Mauritius: Fact file
Updated November 2010
| Name | Republic of Mauritius |
| Area | 2 040 sq km |
| Capital | Port Louis |
| Major settlements | Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, Vacoas-Phoenix, Curepipe (Commonwealth Secretariat undated) |
| Boundaries | Indian Ocean (archipelago) |
| Population | 1.297 million, 2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009a) |
| Natural pop growth | 0.70%, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009b) |
| Urbanisation | 42.3%, 2007 est (UN Statistics Division undated) |
| Life expectancy | Female 75.8 yrs, male 68.5 yrs; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009c, 2009d) |
| Infant mortality | 15/1000, 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2009e) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 1.7%, 15-49 yr 2007 est (UN Statistics Division 2009f) |
| Adult literacy rate | 87%; 2003-2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| Military expenditure | 0.2% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Health expenditure | 3.9% of GDP; 2006 (UN Statistics Division 2010f) |
| Legal system | French civil law system, elements of English common law (NationMaster undated) |
| Independence | March 12, 1968 from UK |
| GDP | US$8.651 billion, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010c) |
| GDP per capita | US$7.450, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2009g) |
| GDP growth rate | 5.3%, 2008 est (UN Statistics Division 2010d) |
| Main exports | Clothing, sugar, food and live animals, textiles (Frame 2008, 786) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Mauritian Rupee |
| Unemployment | 7.4%, 2009 (AFDB/OECD 2010) |
| Inflation rate | 7.6%, 2008 (UN Statistics Division 2010e) |
| External debt ratio | 7.8% of GDP, 2009 (IMF 2010, 95) |
| Roads | 2 020 km, 98% tarred; 592 km secondary, 950 km main, 75 km motorway; 2005 (Frame 2008, 779) |
| Rail | None (Frame 2008, 794) |
| Airports | 2; Port Louis and Rodrigues Island (Avigation Networks Undated) |
| Ethnic groups | Indo-Mauritians, General population, (mixed European and African), Muslims and Sino-Mauritians (Government of Mauritius undated) |
| Languages | Official English, national French, others Morisyen (Creole French), Bhojpuri, Urdu, Tamil, other Indian and Chinese languages (Lewis 2009) |
| Religion | Hindu 50%, Christian 32% (of which 73% are Roman Catholic), Muslims 17% (US Department of State 2010) |
References
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AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Mauritius", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Mauritius.php [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
BIZIMANA, S 2007 "The Burundi Legal System and Research" IN GlobaLex, Hauser School of Law Programme, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Burundi.htm [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT UNDATED "Country profile: Mauritius", [www] http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/YearbookHomeInternal.asp?NodeID=138782 [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
GOVERNMENT OF MAURITIUS UNDATED "Mauritius in figures", [www] http://www.gov.mu/portal/sites/ncb/cso/mif04/mif04.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
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LEWIS, M P (ed) 2009 "Languages of Mauritius" IN Ethnologue: Languages of the World, sixteenth edition, [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=MU [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
NATIONMASTER UNDATED "Legal system (most recent) by country", [www] http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/gov_leg_sys-government-legal-system [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
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UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Adult literacy rate" IN UNdata, 14 Ju, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Adult+literacy&d=SOWC&f=inID%3a74 [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Military expenditure" IN UNdata, 12 Feb, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
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UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010f "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, 19 Nov, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=health+expenditure&d=WHO&f=MEASURE_CODE%3aWHS7_143 [opens new window] (accessed 23 Nov 2010).
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