Mauritius

Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Port Louis, 151,000
Monetary unit: Mauritian rupee
Languages: Creole 86.5%, Bhojpuri 5.3%, French 4.1%, two languages 1.4%, other 2.6% (includes English, the official language, which is spoken by less than 1% of the population), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
Ethnicity/race: Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%
Religions: Hindu 48.5%, Roman Catholic 26.3%, Muslim 17.3%, other Christian 6.4%, other 0.6%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)
National Holiday: Independence Day, March 12
Literacy rate: 88.8% (2011 est.)
Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $20.95 billion; per capita $ $16,100 . Real growth rate: 3.5%. Inflation: 3.5%. Unemployment: 8.3%. Arable land: 38.24%. Agriculture: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish. Labor force: 637,600; construction and industry 30%, services 25%, agriculture and fishing 9%, trade, restaurants, hotels 22%, transportation and communication 7%, finance 6% (2007). Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism. Natural resources: arable land, fish. Exports: $2.788 billion (2013 est.): clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses. Imports: $4.953 billion (2013 est.): manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals. Major trading partners: UK, Spain, France, U.S., Madagascar, South Africa, Italy, China, India (2012).
Member of Commonwealth of Nations
Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 349,100 (2012); mobile cellular: 1.485 million (2012). Broadcast media: the government maintains control over TV broadcasting through the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), which operates 3 analog and 10 digital TV stations; MBC is a shareholder in a local company that operates 2 pay-TV stations; the state retains the largest radio broadcast network with multiple stations; several private radio broadcasters have entered the market since 2001; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are available (2007). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 51,139 (2012). Internet users: 290,000 (2009).
Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 2,149 km; paved: 2,149 km (including 75 km of expressways) (2012). Ports and harbors: Port Louis. Airports: 5 (2013).
Fun Facts

• Motto: ‘Star and Key of the Indian Ocean’
• Mauritius is a volcanic island that first rose above the waves eight million years ago
• Mauritius was the only known habitat of the dodo.
• Mauritius is the only African country to have a Hindu majority
• One of our favorite interesting facts about Mauritius is that it’s home to a spectacular underwater ‘waterfall’.