Country Summary
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 December 2019); Vice President Marie Cyril Eddy Boissézon (2 December 2019) note - President Ameenah GURIB-FAKIM (since 5 June 2015), the country's first female president, resigned on 23 March 2018 amid a credit card scandal
head of government: Prime Minister Pravind JUGNAUTH (since 23 January 2017, remains PM after parliamentary election 7 Nov 2019); note - Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 17 December 2014) stepped down on 23 January 2017 in favor of his son, Pravind Kumar JUGNAUTH, who was then appointed prime minister; 7 Nov 2019 Pravind Jugnauth remains prime minister and home affairs minister and also becomes defense minister (2019)
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)
Page last updated: Thursday, May 19, 2022