Mauritius

Location

• Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, about 800 km (500 mi) east of Madagascar
• the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs; former home of the extinct dodo, a large flightless bird related to pigeons

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Port Louis	155,226	Capital
Vacoas	115,289
Beau Bassin-Rose Hill	111,355
Curepipe	78,618
Quatre Bornes	77,308
Triolet	24,361
Goodlands	21,063
Bel Air Rivière Sèche	18,036
Bambous	17,818
Centre de Flacq	17,710

Size

• 788 square miles
• 2,040 square kilometers
• almost 11 times the size of Washington, D.C.

History

Although known to Arab and European sailors since at least the early 1500s, the island of Mauritius was uninhabited until 1638 when the Dutch established a settlement named in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU. Their presence led to the rapid disappearance of the flightless dodo bird that has since become one of the most well-known examples of extinction in modern times. The Dutch abandoned their financially distressed settlement in 1710, although a number of formerly enslaved people remained. In 1722, the French established what would become a highly profitable settlement focused on sugar cane plantations that were reliant on the labor of enslaved people brought to Mauritius from other parts of Africa. In the 1790s, the island had a brief period of autonomous rule when plantation owners rejected French control because of laws ending slavery that were temporarily in effect during the French Revolution. Britain captured the island in 1810 as part of the Napoleonic Wars but kept most of the French administrative structure, which remains to this day in the form of the country’s legal codes and widespread use of the French Creole language. The abolition of slavery in 1835 -- later than most other British colonies -- led to increased reliance on contracted laborers from the Indian subcontinent to work on plantations. Today their descendants form the majority of the population. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base and later an air station, and it played a role during World War II in anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as in the collection of signals intelligence. Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968 as a Parliamentary Republic and has remained a stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record. The country also attracted considerable foreign investment and now has one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Mauritius’ often-fractious coalition politics has been dominated by two prominent families, each of which has had father-son pairs who have been prime minister over multiple, often nonconsecutive, terms. Seewoosagur RAMGOOLAM (1968-76) was Mauritius’ first prime minister, and he was succeeded by Anerood JUGNAUTH (1982-95, 2000-03, 2014-17); his son Navin RAMGOOLAM (1995-2000, 2005-14); and Paul Raymond BERENGER (2003-05), the only non-Hindu prime minister of post-independence Mauritius. In 2017, Pravind JUGNAUTH became prime minister after his father stepped down short of completing his term, and he was elected in his own right in 2019. Mauritius claims the French island of Tromelin and the British Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory). Since 2017, Mauritius has secured favorable UN General Assembly resolutions and an International Court of Justice advisory opinion relating to its sovereignty dispute with the UK.

Climate

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

Terrain

small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau

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.)

Government

parliamentary republic

• Constitution: history: several previous; latest adopted 12 March 1968amendment process: proposed by the National Assembly; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles, including the sovereignty of the state, fundamental rights and freedoms, citizenship, or the branches of government, requires approval in a referendum by at least three-fourths majority of voters followed by a unanimous vote by the Assembly; passage of other amendments requires only two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal System: civil system based on French civil law with some elements of English common law
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President Dharam GOKHOOL (since 7 December 2024)head of government: Prime Minister Navin RAMGOOLAM (since 13 November 2024)cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers (Council of Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime ministerelection/appointment process: president and vice president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for 5-year renewable terms; the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister who have the majority support in the National Assemblymost recent election date: 7 November 2019election results: 2019: Prithvirajsing ROOPUN (MSM) elected president by the National Assembly - unanimous vote2015: Ameenah GURIB-FAKIM (independent) elected president by the National Assembly - unanimous voteexpected date of next election: 2024
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court of Mauritius (consists of the chief justice, a senior puisne judge, and 24 puisne judges)judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister; senior puisne judge appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice; other puisne judges appointed by the president with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Commission, a 4-member body of judicial officials including the chief justice; all judges serve until retirement at age 67subordinate courts: lower regional courts known as District Courts, Court of Civil Appeal; Court of Criminal Appeal; Public Bodies Appeal Tribunalnote: the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) serves as the final court of appeal
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: National Assembly - Assemblée nationalelegislative structure: unicameralchamber name: National Assemblynumber of seats: 67 (62 directly elected; 4 appointed)electoral system: plurality/majorityscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 5 yearsmost recent election date: 11/10/2024parties elected and seats per party: Alliance Du Changement (Alliance for Change, AdC) (60); Other (2)percentage of women in chamber: 17.9%expected date of next election: October 2029

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• 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
• Budget: revenues: $3.801 billion (2024 est.)expenditures: $5.042 billion (2024 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: arable land, fish
• Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism
• Agricultural Products: sugarcane, chicken, pumpkins/squash, tomatoes, eggs, potatoes, cabbages, bananas, onions, cucumbers/gherkins (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 43.1% (2022 est.)arable land: 37.6% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 2% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 3.5% (2022 est.)forest: 19.5% (2022 est.)other: 37.5% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: refined petroleum, cars, fish, coal, packaged medicine (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: China 15%, UAE 11%, India 10%, South Africa 9%, France 6% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: fish, garments, raw sugar, fertilizers, diamonds (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: USA 11%, France 11%, Zimbabwe 10%, South Africa 7%, Zambia 7% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports