Contents

Country Overview

Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the southwestern Indian Ocean, conventionally classified within Eastern Africa. Its capital is Port Louis, and the republic includes the main island of Mauritius, autonomous Rodrigues and smaller outer islands. Independence from the United Kingdom came on March 12, 1968; the country became a republic on March 12, 1992. Its economy combines tourism, finance, trade, manufacturing and agricultural activities. Mauritius is a parliamentary republic led by Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, with Dharambeer Gokhool as President. The Chagos Archipelago remains a significant territorial and diplomatic question: although Mauritius and the United Kingdom signed a treaty in May 2025, the agreement had not entered into force by the October 2026 official status update. [9] [16] [2] [12] [11] [22] [23]

Reference status: Contemporary edition • Verified: November 5, 2026 • Statistics retain their underlying reference years. Territorial agreements are described by their actual legal status.

CapitalPort LouisNorthwestern Mauritius
Population1.242 millionYear-end 2025, Statistics Mauritius [1]
Total area2,040 km²Common geographic measure [16]
Nominal GDPUS$16.16 billion2025, World Bank [2]
GDP per capitaUS$12,9912025, current US dollars [2]
CurrencyMauritian rupeeMUR (Rs)

Statistical comparability: Statistics Mauritius reports 1,241,856 residents at the end of 2025; the World Bank publishes an annual 2025 population estimate of 1,243,741. The export totals reported in Mauritian rupees by Statistics Mauritius include some categories and coverage definitions that are not interchangeable with the WTO/UN Comtrade dollar-denominated merchandise series. [1] [2] [5] [6]

Identity and State Formation

Official name
Republic of Mauritius.
Common name
Mauritius; Maurice in French.
Demonym
Mauritian.
Capital
Port Louis, on the northwestern coast of the main island. [16]
Major urban centers
Port Louis, Beau Bassin–Rose Hill, Vacoas–Phoenix, Curepipe and Quatre Bornes; rankings depend on municipal versus built-up-area boundaries.
Continent / UN M49 subregion
Africa / Eastern Africa; an island state in the southwestern Indian Ocean. [17]
Independence
March 12, 1968, from the United Kingdom. [9] [10]
Original independence status
Sovereign Commonwealth realm with a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, 1968–1992. [9] [10]
Republic proclaimed
March 12, 1992; the first President was Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo. [9]
National day
March 12, observed as Independence and Republic Day. [9]
Constitutional foundation
The 1968 Constitution, amended subsequently, including the transition to republican status in 1992. [10] [9]
Early history
The islands had no established permanent Indigenous population before European settlement; sailors from different maritime traditions knew of the region before colonization. [25]
Dutch settlement
Dutch colonization began in the seventeenth century; the island was named for Maurice of Nassau. [25]
French period
French control began in 1715; the island became known as Île de France. Enslaved labor was central to plantation development. [25] [9]
British period
British forces captured the island in 1810; British rule preceded the transition to independence. [25] [9]
Labor migration history
After British abolition of slavery, indentured workers, many from the Indian subcontinent, became integral to the sugar economy and modern population. [9] [21]
1967 constitutional milestone
The August 1967 legislative election was followed by a resolution requesting independence. [10]
National flag
Four horizontal stripes: red, blue, yellow and green. [25]
ISO 3166-1 codes
MU (alpha-2); MUS (alpha-3); 480 (numeric). [17]
Country-code top-level domain
.mu.
International dialing code
+230.
Time standard
Mauritius Time (MUT), UTC+4; no seasonal daylight-saving adjustment.

Founding-date convention: March 12, 1968 marks sovereignty from Britain, while March 12, 1992 marks the transition from a Commonwealth realm to the present republic. They should not be treated as interchangeable events. [9] [10]

