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Background:
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 Discovered
by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by
the Dutch, French, and British before independence 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. Recent poor weather
and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth,
leading to some protests over standards of living in the
Creole community. |
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Location:
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Southern Africa,
island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
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Geographic coordinates:
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20 17 S, 57 33 E |
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Map references:
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Political
Map of the World |
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Area:
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total:
2,040 sq km
note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals
(Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues
water: 10 sq km
land: 2,030 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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almost 11 times
the size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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177 km |
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Climate:
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tropical,
modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to
November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) |
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Terrain:
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small coastal
plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central
plateau |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
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Natural resources:
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arable land, fish |
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Land use:
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arable land:
49.26%
permanent crops: 2.96%
other: 47.78% (2000 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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200 sq km (2000
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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cyclones
(November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs
that may pose maritime hazards |
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Environment - current issues:
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water pollution,
degradation of coral reefs |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
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 |
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Geography - note:
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the main island,
from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin
and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs |
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Population:
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1,220,481 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
24.8% (male 152,424; female 149,908)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 418,836; female 420,411)
65 years and over: 6.5% (male 31,104; female 47,798)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
30.1 years
male: 29.3 years
female: 31.1 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.81% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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15.85
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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6.82 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-0.9 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.02 male(s)/fmale
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
15.57 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 18.36 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 72.09 years
male: 68.11 years
female: 76.13 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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0.1% (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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700 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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less than 100
(2001 est.) |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Indo-Mauritian
68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
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Religions:
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Hindu 52%,
Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim
16.6%, other 3.1% |
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Languages:
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English
(official), Creole, French (official), Hindi, Urdu, Hakka,
Bhojpuri |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.6%
male: 88.6%
female: 82.7% (2003 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius |
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Government type:
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parliamentary
democracy |
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Capital:
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Port Louis |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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12 March 1968
(from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
12 March (1968) |
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Constitution:
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12 March 1968;
amended 12 March 1992 |
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Legal system:
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based on French
civil law system with elements of English common law in
certain areas |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October
2003) and Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25
February 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since
30 September 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the
president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections: president and vice president elected by the
National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 25
February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister and
deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible
to the National Assembly
election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and
Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the
National Assembly - NA%; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on
30 September 2003 |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral
National Assembly (66 seats; 62 elected by popular vote, 4
appointed by the election commission from the losing political
parties to give representation to various ethnic minorities;
members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 September 2000 (next to be
held NA September 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - MSM/MMM
52.3%, MLP/PMSD 36.9%, OPR 10.8%; seats by party - MSM/MMM 54,
MLP/PMSD 6, OPR 2 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Hizbullah [Cehl
Mohamed FAKEEMEEAH]; Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra
RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER]
- in coalition with MSM; Mauritian Social Democrat Party or
PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement
or MSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH] - governing party; Rodrigues
Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues
Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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various labor
unions |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH
FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983
telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492
chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441,
Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador John PRICE
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, Department
of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450
telephone: [230] 202-4400
FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
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Economy - overview:
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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 the period, annual growth has
been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has
been reflected in more equitable income distribution,
increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a
much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90%
of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export
earnings. The government's development strategy centers on
expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic
information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has
attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at
commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the
banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius,
with its strong textile sector and responsible fiscal
management, has been well poised to take advantage of the
Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $13.85 billion (2003 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.1% (2003 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $11,400 (2003 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
6%
industry: 33%
services: 61% (1999 est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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10% (2001 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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6.4% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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514,000 (1995) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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construction and
industry 36%, services 24%, agriculture and fishing 14%,
trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, transportation and
communication 7%, finance 3% (1995) |
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Unemployment rate:
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8.8% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$1.1 billion
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
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Industries:
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food processing
(largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal
products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery;
tourism |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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8% (2000 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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1.311 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
90.8%
hydro: 9.2%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.219 billion kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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21,000 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sugarcane, tea,
corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish |
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Exports:
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$1.965 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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clothing and
textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses |
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Exports - partners:
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UK 30.5%, France
20.3%, US 20.2%, Madagascar 4% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$2.136 billion
f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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manufactured
goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products,
chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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South Africa
12.6%, France 11%, China 8.5%, India 7.3%, Australia 4% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$2.4 billion
(2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$42 million
(1997) |
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Currency:
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Mauritian rupee (MUR) |
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Currency code:
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MUR |
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Exchange rates:
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Mauritian rupees
per US dollar - 27.9 (2003), 29.96 (2002), 29.13 (2001), 26.25
(2000), 25.19 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 July - 30 June |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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327,200 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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350,000 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: small system with good service
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay trunk system
international: country code - 230; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to
Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries; fiber
optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity
to Europe and Asia |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 4, FM 9,
shortwave 0 (2002) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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2 (plus several
repeaters) (1997) |
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Internet country code:
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.mu |
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Internet hosts:
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3,462 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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120,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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0 km |
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Highways:
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total:
1,926 km
paved: 1,868 km (including 44 km of expressways)
unpaved: 58 km (2000) |
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Waterways:
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none |
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Ports and harbors:
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Port Louis |
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Merchant marine:
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total: 8
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 22,946 GRT/27,102 DWT
by type: cargo 1, combination bulk 4, passenger/cargo
1, refrigerated cargo 2
foreign-owned: Belgium 1, India 4, Switzerland 2 (2003
est.) |
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Airports:
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5 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways:
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total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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National Police
Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF
and National Coast Guard) |
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Military manpower - availability:
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males age
15-49: 342,482 (2004 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service:
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males age
15-49: 172,157 (2004 est.) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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$11.2 million
(2003) |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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0.2% (2003) |
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Disputes - international:
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Mauritius claims
the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean
Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in
Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship and the right to
repatriation in 2001; claims French-administered Tromelin
Island |
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Illicit drugs:
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minor consumer
and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small
amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant
offshore financial industry creates potential for money
laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the
government appears generally to be committed to regulating its
banking industry |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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