Capital | Port Louis |
Currency | Mauritian Rupee (MUR) |
Major Ethnic Groups | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
Main Languages | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census) |
Religious Breakdown | Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census) |
Population | 1,250,882 (July 2007 est.) Growth Rate: 0.798% (2007 est.) Birth rate: 15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
HIVAIDS | Adult Prevalence rate 0.1% (2001 est.) People Living with HIV/AIDS 700 (2001 est.) Deaths Less than 100 (2001 est.) |
Labour Force | 555,000 (2006 est.) |
Labour Force by Sector | Agriculture and Fishing 14%, Construction and Industry 36%, Transportation and Communication 7%, Trade, Restaurants, Hotels 16%, Finance 3%, Other Services 24% (1995) |
Literacy: Age 15 and over that can read or write | |
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Total Population | 84.4% |
Male | 88.4% |
Female | 80.5% (2000 census) |
Government | 12 Mar1968, ammended 12 Mar 1992 |
Constitution | Parliamentary Democracy |
Legal System | Based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Chief of State | President Sir Anerood Jugnauth (since 7 October 2003); Vice President Abdool Raouf Bundhun (since 25 February 2002) |
Head of Government | Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam (since 5 July 2005) |
Elections | president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly |
Cabinet | Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister |
Prime Minister | Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam |
Banking & Office Hours | Mon – Fri (09h30–16h00) Sat (09h00–12h00) |
GDP | Purchasing Power Parity $17.02 billion (2006 est.) Real Growth Rate: 5% (2006 est.) Official Exchange Rate :$7.182 billion (2006 est.) Per Capital $13,700 (2006 est.) |
Composition By Sector | Agriculture 5.1% Industry 25.2% Services 69.7% (2006 est.) |
Electricity | Electricity Production 2.107 billion kWh (2004) Electricity Production Fossil Fuel 90.8% Hydro 9.2% Nuclear 0% Electricity Consumption 1.96 billion kWh (2004) Electricity Exports 0 kWh (2001) Electricity Imports 0 kWh (2001) |
Transportation | Highways Total: 2,020 km Paved 2,020 km (includes 75 km of expressways) Waterways None Harbours and Ports Port Louis |
Air Transport | 6 (2006) |
Exports | $2.318 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) Clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses |
Major trading partners | UK 30.6%, France 15.3%, UAE 10.6%, US 10.3%, Madagascar 7% (2006) |
Public Holidays |
Jan 01 – 02 New Year Jan 22 Chinese New Year Jan/Feb Thaipoosam Cavadee Feb 01 Abolition of Slavery Day Feb 18 Maha Shivaratri Mar 12 National Day Mar 21 Ougadi Apr 9 Good Friday May 01 Labour Day Sep 18 Ganesh Chaturi Nov 01 All Saints Day Nov 02 Arrival of Indentured Labourers Nov 12 Diwali Nov 14 –16 Eid al Fitr (End of Romadan) Dec 25 Christmas Day |
Station | Freq | Owned | Comments |
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Radio-Maurice | AM | State | French/Creole/Some Eng |
Radio-Mauritius | AM | State | Hindustani and Asian |
Kool Fm | FM | State | French/Eng(Youth Station) |
Taal Fm | FM | State | Hindustani (Pop Music) |
Radio One | FM | Private | Creole Audience |
Radio Plus | FM | Private | Becoming increasing popular |
Top Fm | FM | Private | French/Hindi/Creole |