Not rated — no significant reservoirs
Maldives is set aside from the ranking rather than graded. Having no significant reservoir storage is a geographic fact, not a transparency failure — so assigning an “F” would be misleading.
H1 2026 Evaluation
Maldives Reservoir Transparency
N/AWhy it's not rated
No surface reservoirs: low coral atolls with no rivers; only distribution storage tanks exist.
Where its water comes from
Reverse-osmosis desalination (Male) plus rainwater harvesting.
Reference source
Male Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC)
https://www.mwsc.com.mv/Evaluator notes
The Maldives represents one of the world's purest structural-zero cases for reservoir infrastructure: 1,200 coral atolls with no rivers, no hills, and maximum elevations of approximately 2.4 m above sea level preclude surface impoundment entirely. The national water system is a desalination-and-distribution model. MWSC serves Male and nearby atolls with 24/7 desalinated water, while outer islands rely on rainwater and limited desalination capacity. A 2026 Nature Communications paper on monthly water and carbon accounting for the Maldives confirms that desalination now covers the bulk of national water demand, reducing monthly water deficits. MWSC is actively exploring subsea desalination with FLOCEAN to reduce energy costs by 30–50%. None of this infrastructure generates publicly accessible reservoir data, because no reservoirs exist. The RTI framework cannot be meaningfully applied here; the score reflects the complete absence of the subject matter rather than governance failure.
Evaluated by Jaime Delgado · 2026-09-15 · Methodology v1.3.0