Mauritius: Fact file
Updated May 2008
| Name | Republic of Mauritius |
| Area | 2 040 sq km (Frame 2008, 782) |
| Capital | Port Louis |
| Major settlements | Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, Vacoas-Phoenix, Curepipe (Commonwealth Secretariat undated) |
| Boundaries | Indian Ocean (archipelago) |
| Population | 1.2 million, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Pop growth rate | 0.7%, 2005-15 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Urbanisation | 42.4%, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Life expectancy | Female 75.8 yrs, male 69.1 yrs, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Infant mortality | 13/1000, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 1.8%, adult; 2007 est (Republic of Mauritius 2008, 5) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 80.5%, male 88.2%, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Military expenditure | 0.2% of GDP; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Health expenditure | 2.4% of GDP; 2004 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Legal system | French civil law system, elements of English common law (NationMaster undated) |
| Independence | March 12, 1968 |
| GDP | US$6.959 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP per capita | US$5 520, 2007 (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP growth rate | 4.6%, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| Main exports | Clothing, sugar, food and live animals, textiles (Frame 2008, 786) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Mauritian Rupee |
| Unemployment | 9.5%, 2005 (SADC 2007) |
| Inflation rate | 10.7%, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| External debt ratio | 10.0% of GDP, 2006 (IMF 2007) |
| 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 (Ethnologue.com undated) |
| Religion | Hindu 44.0%, Christian 32.6% (Roman Catholic 26.8%), Muslims 16.8%, Nonreligious 2.5%, Baha'i 1.9%, Chinese Folk-religions 1.3% (Religious Freedom 2001) |
References
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Mauritius", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Mauritius.php [opens new window] (accessed 24 Apr 2007).
COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT UNDATED "Country profile: Mauritius", [www] http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/YearbookHomeInternal.asp?NodeID=138782 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Apr 2007).
ETHNOLOGUE.COM UNDATED "Languages of Mauritius" [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Mauritius [opens new window] (accessed 24 Apr 2008).
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 24 Apr 2008).
IMF 2008a World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 21 Apr 2008).
IMF 2008b Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, 118, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2007/AFR/ENG/sreo0407.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 22 Apr 2008).
NATIONMASTER UNDATED "Legal system (most recent) by country", [www] http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/gov_leg_sys-government-legal-system [opens new window] (accessed 24 Apr 2008).
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2001 "Nation profile: Mauritius", [www] http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Mauritius/rbodies.html [opens new window] (accessed 24 Apr 2008).
REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS 2008 "Country Progress Report: Declaration of Commitment of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on HIV/AIDS" IN 2008 progress reports submitted by countries, UNAIDS, [www] http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/mauritius_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf [PDF document, opens in window] (accessed 5 May 2008).
SADC 2007 "Mauritius" IN Country Profiles, 160, 165, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/mauritius2007_08.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Apr 2008).
UNDP 2007/8 "Mauritius", IN Human Development Report 2007/8, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_MUS.html [opens new window] (accessed 24 Apr 2008).
