MAURITIUS – Country Information

Population:
Mauritius has a population of 1,379,365 as of 2020.

Size:
1,937 sq km / 748 sq mi (smaller than Rhode Island)

Capital City:
Port Louis, the capital, is also home to a major port in the western Indian Ocean.

Ethnic Groups:
67% Indo-Pakistani
27.4% Creole
3% Chinese
2.6% Other

Religion:
48.5% Hindu
26.3% Roman Catholic
17.3% Muslim
6.4% Christian
1.5% Other / Non-religious

Languages:
English (official)
Creole (common)
French

English is spoken by a small percentage of population, with 86.5% of the population speaking Creole. Bhojpuri, an Indo-Aryan language, is spoken by 5.8% of the population.

Geography:
Of volcanic origin, Mauritius is almost entirely surrounded by coral reef and is located in the Indian Ocean, about 500 miles east of Madagascar. Mauritius also includes Rodrigues Island.

Economy:
Mauritius has undergone a remarkable economic transformation from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a diversified, upper middle-income economy, advancing in industry, the finance, and tourism.

Interesting Fact:
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean with 600 species of plant life in its forests.

Important Facts:
Mauritius was uninhabited until the early 1600’s. In 1767, the French took authority and brought slaves to establish a sugar industry on the island, and the colony prospered. In the 19th century the island was taken by the British. On March 12, 1968 Mauritius became an independent nation.