Mauritius Population: 1,322,238
3,913 VISITORS FROM HERE!«  Previous Country | Next Country  » Back to Flag Counter Overview |  |
| Background | |
| Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch - who named it in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU - in the 17th century. The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane. The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base, and later an air station, playing an important role during World War II for anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as the collection of signals intelligence. Independence from the UK was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. |
 |
| |
| Geography | |
| The main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs; former home of the dodo, a large flightless bird related to pigeons, driven to extinction by the end of the 17th century through a combination of hunting and the introduction of predatory species | |
| Location: | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
| Geographic coordinates: | 20 17 S, 57 33 E |
| Area: | total: 2,040 sq km land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues Size comparison: almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land Boundaries: | 0 km |
| Coastline: | 177 km |
| Maritime claims: | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate: | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) |
| Terrain: | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
| Natural resources: | arable land, fish |
| Land use: | arable land: 49.02% permanent crops: 2.94% other: 48.04% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 210 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards: | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards |
| Current Environment Issues: | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs |
| International Environment Agreements: | party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| ^Back to Top | |
| People | |
| Population: | 1,322,238 (July 2013 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 21.3% (male 143,874/female 137,850) 15-24 years: 15.7% (male 104,861/female 102,671) 25-54 years: 44.3% (male 292,714/female 293,590) 55-64 years: 10.6% (male 66,460/female 73,964) 65 years and over: 8% (male 42,718/female 63,536) (2013 est.) population pyramid: |
| Median age: | total: 33.1 years male: 32.2 years female: 34 years (2012 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | 0.705% (2012 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 13.78 births/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Death rate: | 6.73 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2011 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2012 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 74.71 years male: 71.25 years female: 78.35 years (2012 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.78 children born/woman (2013 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 1% (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 8,800 (2009 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | fewer than 500 (2009 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian |
| Ethnic groups: | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
| Religions: | Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census) |
| Languages: | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census) |
| Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 88.5% male: 90.9% female: 86.2% (2010 est.) |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Government | |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius |
| Government type: | parliamentary democracy |
| Capital: | name: Port Louis geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions: | 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne |
| Independence: | 12 March 1968 (from the UK) |
| National holiday: | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) |
| Constitution: | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 |
| Legal system: | civil legal system based on French civil law with some elements of English common law |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Rajkeswur Kailash PURRYAG (since 21 July 2012); note - former President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH resigned on 31 March 2012 head of government: Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister (For more information visit the World Leaders website ) elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 21 July 2012 (next to be held in 2017); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly; note - former President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH resigned on 31 March 2012 election results: Rajkeswur Kailash PURRYAG elected president by unanimous vote; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA |
| Legislative branch: | unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; members to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 5 May 2010 (next to be held in 2015) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AF 41, MMM 18, MR 2, MSF 1; appointed seats - to be assigned 8 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court |
| Political parties and leaders: | Alliance of the Future or AF [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM] (governing coalition - includes MLP, MMSM, MR, MSD, PMSD); Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER]; Mauritian Militant Socialist Movement or MMSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH]; Mauritian Socialist Militant Movement or MSMM [Madan DULLOO]; Mauritian Solidarity Front of FSM [Cehl FAKEERMEEAH]; Mouvement Republicain or MR [Jayarama VALAYDEN]; Maurition Social Democratic Party or PMSD [Xavier Luc DUVAL]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | other: various labor unions |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, C, CD, COMESA, CPLP (associate), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SAARC (observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Somduth SOBORUN chancery: 1709 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; administrative offices - 3201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491 through 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Shari VILLAROSA embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Economy | |
| Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of this period, annual growth has been on the order of 5% to 6%. This achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Mauritius' sound economic policies and prudent banking practices helped to mitigate negative effects of the global financial crisis in 2008-09. GDP grew in the 3-4% per year range in 2010-12, and the country continues to expand its trade and investment outreach around the globe. | |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | GDP (purchasing power parity): $20.26 billion (2012 est.) $19.6 billion (2011 est.) $18.82 billion (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | GDP (official exchange rate): $11.93 billion (2012 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 3.4% (2012 est.) 4.1% (2011 est.) 4.2% (2010 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): | GDP - per capita (PPP): $15,600 (2012 est.) $15,200 (2011 est.) $14,700 (2010 est.) note: data are in 2012 US dollars |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 4.5% industry: 23.5% services: 72% (2012 est.) |
| Labor force: | 617,800 (2012 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture and fishing: 9% construction and industry: 30% transportation and communication: 7% trade, restaurants, hotels: 22% finance: 6% other services: 25% (2007) |
| Unemployment rate: | 8% (2012 est.) 7.9% (2011 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | 8% (2006 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA% |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 39 (2006 est.) 37 (1987 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.7% (2012 est.) 6.5% (2011 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | Investment (gross fixed): 23.3% of GDP (2012 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $2.421 billion expenditures: $2.919 billion (2012 est.) |
| Public debt: | 61.8% of GDP (2012 est.) 57.1% of GDP (2011 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish |
| Industries: | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 3.3% (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 2.889 billion kWh (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 129 |
| Electricity - consumption: | 2.687 billion kWh (2009 est.) |
| Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2010 est.) |
| Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.) |
| Current account balance: | -$1.433 billion (2012 est.) -$1.164 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports: | $2.631 billion (2012 est.) $2.645 billion (2011 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish |
| Exports - partners: | UK 21.3%, France 17.8%, US 10.5%, Italy 8.1%, South Africa 7.7%, Spain 7.1%, Madagascar 6.2% (2011) |
| Imports: | $5.111 billion (2012 est.) $4.926 billion (2011 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
| Imports - partners: | India 25.2%, China 13.6%, France 9.1%, South Africa 6.9% (2011) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $2.848 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $2.779 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $5.768 billion (31 December 2012 est.) $5.489 billion (31 December 2011 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | NA |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | NA |
| Market value of publicly traded shares: | $6.54 billion (31 December 2011) $6.506 billion (31 December 2010) $4.74 billion (31 December 2009) |
| Exchange rates: | Mauritian rupees (MUR) per US dollar - 29.96 (2012 est.) 28.706 (2011 est.) 30.784 (2010 est.) 31.96 (2009) 27.973 (2008) |
| Fiscal year: | 1 July - 30 June |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Communications | |
| Telephones in use: | 374,600 (2011) country comparison to the world: 107 |
| Cellular Phones in use: | 1.294 million (2011) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: small system with good service domestic: monopoly over fixed-line services terminated in 2005; fixed-line teledensity roughly 30 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular services launched in 1989 with current teledensity roughly 100 per 100 persons international: country code - 230; landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides links to Asia and South Africa where it connects to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable that provides further links to parts of East Africa, and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries (2011) |
| Radio broadcast stations: | |
| Television broadcast stations: | |
| Internet country code: | .mu |
| Internet hosts: | 51,139 (2012) |
| Internet users: | 290,000 (2009) |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Transportation | |
| Airports: | 5 (2012) country comparison to the world: 183 |
| Airports (paved runways): | total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2012) |
| Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2012) |
| Roadways: | total: 2,066 km paved: 2,066 km (includes 75 km of expressways) (2009) |
| Merchant marine: | total: 4 by type: passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2010) |
| Ports and terminals: | Port Louis |
| ^Back to Top | |
| Military | |
| Military branches: | no regular military forces; Mauritius Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2011) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 343,628 (2010 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 280,596 females age 16-49: 283,317 (2010 est.) |
| ^Back to Top | |
«
Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Flag Counter OverviewSource: CIA - The World Factbook