumalé. A recent survey conducted in the four atolls with Maldives National University (MNU) campuses—Kulhudhuffushi, Gan, Hithadhoo, and Thinadhoo—yielded 398 responses, proportionate to their populations. The questionnaire, administered in person by MNU enumerators between December 2023 and January 2024, mirrored the 2022 Hulhumalé survey, focusing on demographics, migration attitudes, and expectations of Hulhumalé. A 2022 survey of Hulhumalé residents revealed disparities in life satisfaction between those who relocated from Malé and those from other atolls. The results from 2024 survey highlight the fact that good facilities, including dining, shopping, sports, and parks, are highly regarded factors driving migration, albeit with the trade-offs of high living expenses, rent, and other housing costs. High-quality primary and higher education, along with access to medical care, were also positively rated. However, aspects related to disaster resilience and safety against sea level rise due to climate change were rated lower.

1. [1] IPCC, “Summary for policymakers,” V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S. L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M. I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J. B. R. Matthews, T. K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (Eds.), “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,” pp. 3-32, Cambridge University Press, 2021. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf [Accessed June 19, 2024]
2. [2] M. Nakayama, S. Drinkall, and D. Sasaki, “Climate change, migration, and vulnerability: Overviw of the special issue,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.14, No.9, pp. 1246-1253, 2019. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2019.p1246
3. [3] M. Nakayama, R. Fujikura, R. Okuda, M. Fujii, R. Takashima, T. Murakawa, E. Sakai, and H. Iwama, “Alternatives for the Marshall Islands to cope with the anticipated sea level rise by climate change,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.17, No.3, pp. 315-326, 2022. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2022.p0315
4. [4] United Nations, “Statement by H. E. President Anote Tong, 69th UNGA, New York, 26 September, 2014.” https://www.un.org/en/ga/69/meetings/gadebate/pdf/KI_en.pdf [Accessed June 19, 2024]
5. [5] B. L. Wheeler, J. Fitzpatrick, and K. van der Geest, “The ongoingness of migration: Marshallese well-being in the United States,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.17, No.3, pp. 335-345, 2022. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2022.p0335
6. [6] S. O’Connor, C. Bruch, and M. Maekawa, “Legal and practical measures for environmental migrants,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.14, No.9, pp. 1254-1261, 2019. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2019.p1254
7. [7] M. Nakayama, S. McClain, R. Fujikura, and D. Sasaki, “Migration, dignity, fragility, and pandemics: Overview of the special issue” J. Disaster Res., Vol.17, No.3, pp. 285-291, 2022. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2022.p0285
8. [8] High Commission of Maldives, “About Maldives.” https://maldives.org.my/about-maldives [Accessed June 17, 2024]
9. [9] Ministry of Enviroment and Energy, “Second national communication of Maldives: To the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change,” 2016. https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/SNC%20PDF_Resubmission.pdf [Accessed June 19, 2024]
10. [10] A. Sakamoto, K. Nishiya, X. Guo, A. Sugimoto, W. Nagasaki, and K. Doi, “Mitigating impacts of climate change induced sea level riseby infrastructure development: Case of the Maldives,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.17, No.3, pp. 327-334, 2022. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2022.p0327
11. [11] A. Ahmed and A. Laila, “Climate change adaptation strategies for small island developing states: Lessons from artificial island development in the Maldives,” Presentation on Hulhumalé, at Seminar on February 29th, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMhYl0FxheI [Accessed July 30, 2024]
12. [12] M. Nakayama, S. Drinkall, and D. Sasaki, “Climate change, migration, and vulnerability,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.14, No.9, pp. 1246-1253, 2019. https://doi.org/10.20965/jdr.2019.p124
13. [13] E. Arai and S. Imaizumi (Eds.), “35 Chapters for getting to know the Maldives (Maldives wo shirutameno 35 sho),” Akashishoten, 2021 (in Japanese).
14. [14] D. Sasaki, A. Sakamoto, A. Laila, A. Aslam, S. Feng, T. Kaku, T. Sasaki, N. Shinomura, and M. Nakayama, “Facilitating the smooth migration of inhabitants of atoll countries to artificial islands: Case of the Maldives,” Sustainability, Vol.16, No.11, Article No.4582, 2024. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114582
15. [15] United Nations Development Programme, “Liveability index of Hulhumalé, Maldives: Key findings and methodology,” 2024. https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-06/liveability_index_of_hulhumale_maldives_final_1.pdf [Accessed July 30, 2024]
16. [16] World Bank, “Maldives development update—Towards resilient and affordable housing,” 2022. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/49141824db6f3a3b812bad33d5779541-0310062022/original/MDU-Oct-22-Final.pdf [Accessed July 30, 2024]
17. [17] National Bureau of Statistics, “Income summary—Household income and expenditure survey 2019,” National Bureau of Statistics, Government of Maldives, 2020. https://statisticsmaldives.gov.mv/nbs/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Income-Summary-v2.pdf [Accessed July 31, 2024].
18. [18] National Bureau of Statistics (Ministry of National Planning, Housing & Infrastructure), “Household expenditure: Household income and expenditure survey 2019,” 2024.
19. [19] Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education of the Republic of Maldives, “Maldives education sector plan: 2019–2023,” 2019. https://support.moe.gov.mv/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ESP.pdf [Accessed July 30, 2024]
20. [20] J. Mauroof, A. Reetho, A. F. Shareef, R. A. Raheem, F. Waheed, M. S. Ahmed, F. Shougee, A. Shanoora, M. F. Rasheed, A. Ali, D. Moosa, A. Reesha, A. Shina, and S. Naseer, “A comprehensive housing market study for the Greater Malé region,” 2017. https://maldives.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-11/A-Comprehensive-housing-market-study-for-the-greater-male-final-24082017-2.pdf [Accessed July 30, 2024]
21. [21] R. A. Raheema, M. Sheena, Maldives Health Protection Agency, and World Health Organization, “WHO STEPS survey on risk factors for noncommunicable disease, the Maldives 2020–21,” 2022. https://mnu.edu.mv/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Survey-On-Prevalence-of-Non-Communicable-Disease-STEP-Survey-2020-2021.pdf [Accessed July 30, 2024]
22. [22] M. Mohit and M. Azim, “Assessment of residential satisfaction with public housing in Hulhumalé’, Maldives,” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol.50, pp. 756-770, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.08.078
23. [23] Personal communication with a member from Addu Women’s Development Committee, August 16, 2023.
24. [24] Maldives Bureau of Statistics (Ministry of Housing, Land & Urban Development), “Population dynamics in the Maldives: An analysis from Census 2022,” 2023.