Country Facts - Mauritius

The People

Nationality Mauritian(s)

Ethnic Composition

Indo-Mauritian	68%
Creole	27%
Sino-Mauritian	3%
Franco-Mauritian	2%

Religious Composition

Hindu	52.0%
Roman Catholic	26.0%
Muslim	16.6%
Other	3.1%
Protestant	2.3%

Languages Spoken

English is the official language of the country. French, Creole, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, and Bojpoori are also spoken.

Education and Literacy

Education is free up to the college level but is only compulsory for six years. Attendance is virtually universal. Instruction occurs in English. Adult literacy stands at 82.9 percent. Male adult literacy is at 87.1 percent while female adult literacy is 78.8 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 514,000

By occupation:

Construction and industry	36%
Services	24%
Agriculture and fishing	14%
Trade, restaurants, hotels	16%
Transportation and communication	7%
Finance	3%

Geography

Land Mass Total

787 sq mi (2,040 sq km)
Note: Includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues.

Land

783 sq mi (2,030 sq km)

Water

3.8 sq mi (10 sq km)

Coastline

109 mi (177 km)

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

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.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Indian Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Mont Piton de la Rivière Noire 2720 ft (830 m)

Natural Resources

Arable land and fish.

Land use

Arable land	49%
Permanent crops	3%
Other	48%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards.

Environment - current issues

Water pollution, and degradation of coral reefs.

Geography Note

The main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs.

Demographics

Population

1,200,206 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	25.4%	Male: 153,810	Female: 150,464
15-64 years:	68.3%	Male: 409,028	Female: 411,070
65 years and over:	6.3%	Male: 30,170	Female: 45,664

(2002)

Growth Rate

0.86% (2002)

Life Expectancy

71.53 years (2002)
Female: 75.58 years
Male: 67.54 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$10,800 (2001)

Infant Mortality

16.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.02 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.66 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.98 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period of 1999 to 2002, annual growth has been in the order of 5 percent to 6 percent, with a spike of 7.1 percent in 2001. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90 percent of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25 percent of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on foreign investment. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector and responsible fiscal management, was well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The World Bank has also approved a Public Expenditure Reform Loan (PERL) worth US$40 million for Mauritius and offered the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for the island. Currently, the stable nature of the Mauritian economy has given its citizenry the highest per-capita income in Africa.

Unemployment

8.6% (2001)

Inflation Rate

4.2% (2001)

Industries

Food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, non-electrical machinery; tourism.

Exports

US$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$2 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$12.9 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

UK 25.8%, France 20.8%, US 16.0%, South Africa 10.9%, Germany, Italy (2000)

Top Import Partners

South Africa 20.0%, France 19.0%, India 9.0%, Hong Kong 5.2%, UK (2000)

Top Exports

Clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses.

Top Imports

Manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals.

Debt - external

US$2.3 billion (2000)

Economic aid

US$42 million (1997)

Fiscal Year:

July 1 to June 30

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	9a.m. to 4:30p.m. Slightly shorter hours over the summer.	Some offices open between 9a.m and noon on Saturday.
Retail	9a.m. to 4:30p.m. Shops may only stay open a half day on Thursday in the Central Plateau areas.	Saturday 9a.m. to 1p.m.
Banks	Monday to Thursday 9:30a.m. to 3:15p.m. Friday 9a.m. to 5p.m.	Saturday 9:15a.m. to 11:15a.m. Bank of Mauritius, though, not open Sat.
Government	9a.m. to 4p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Chinese New Year¹	February 1	January 22	February 9
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)²	February 12	February 2	January 21
Maha Shivratri³	February/March	February/March	February/March
Independence Day	March 12	March 12	March 12
Easter*¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Holi, Festival of Colors, Phagwah*²	March 18	March 18	March 18
Good Friday*³	April 18	April 9	March 25
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)**¹	May 14	May 2	April 21
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	August 5	August 4	August 2
Father Leval Day	September 9	September 9	September 9
All Saints' Day	November 1	November 1	November 1
Diwali (Deepavali)**²	October 26	November	November
Start of Ramadan**³	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*	November 26	November 14	November 3
Christmas Day**	December 25	December 25	December 25

¹	Celebrations denoting the beginning of the New Year based on the exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and phases of the moon according the the Chinese calendar. Holidays can last up to five days.
²	Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
³	Hindu festival commemorating the night Lord Shiva danced his celestial dance. The festival of Maha Shivratri falls on the 13th (or 14th) day of the month of Phalguna (February--March) of the Indian calendar.
*¹	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
*²	Holi, Festival of Colors,and Hindu spring festival dedicated to the god of pleasure. Based on the Indian Lunar Calendar, the fesitval is celebrated with lots of color, and happy spirits. Phagwah, a joyous Hindu festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil, is also celebrated at this time, and crowds squirt each other with watercolors representing, love, peace, and brotherhood.
*³	Christian observation of the anniversary of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Occurs two days before Easter.
**¹	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
**²	Diwali, (Divali, or Deepavali), the Festival of Lights. Brought to Guyana by indentured servants from India, in 1853, Diwali is the celebration of light versus dark. Participants rejoice over the fabled the rescue of Lakshmi, Goddess of Light, from the demon, King Bali; and the return of Lord Rama from exile. Diwali is celebrated on the darkest night of the month of Kartic according to the Hindu calendar, falling somewhere in October or November.
**³	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for 3 days.
**	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press