Geography and Population

Total area
Approximately 2,040 km² (788 sq. mi.), for the commonly reported territory; Chagos is excluded from the administered-area total. [16] [25]
Reported land area
2,007 km² used by Statistics Mauritius for its 2022 population-density calculation; differs from the commonly cited 2,040 km² country-area measure because datasets use different geographic definitions. [4] [16]
Main island
Mauritius, the largest island, with Port Louis as capital; volcanic in origin and fringed by reefs. [25]
Other administered islands
Rodrigues, Agaléga, and the Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), alongside smaller islets. [19] [25]
Rodrigues
Autonomous outer island approximately 560 km east of Mauritius, with its own Regional Assembly. [19] [26]
Agaléga
Small inhabited outer islands to the north of the main island; included in population and territorial administration. [1]
Geographic position
Southwestern Indian Ocean east of Madagascar and northeast of Réunion; no land borders. [16] [25]
Physical landscape
Volcanic plateaus, uplands, basaltic terrain, river valleys, low coastal plains, and coral-fringed lagoons. [16]
Climate
Tropical maritime, with a warmer, wetter summer and cooler, drier winter; influenced by southeast trade winds. [16]
Natural hazards
Tropical cyclones, intense rainfall, flash floods, storm surges, coastal erosion and sea-level rise are important risks.
2025 year-end population
1,241,856 residents of the Republic of Mauritius (December 31, 2025, Statistics Mauritius). [1]
World Bank 2025 population
1,243,741 (World Bank annual estimate); not identical to the national year-end series. [2]
2022 census population
1,235,260 residents, national population census. [3]
2025 population on Mauritius island
1,196,729 (December 31, 2025). [1]
2025 population on Rodrigues
44,797 (December 31, 2025). [1]
2025 population of other islands
330 (December 31, 2025). [1]
2025 national population change
Decrease of 2,621 from end-2024, or approximately 0.21%. [1]
Approximate density
About 619 persons per km² of the census-defined land area, calculated from the 2025 national year-end total and the 2,007 km² area used by Statistics Mauritius in its 2022 census report; a derived cross-year value, not an official published 2025 density. [1] [4]
Population by sex
613,847 males and 628,009 females at end-2025. [1]
Median age
38 years in the 2022 population census. [3]
2025 live births
13,250 registered births. [1]
2025 infant mortality rate
11.6 per 1,000 live births. [1]
Major environmental settings
Coral reefs, lagoons, beaches, wetlands, upland forest remnants, agricultural land and coastal urban settlements.
Major population centers and localities
Port Louis, Rose Hill, Curepipe, Quatre Bornes, Vacoas, Mahébourg, Grand Baie and Port Mathurin (Rodrigues).
Population scope
Statistics Mauritius describes the Republic’s resident population on Mauritius, Rodrigues and other administered islands; the Chagos Archipelago is not counted as an ordinary resident region in these totals. [1] [23]

Territorial and demographic scope: The commonly cited 2,040 km² area and national resident counts refer to normally reported island territory and population; they should not be expanded to include disputed or treaty-covered Chagos territory without separately specifying the legal and statistical basis. [16] [1] [22] [23]

Economy and International Trade

Economic profile
Diversified market economy centered on services, tourism, financial and professional services, information technology, trade, manufacturing and agriculture.
Nominal GDP
US$16.16 billion (2025, World Bank; current-dollar estimate). [2]
Nominal GDP per capita
US$12,991.3 (2025, World Bank; current US dollars); not equivalent to average personal salary. [2]
Real GDP growth
3.2% in 2025 (World Bank annual real-growth series). [2]
Unemployment
5.6% in 2025 (World Bank/ILO-modeled estimate, not a national census headcount). [2]
Inflation
3.7% in 2025 (World Bank annual consumer-price inflation series). [2]
Currency
Mauritian rupee (MUR), symbol Rs. [16]
Monetary authority
Bank of Mauritius, the national central bank.
Merchandise exports, national series
Rs 107.703 billion in 2025; includes domestic exports, re-exports and ships’ stores and bunkers. [5]
Merchandise imports, national series
Rs 318.962 billion in 2025. [5]
Merchandise-trade balance
Deficit of Rs 211.259 billion in 2025; national merchandise-trade accounting. [5]
WTO/UN Comtrade merchandise exports
US$1.720 billion in 2024, based on the WTO’s reported merchandise-export dataset. This is not a currency conversion of the broader 2025 national exports figure. [6]
Major goods export categories
Processed tuna and fish; sugar; apparel; textiles and knitted fabrics; selected re-export products. [6] [7]
Principal 2025 export markets
France, South Africa, United States, United Kingdom and Madagascar lead the reported 2025 customer distribution in the Mauritius Trade Easy profile. [7]
Key imports
Petroleum products, machinery, transport equipment, foods, pharmaceuticals, industrial inputs and manufactured goods. [5]
Tourism
1,436,250 international tourist arrivals in calendar 2025, 3.9% above 2024. [8]
Main visitor markets
France, United Kingdom, Réunion, Germany, South Africa and India were among the leading 2025 tourist origins. [8]
Services industries
Hotels, travel, financial and business services, telecommunications, ICT-enabled services, logistics and professional services.
Manufacturing
Textiles and garments, food processing, seafood processing, light industrial production and other export-oriented industries. [7]
Agriculture
Sugar cane remains historically significant, alongside fruit, vegetables, livestock and fisheries; agriculture has a smaller GDP share than services.
Fisheries
Offshore and coastal fishing and fish processing contribute to production and export activity. [6]
Trade role
Sea and air links support imports, tourism, international business, exports and regional commerce.
Trade frameworks
Member of the WTO, SADC and COMESA; participates in other African and Indian Ocean regional trade arrangements. [16] [7]
Main seaport
Port Louis, a national freight and passenger hub.
Principal international airport
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, on Mauritius island.

