Mauritius Facts and Figures. BASIC FACTS Official name Capital Area Republic of Mauritius Port Louis 2,040 sq km 788 sq mi PEOPLE Population 1,260,781 (2008 estimate) Population growth Population growth rate 0.78 percent (2008 estimate) Projected population in 2025 1,406,809 (2025 estimate) Projected population in 2050 1,451,156 (2050 estimate) Population density 621 persons per sq km (2008 estimate) 1,609 persons per sq mi (2008 estimate) Urban/rural distribution Share urban 44 percent (2005 estimate) Share rural 56 percent (2005 estimate) Largest cities, with population Port Louis 143,000 (2003 estimate) Beau Bassin 103,872 (2000) Vacoas 100,066 (2000) Curepipe 78,920 (2000) Quatre Bornes 75,884 (2000) Ethnic groups Indian Mauritian 68 percent Creole 27 percent Chinese Mauritian 3 percent French Mauritian 2 percent Languages English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri, other Religious affiliations Hindu 44 percent Christian 32 percent Muslim 17 percent Nonreligious 3 percent Baha'i 2 percent O ther 2 percent HEALTH AND EDUCATION Life expectancy Total 73.1 years (2008 estimate) Female 77.2 years (2008 estimate) Male 69.2 years (2008 estimate) Infant mortality rate 14 deaths per 1,000 live births (2008 estimate) Population per physician 946 people (2004) Population per hospital bed 325 people (1994) Literacy rate Total 86.4 percent (2005 estimate) Female 83.8 percent (2005 estimate) Male 89.1 percent (2005 estimate) Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) Number of years of compulsory schooling Number of students per teacher, primary school 4.7 percent (2002-2003) 6 years (2001-2002) 25 students per teacher (2002-2003) GOVERNMENT Form of government Parliamentary democracy Voting qualifications Universal at age 18 Constitution Armed forces Total number of military personnel Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 1,800 (1997) 0.2 percent (2003) ECONOMY Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) GDP per capita (U.S.$) GDP by economic sector Agriculture, forestry, fishing $6.3 billion (2006) $5,063.40 (2006) 5.6 percent (2006) I ndustry 26.9 percent (2006) Services 67.6 percent (2006) Employment Number of workers 577,210 (2006) Workforce share of economic sector Agriculture, forestry, fishing 10 percent (2005) I ndustry 32 percent (2005) Services 57 percent (2005) Unemployment rate 8.5 percent (2004) National budget (U.S.$) Total revenue Total expenditure $1,333 million (2006) $1.4 billion (2006) Monetary unit 1 Mauritian rupee (MauR), consisting of 100 cents Major trade partners for exports United Kingdom, France, United States, Madagascar, and Italy Major trade partners for imports South Africa, France, India, China, and Germany ENERGY, COMMUNICATIONS, AND TRANSPORTATION Electricity production Electricity from thermal sources Electricity from hydroelectric sources 93.97 percent (2003 estimate) 6.03 percent (2003 estimate) Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2003 estimate) Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2003 estimate) Number of radios per 1,000 people 376 (2000 estimate) Number of telephones per 1,000 people 289 (2005) Number of televisions per 1,000 people 268 (2000 estimate) Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 33 (2003) Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 119 (2000) Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 130 (2004) Paved road as a share of total roads 100 percent (2004) SOURCES Basic Facts and People sections Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org). Health and Education section Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Government section Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance. Economy section Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of individual countries, latest Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. Energy, Communication, and Transportation section Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Note Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
