Factul fun information on Mauritius

General Information on Mauritius & Quick Overview

Portuguese navigators were the first Europeans recorded as visiting Mauritius and this was in 1505.

Mauritius was later taken by the Dutch, French, and then the British before independence was gained in 1968.

Mauritius is a stable democratic nation that holds regular free parliamentary elections and has a positive record on human rights.

Mauritius has attracted substantial foreign investment and has the highest per head of population incomes in the Africas.

Geographical Statistics & Information on Mauritius

Geographical Position: Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. Near Africa.

Map Ref Latitude & Longitude 20 degrees 15 S, 57 degrees 35 East Total Land & Sea Area Area Total: 2,050 square kilometres Sea Area 50 square kilometres land area: 2,000 square kilometres Land boundaries: 0 kilometres Coastal Length: 180 kilometres

Climatological Conditions & information on Mauritius

Tropical climate, South-east trade-winds; warm, dry winters from the month of May to the month of November; wet, moist, hot, humid summers from the month of November to the month of May.

Terrain Features

Small coastal plain; rugged jungled mountainous regions with a central plateau. Highest & Lowest Elevations: Lowest elevation: Indian Ocean at sea level
Highest elevation: Mont Piton 842 metres Country’s natural resources: arable cultivable land, fish stocks & resources, water resources

Land use

Ploughable land area: 50 percent permanent crops: 5 percent other: 45 percent (1998 estimate) Irrigated land area: 250 square kilometres (1998 estimate) Hazardous Natural phenomena: Cyclones are a regular danger particularly from the month of November to the month of April.; Mauritius is almost totally encircled by reefs.

Geographical Point of Interest

The main island is volcanic and is totally encircled by coral reefs.

People-Information on Mauritius

Population: 1,210,500 (July 2003 estimate)

Age structure: under 15 years: 25 percent 15 to 64 years: 68 percent Over 65: 7 percent Median age of population: Total: 30 years male: 29 years female: 31 years (2002) Population growth rate: 0.9 percent (2003 estimate) Birth rate: 16 births per thousand population (2003 estimate) mortality rate: 7 deaths per thousand population (2003 estimate) Net rate of migration: -0.95 migrant(s) per thousand population (2003 estimate) est.) Infant mortality rate: Total: 16 deaths per thousand live births female: 13. deaths per thousand live births (2003 estimate) male: 19 deaths per thousand live births Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72 years male: 68 years female: 76 years (2003 estimate) Total fertility rate: 2 children born/woman (2003 estimate)

Nationality

Mauritian

Ethnic groups

Indo-Mauritian 70 percent, Creole 25 percent, Sino-Mauritian 4 percent, Franco-Mauritian 1 percent

Religions

Hindu 50 percent, Christian 30 percent (Roman Catholic 26 percent, Protestant 2 percent), Muslim/Islamic faith 17 percent, other 3 percent

Languages & Linguistic Groupings

English (official), Creole, French (official), Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri Literacy: definition: People over the age of 15 years that are literate (can read & write): total population: 85 percent male: 88 percent female: 82 percent (2003 estimate)

Government information on Mauritius

Country name: Republic of Mauritius

Government type: Parliamentary democracy Capital city: Port Louis

Independence: March 12th, 1968 from United Kingdom National holiday: Independence Day: 12 March Constitution: 1968; amended 1992

Legal system: Mixture of French Civil Code and English common law.

Electoral & Voting System

Universal vote from the age of 18. Executive branch: Head of State: President
Chief of Government:Prime Minister
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the PM’s recommendation

Economy

Economy - information on Mauritius: After gaining independence in 1968, Mauritius has grown from a mainly primary industries based agricultural economy to a diversified economy with burgeoning industrial, tourism and banking and financial sectors.

Growth has been strong for much of this period.

This respectable result reflects in more balanced and equitable income distribution across the population, higeher life expectancy, reduced child mortality, and a significant improvements in infrastructure.

Sugarcane is grown on about ninety percent of the country’s active arable land area and accounts for a quarter of Mauritius’s of export revenues.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

$USD10 billion (2002 estimate) Gross Domestic Product - actual growth rate: 2 percent (2002 estimate) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - per head of population: $USD10,000 (2002 estimate) Gross Domestic Product - composition by sector: agriculture: 6 percent industry: 33 percent services: 61 percent (1999 estimate) Population below poverty line: 10 percent (2001 estimate)

Rate of inflation: 6 percent (2002 estimate) Labour force: 500,000 (1995) Labour force - by occupation: construction and industry 33 percent, service industry 22 percent, primary industries of agriculture and fisheries 16 percent; tourism and comms 25 percent, finance & banking 4 percent Rate of unemployment: 10 percent (2002 estimate)

Budget

Incomes: $USD1 billion spending : $USD1.5 billion, Industries: food processing, sugar crushing and processing & milling), textiles, apparel, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, tourism

Agriculture - products: Sugar-cane, tea, corn, root crops, fruits, vegetables, bananas, livestock, meat; fish & fish products

Exports

$USD1.5 billion Exports - commodities: clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses Exports - partners: United Kingdom 27 percent, France 25 percent, United States 16 percent, Madagascar 6 percent, Belgium 5 percent (2002)

Imports

$USD2 billion Imports - commodities: manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals Imports -most important trading partners: France 18 percent, South Africa 13 percent, India 8 percent, China 5 percent, United Kingdom 4 percent (2002)

Foreign Indebtedness

$USD2 billion (2002 estimate) National Currency: Mauritian rupee (MUR) Currency Abbreviation: MUR

Communications in Mauritius

Telephones landlines: 280,000 (2000)

Radio broadcast stations: Amplitude Modulation 5, Frequency Modulation 10, shortwave 1 (2002) Television broadcast stations: 3 (1997) Internet country code: .mu

Transportation in & travel information on Mauritius

Railroad networks: 0 kilometres Roading System: Total: 2000 kilometres Airports & airfields: 6 (2002)

Military information on Mauritius

Military branches: National Police Force

Military spending : - $USD9.700 million (Fiscal Year02) Military spending : percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 0.5 percent (Fiscal Year02)

International Issues Disputes - international: Mauritius lays claim to the Chagos Archipelago (United Kingdom-administered Indian Ocean Territory).

The former inhabitants of Chagos, mostly live in Mauritius and hold United Kingdom citizenship; Mauritius lays claim to Tromelin Island which is adminsitered by France.

You now know all the factual information on Mauritius now check out the country’s historical background

More information on Mauritius, a French-speaking nation
History of Mauritius | Flag of Mauritius | Map of Mauritius | Learn French in Mauritius |

Information on Mauritius
Source: All info sourced and adapted from CIA Factbook
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