Principal Export Categories

Representative merchandise groups, based on recent Mauritius and WTO commodity classifications; not a complete ranked list.
CategoryRepresentative exportsInterpretation
Seafood and processed fishPrepared and preserved tuna, frozen fish and other seafood products.Significant merchandise-export category.
Sugar and food productsCane sugar and processed foodstuffs.Historically important agricultural and processing exports.
Textiles and apparelGarments, knitted textiles, cotton trousers, T-shirts and fabric products.Export-oriented manufacturing.
Other specialized goodsMedical products and instruments, selected other manufactured goods and live animals in some customs product series.Composition and ranking vary by year and trade-data basis.
Re-exports and ship suppliesImported goods resold abroad, stores and bunkering supplies.Included in some national merchandise-export totals; distinguish from domestic production.
Services (not merchandise)Tourism, financial and business services, information technology and communications.Economically important, but not included in merchandise-only export totals.

The principal-goods list is supported by WTO/UN Comtrade commodity reporting and Mauritius trade profiles. Goods categories and service exports are not combined in the national merchandise total. [6] [7] [5] [8]

People and Society

Everyday lingua franca
Mauritian Creole (Kreol Morisien) is widely used in ordinary conversation. [4]
Language of the National Assembly
English is constitutionally designated for the Assembly’s official business; members may address the chair in French. This is narrower than claiming the Constitution declares a single nationwide official language. [27] [14]
Other widely used languages
French, English and Bhojpuri are prominent; Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Chinese languages also have cultural, educational or community roles. [4]
2022 Creole home-language share
90.0% reported speaking only Creole at home in the 2022 census home-language classification. [4]
2022 Bhojpuri home-language share
5.1% reported Bhojpuri only at home. [4]
2022 French home-language share
4.4% reported French only at home. [4]
2022 English home-language share
0.6% reported English only at home; this does not measure proficiency or ability to use English elsewhere. [4]
Religious traditions
Hinduism, Christianity (including Roman Catholicism and Protestant churches), Islam, Buddhism and other spiritual or nonreligious affiliations. [18]
Religious composition: Hindu
Approximately 48% of the population in the 2011 census, as summarized in the U.S. Department of State’s 2023 report. [18]
Religious composition: Christian
Approximately 26% Roman Catholic and 6% other Christian in the same 2011 census-based summary. [18]
Religious composition: Muslim
Approximately 17% in the 2011 census-based summary. [18]
Other faiths or nonaffiliation
The remaining approximately 3% of the rounded 2011 religious-affiliation figures includes other traditions and people without a recorded religious affiliation. [18]
Population origins
A diverse population shaped by African, Malagasy, Indian, European and Chinese ancestry and historical movements across the Indian Ocean. [9]
Literacy
91.9% in the 2022 population census, using that publication’s age and measurement definition. [3]
Average household size
3.3 persons in the 2022 census. [3]
Education
Public and private educational institutions include primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary systems; educational instruction uses multiple languages.
Cultural heritage
Aapravasi Ghat (inscribed 2006) and Le Morne Cultural Landscape (inscribed 2008) are UNESCO World Heritage properties. [21]
Historical memory
Aapravasi Ghat documents indentured migration; Le Morne is associated with the history and memory of slavery and resistance. [21]
Social diversity
Mauritian national identity encompasses multiple linguistic, religious and cultural communities; present-day nationality is not reducible to a single ethnic group.
Religious data qualification
Religious percentages shown here are specifically from the 2011 census, not a presumed 2025–2026 update. [18]

