Mauritius
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Background |
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Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505,
Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French,
and British before independence was attained in 1968. A
stable democracy with regular free elections and a
positive human rights record, the country has attracted
considerable foreign investment and has earned one of
Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather
and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth,
leading to some protests over standards of living in the
Creole community. |
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People |
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Population: |
1,220,481 |
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Age Structure: |
0-14 years:
24.8% (male 152,424; female 149,908)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 418,836; female 420,411)
65 years and over: 6.5% (male 31,104; female
47,798) |
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Median Age: |
total:
30.1 years
male: 29.3 years
female: 31.1 years |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% |
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
700 |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
less than 100 |
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Nationality: |
noun:
Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
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Ethnic Groups: |
Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%,
Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
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Religions: |
Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman
Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1%
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Languages: |
English (official), Creole, French
(official), Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri |
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Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.6%
male: 88.6%
female: 82.7% |
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Communications |
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Telephone - main lines in use: |
348,200 |
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Telephone - mobile/cellular: |
462,400 |
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Telephone System: |
general assessment:
small system with good service
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay trunk
system
international: country code - 230; satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave
link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several
countries; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE)
provides connectivity to Europe and Asia. |
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Radio Broadcast Stations: |
AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 |
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Television Broadcast Stations: |
2 (plus several repeaters) |
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Internet Country Code: |
.mu |
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Internet Hosts: |
3,985 |
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Internet Users: |
150,000 |
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Economy |
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Economy - Overview: |
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, annual growth has been in the order
of 5% to 6%. 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% of the cultivated land area and accounts for
25% of export earnings. The government's development
strategy centers on expanding local financial
institutions and building a domestic information
telecommunications industry. 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, has been well poised to
take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act
(AGOA). |
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GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $13.85 billion
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GDP - Real growth rate: |
4.1% |
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GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $11,400
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture:
6.1%
industry: 30.3%
services: 63.6% |
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Investment - gross fixed: |
22.9% of GDP |
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Population below the poverty line: |
10% |
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Inflation Rate: |
4.2% |
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Labor Force: |
560,000 |
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Labor Force by Occupation: |
agriculture and fishing 14%, construction
and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%,
trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other
services 24% |
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Unemployment Rate: |
9.8% |
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Budget: |
revenues:
$1.122 billion
expenditures: $1.461 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA |
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Public Debt: |
31.9% of GDP |
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Agriculture - products: |
sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas,
pulses; cattle, goats; fish |
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Industries: |
food processing (largely sugar milling),
textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport
equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism
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Industrial Production Growth Rate: |
8% |
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Exports: |
$1.965 billion f.o.b. |
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Exports - commodities: |
clothing and textiles, sugar, cut
flowers, molasses |
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Exports - Partners: |
UK 31%, France 21.3%, US 17.6%,
Madagascar 6.3% |
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Imports: |
$2.136 billion f.o.b. |
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Imports - commodities: |
Manufactured goods, capital equipment,
foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
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Imports - Partners: |
South Africa 12.1%, France 12%, China
8.4%, India 8.2% |
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Reserves of Foreign Exchange & Gold: |
$1.598 billion |
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Debt - External: |
$1.75 billion |
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Economic Aid Recipient: |
$42 million |
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Currency: |
Mauritian rupee (MUR) |
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Currency Code: |
MUR |
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Exchange Rates: |
Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.9015
(2003), 29.962 (2002), 29.1293 (2001), 26.2496 (2000),
25.1858 (1999) |
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Fiscal Year: |
1 July - 30 June |
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