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Mauritius

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Background :

Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch - who named it in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU - in the 17th century. The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane. The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base, and later an air station, playing an important role during World War II for anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as the collection of signals intelligence. Independence from the UK 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, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. 

Location :

Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

20 17 S, 57 33 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 56.51
North -10.32
East 63.50
South -20.53

Map references :

Other Regions 

Area :

total 2 040 square km
land 2 030 square km
water 10 square km

Coastline :

177.00 km

Climate :

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 point 0 metres
highest point 828 metres

Natural resources :

arable land fish

Land use :

arable land 49.02 %
permanent crops 2.94 %
other 48.04 %

Irrigated land :

220 square km

current issues :

water pollution, degradation of coral reefs 

international agreements :

Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Biodiversity
Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Desertification Endangered Species
Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes
Law of the Sea Marine Life Conservation
Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution
Wetlands

Population :

1 284 264 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.78 %
Birth rate 14.41 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 1.81 children born/woman
Death rate 6.59 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -0.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 22.50 %
15-64 years 70.40 %
65 years and over 7.10 %

Median age :

total 31.90 years
male 31.00 years
female 32.70 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.67 male(s)/female
total population 0.97 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 12.20 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 74.00 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 70.53 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 77.65 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 1.70 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 13 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 100

Religions :

Hindu 48.00 %
Roman Catholic 23.60 %
Muslim 16.60 %
other Christian 8.60 %
other 2.50 %
unspecified 0.30 %
none 0.40 %

Languages :

Creole 80.50 %
Bhojpuri 12.10 %
French 3.40 %
English  

Literacy :

total population 84.40 %
male 88.40 %
female 80.50 %

Country name :

conventional long form Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form Mauritius
local long form Republic of Mauritius
local short form Mauritius

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 MU
ISO Numeric 480
ISO3 MUS
FIPS MP
ccTLD mu
English Mauritius

Administrative divisions :

9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne 

Capital :

name Port Louis
geographic coordinates 20 09 S, 57 29 E
time difference 4.00

International organization participation :

ACP AOSIS
AU AfDB
C COMESA
CPLP (associate) FAO
G-77 IAEA
IBRD ICAO
ICCt ICRM
IDA IFAD
IFC IFRCS
IHO ILO
IMF IMO
IMSO IOC
IOM IPU
ISO ITSO
ITU ITUC
InOC Interpol
MIGA NAM
OIF OPCW
PCA SAARC (observer)
SADC UN
UNCTAD UNESCO
UNIDO UNWTO
UPU WCO
WFTU WHO
WIPO WMO
WTO

Independence :

1968-03-12 

National holiday :

Independence Day

1968-03-12

Executive branch :

President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 15 940 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 9 156 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 2.10 %
PPP - per capita 12 400 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 4.70 %
industry 24.90 %
services 70.50 %

Labor force - by occupation :

industry 30.00 %
services 25.00 %

Other Indicators :

Unemployment rate 7.80 %
Population below poverty line 8.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 39.00
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 3.40 %
Investment (gross fixed) 23.30 % of GDP
Current account balance - 868 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 1 428 000 000 $
Debt external 4 567 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 3 443 000 000 $
Military expenditures 0.30 % of GDP
Public debt 58.30 % of GDP

Budget :

revenues 1 857 000 000 $
expenditures 2 190 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

bananas cattle
corn fish
goats potatoes
pulses sugarcane
tea

Industries :

chemicals clothing
food processing machinery
metal products mining
sugar milling textiles
tourism transport equipment

Energy :

Electricity Production 2 321 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 2 158 000 000 kWh
Oil Consumption 23 000 bbl/day
Oil Imports 22 200 bbl/day

Value :

2 055 000 000 $

Commodities :

clothing and textiles cut flowers
fish molasses
sugar

Value :

3 552 000 000 $

Commodities :

capital equipment chemicals
foodstuffs manufactured products
petroleum products

Currency-name :

Mauritian rupee 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 364 500
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 1 032 999
FM Radio broadcast stations 9
Television broadcast stations 2
Internet Country code (ccTLD) mu
Internet Hosts 22 813
Internet Users 380 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 2
Roadways - total 2 028 km
Roadways - expressways 75 km
Roadways - paved 2 028 km

Photos

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