Language and religion methodology: The 2022 home-language results describe what respondents most commonly reported speaking at home, not the share fluent in any language. Religious affiliation figures here derive from the older 2011 census, as explicitly labeled by the source; no more recent national religious composition is presumed. [4] [18]

Government and Institutions

Form of government
Sovereign democratic parliamentary republic under a written Constitution. [9] [14]
Head of state
President Dharambeer Gokhool; assumed office December 7, 2024. [11]
Head of government
Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam; returned to office following the November 2024 general election. [12] [15]
Deputy prime minister
Marie Arianne Navarre-Marie (named in the official Cabinet list dated May 6, 2026). [13]
Executive structure
The Prime Minister leads the government and Cabinet; the President performs the constitutional functions of head of state. [14] [12]
Constitutional history
The 1968 constitutional order was amended to establish a republic effective March 12, 1992. [10] [9]
National legislature
Unicameral National Assembly, within a Parliament consisting constitutionally of the President and National Assembly. [14]
Elected seats
62 directly elected members: 60 from 20 three-member constituencies on Mauritius and two from Rodrigues. [14] [15]
Additional representation
Up to eight seats may be allocated under the constitutional best-loser system; the Attorney-General may sit ex officio. [14] [15]
Assembly composition reported by Parliament
The National Assembly website describes 67 sitting members after the 2024 election: 62 elected, four additional allocated seats, and one ex-officio Attorney-General (site-reported composition). [14]
Latest national general election
November 10, 2024; the Alliance du Changement won 60 of 62 directly elected seats. [15]
Prime minister sworn in
November 13, 2024, following the 2024 election. [15]
Speaker of the National Assembly
Shirin Aumeeruddy-Cziffra elected when the new Assembly first met in November 2024 (as recorded in the IPU election account). [15]
Judicial institutions
Independent courts, including the Supreme Court and subordinate courts; appeals in prescribed cases may reach the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Local geographic divisions
Nine traditional districts on Mauritius island, alongside the distinct regional arrangements for Rodrigues and the outer islands. [19]
Autonomous region
Rodrigues has a Regional Assembly and Executive Council under the Rodrigues Regional Assembly framework. [19] [26]
Other outer-island administration
Agaléga and Cargados Carajos are administered under national outer-island arrangements rather than as ordinary mainland districts. [19]
Political rights
Multiparty parliamentary electoral competition under the Constitution, with general elections and local/regional institutions. [15] [14]
Current-office verification
President, Prime Minister and Cabinet names were checked against official government pages for the November 5, 2026 editorial cutoff. [11] [12] [13]

Legislative terminology: The Constitution provides 62 directly elected Assembly seats plus a variable additional representation allocation. As of the National Assembly’s published description of the post-2024 chamber, the count is 67 including the ex-officio Attorney-General; describing the chamber as permanently fixed at 70 seats would be misleading. [14] [15]

International Profile

United Nations membership
Admitted April 24, 1968, shortly after independence. [20]
African Union
Member of the African Union and participant in continental cooperation. [9]
Southern African Development Community
Joined SADC in 1995. [16]
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
Member of COMESA, a major regional trade grouping. [9] [7]
Commonwealth of Nations
Member since independence, remaining in the Commonwealth after becoming a republic. [9]
Francophonie
Participant in the International Organisation of La Francophonie. [9]
Indian Ocean Commission
Participates in the Indian Ocean Commission with neighboring island states and territories. [9]
Indian Ocean Rim Association
Member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, focused on regional cooperation. [9]
World Trade Organization
WTO member and participant in multilateral trading rules. [6]
Strategic location
Maritime location links African, Asian and European commerce through the southwestern Indian Ocean.
Chagos Archipelago claim
Mauritius claims sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia; the archipelago has been administered by the United Kingdom as the British Indian Ocean Territory. [22] [23]
2025 Chagos agreement
Mauritius and the United Kingdom signed a treaty on May 22, 2025 addressing sovereignty and future arrangements for the Diego Garcia base. [22]
Chagos status at editorial cutoff
The treaty had not entered into force by the October 2026 Mauritian government statement; related UK implementation legislation had lapsed in 2026. It is inaccurate to describe the handover as completed as of November 5, 2026. [23] [24]
Separate maritime claims
Mauritius’s constitutional and diplomatic claims include areas not covered by the conventional inhabited-island statistical reporting area; territorial claims should not be silently added to the standard area figure. [23] [25]
Major export relationships
France, South Africa, the United States, United Kingdom and Madagascar were prominent in the 2025 export-destination distribution. [7]
Climate and international policy
The country participates in international climate discussions as a small island developing state vulnerable to cyclone and coastal risks.
International dialing code
+230.
Internet domain
.mu.
Time zone
UTC+4 (Mauritius Time).

