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Reference

Mauritius Facts and Figures from Encarta
Basic Facts
Official name Republic of Mauritius
Capital Port Louis
Area 2,040 sq km
788 sq mi
Mauritius
People
Population 1,210,447 (2003 estimate)
Population growth
Population growth rate 0.84 percent (2003 estimate)
Projected population in 2025 1,406,809 (2025 estimate)
Projected population in 2050 1,451,156 (2050 estimate)
Population density 593 persons per sq km (2003 estimate)
1,537 persons per sq mi (2003 estimate)
Urban/rural distribution
Share urban 42 percent (2001 estimate)
Share rural 58 percent (2001 estimate)
Largest cities, with population
Port Louis 147,131 (1998 estimate)
Beau Bassin 100,616 (1998 estimate)
Vacoas 98,464 (1998 estimate)
Curepipe 79,614 (1998 estimate)
Quatre Bornes 76,798 (1998 estimate)
Ethnic groups
Indian Mauritian 68 percent
Creole 27 percent
Chinese Mauritian 3 percent
French Mauritian 2 percent
Languages
English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri, other
Religious affiliations
Hindu 44 percent
Christian 32 percent
Muslim 17 percent
Nonreligious 3 percent
Baha'i 2 percent
Other 2 percent
Health and Education
Life expectancy
Total 71.8 years (2003 estimate)
Female 75.8 years (2003 estimate)
Male 67.8 years (2003 estimate)
Infant mortality rate 16 deaths per 1,000 live births (2003 estimate)
Population per physician 1,176 people (1995)
Population per hospital bed 325 people (1994)
Literacy rate
Total 85.6 percent (2003 estimate)
Female 82.7 percent (2003 estimate)
Male 88.6 percent (2003 estimate)
Education expenditure as a share of gross national product (GNP) 3.5 percent (1999-2000)
Number of years of compulsory schooling 6 years (2000)
Number of students per teacher, primary school 26 students per teacher (1999-2000)
Government
Form of government Parliamentary democracy
Voting qualifications Universal at age 18
Constitution 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992
Armed forces
Total number of military personnel 1,800 (1997)
Military expenditures as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) 0.2 percent (2001)
Economy
Gross domestic product (GDP, in U.S.$) $4.5 billion (2001)
GDP per capita (U.S.$) $3,750 (2001)
GDP by economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 6.3 percent (2001)
Industry 31.2 percent (2001)
Services 62.5 percent (2001)
Employment
Number of workers 519,000 (2001)
Workforce share of economic sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing 15 percent (1995)
Industry 40 percent (1995)
Services 46 percent (1995)
Unemployment rate 9.8 percent (1997)
National budget (U.S.$)
Total revenue $956 million (2000)
Total expenditure $1 billion (2000)
Monetary unit
1 Mauritian rupee (MauR), consisting of 100 cents
Major trade partners for exports
United Kingdom, France, United States, Madagascar, and Italy
Major trade partners for imports
South Africa, France, India, China, and United Kingdom
Energy, Communications, and Transportation
Electricity production
Electricity from thermal sources 90.83 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from hydroelectric sources 9.17 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from nuclear sources 0 percent (2001 estimate)
Electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources 0 percent (2001 estimate)
Number of radios per 1,000 people 376 (2000 estimate)
Number of telephones per 1,000 people 257 (2001)
Number of televisions per 1,000 people 268 (2000 estimate)
Number of Internet hosts per 10,000 people 26 (2001)
Daily newspaper circulation per 1,000 people 119 (2000)
Number of motor vehicles per 1,000 people 98 (1999)
Paved road as a share of total roads 97 percent (2000)
Sources
Basic Facts and People sections
Area data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population growth rate, and population projections are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics International (www.sil.org).
Health and Education section
Life expectancy and infant mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org).
Government section
Government, independence, legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The armed forces data is from Military Balance.
Economy section
Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications.
Energy, Communication, and Transportation section
Electricity information is from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org).
Note
Figures may not total 100 percent due to rounding.