Mauritius

Country Summary

2022 population pyramid

Introduction

Background

The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing Indian Ocean trade. The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base. 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.

Geography

Area

total: 2,040 sq km

land: 2,030 sq km

water: 10 sq km

Climate

tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)

Natural resources

arable land, fish

People and Society

Population

1,308,222 (2022 est.)

Ethnic groups

Indo-Mauritian (compose approximately two thirds of the total population), Creole, Sino-Mauritian, Franco-Mauritian

Languages

Creole 86.5%, Bhojpuri 5.3%, French 4.1%, two languages 1.4%, other 2.6% (includes English, one of the two official languages of the National Assembly, which is spoken by less than 1% of the population), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)

Religions

Hindu 48.5%, Roman Catholic 26.3%, Muslim 17.3%, other Christian 6.4%, other 0.6%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)

Population growth rate

0.1% (2022 est.)

Government

Government type

parliamentary republic

Capital

name: Port Louis

Executive branch

chief of state: President Pritivirajsing ROOPUN (since 2 December 2019); Vice President Marie Cyril EDDY Boissézon (since 2 December 2019); note - President Ameenah GURIB-FAKIM, the country's first female president, resigned on 23 March 2018 amid a credit card scandal; Acting Presidents served from March 2018 until ROOPUN's appointment in 2019

head of government: Prime Minister Pravind JUGNAUTH (since 23 January 2017); note - Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH stepped down on 23 January 2017 in favor of his son, Pravind Kumar JUGNAUTH, who was then appointed prime minister; following 7 November 2019 parliamentary elections, Pravind JUGNAUTH remained prime minister and home affairs minister and also became defense minister

Legislative branch

description: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (70 seats maximum; 62 members directly elected multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and up to 8 seats allocated to non-elected party candidates by the Office of Electoral Commissioner; members serve a 5-year term)

Economy

Economic overview

upper middle-income Indian Ocean island economy; diversified portfolio; investing in maritime security; strong tourism sector decimated by COVID-19; expanding in information and financial services; environmentally fragile

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$24.64 billion (2020 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$19,500 (2020 est.)

Agricultural products

sugar cane, poultry, pumpkins, gourds, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, pineapples, bananas, fruit

Industries

food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism

Exports

$5.17 billion (2019 est.)

Exports - partners

France 10%, South Africa 10%, United States 10%, United Kingdom 8%, Zambia 7%, Madagascar 6% (2019)

Exports - commodities

fish products, raw sugar, clothing and apparel, diamonds, refined petroleum (2019)

Imports

$7.41 billion (2019 est.)

Imports - partners

China 15%, India 13%, France 10%, South Africa 8%, United Arab Emirates 7% (2019)

Imports - commodities

refined petroleum, cars, fish products, aircraft, packaged medicines (2019)

Exchange rates

Mauritian rupees (MUR) per US dollar -


Page last updated: Tuesday, August 02, 2022