Chagos legal status: The May 2025 agreement is not treated as a completed transfer of administration or sovereignty. This entry follows the latest official October 2026 Mauritian non-ratification statement, supported by the UK treaty record and parliamentary briefing. [22] [23] [24]

Sources and Verification

Editorial cutoff: November 5, 2026. The page distinguishes dated national population estimates and census counts, World Bank economic estimates, national merchandise trade reported in rupees, WTO commodity figures in dollars, and religious data from the 2011 census. The legal status of the Chagos treaty is evaluated as of the publication cutoff, not assumed from its 2025 signing.

  1. Statistics Mauritius, Population and Vital Statistics: Year 2025 — Year-end 2025 population by island, births, deaths and population change.
  2. World Bank, Mauritius Country Data — World Bank 2025 population, GDP, GDP per capita, growth, inflation and unemployment; figures rounded.
  3. Statistics Mauritius, 2022 Population Census: Main Results — 2022 resident population, median age, literacy and household characteristics.
  4. Statistics Mauritius, 2022 Population Census: Language Results — 2022 home-language categories and 2,007 km² geographic land area used in the census density calculation.
  5. Statistics Mauritius, External Trade: Fourth Quarter and Year 2025 — 2025 merchandise exports, imports and goods-trade deficit in Mauritian rupees; includes domestic exports, re-exports, ships’ stores and bunkers.
  6. World Trade Organization, Mauritius Tariff and Trade Member Profile — 2024 merchandise-export value and commodity composition on WTO/UN Comtrade basis.
  7. Mauritius Trade Easy, Mauritius Trade Profile — Main export destinations, export composition and country’s regional trade framework; displayed year specified by series.
  8. Statistics Mauritius, International Travel and Tourism: Year 2025 — 2025 international tourist arrivals and tourist markets.
  9. Government of Mauritius, Republic of Mauritius: National History — Colonial sequence, 1968 independence and 1992 proclamation of the republic.
  10. Mauritius National Archives, Pre-independence Mauritius — 1967 general election, independence resolution and 1968 constitutional milestones.
  11. Office of the President of Mauritius — President Dharambeer Gokhool, elected December 6 and inaugurated December 7, 2024.
  12. Government of Mauritius, The Prime Minister — Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and current ministerial portfolio.
  13. Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office, Cabinet List: May 6, 2026 — Cabinet composition and Deputy Prime Minister Marie Arianne Navarre-Marie.
  14. National Assembly of Mauritius, Introduction — Assembly composition, constituency structure and additional representation seats.
  15. Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mauritius National Assembly Election of November 2024 — November 2024 election results, constitutional electoral rules and formation of the government.
  16. Southern African Development Community, Mauritius Country Profile — Area, capital, currency and regional membership since 1995.
  17. United Nations Statistics Division, Standard Country or Area Codes (M49) — UN regional classification, Eastern Africa and country identifiers.
  18. U.S. Department of State, 2023 Report on International Religious Freedom: Mauritius — Religious composition reported from the 2011 census; the publication explicitly labels the age of its data.
  19. Government of Mauritius, Rodrigues Administration — Rodrigues regional autonomy and Regional Assembly arrangement.
  20. United Nations, Member States — Mauritius joined the UN April 24, 1968.
  21. UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mauritius — Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape inscriptions.
  22. United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK–Mauritius Agreement on the Chagos Archipelago, May 22, 2025 — Text and signature date of the Chagos Agreement concerning Diego Garcia.
  23. Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office, Chagos Sovereignty Meeting, October 2026 — Mauritian government’s October 2026 statement identifying treaty non-ratification.
  24. UK House of Commons Library, International Law and the Chagos Archipelago (October 2026) — Treaty implementation and 2026 lapse of a UK implementing bill.
  25. Mauritius High Commission in Australia, General Information — Conventional 2,040 km² area figure and general geography; excludes Chagos from current administered area.
  26. Rodrigues Regional Assembly, Rodriguan History — Rodrigues autonomy and first sitting of the Regional Assembly, 2002.
  27. Constitution of Mauritius, Section 49 (WIPO Lex consolidated HTML) — English as the official language of the National Assembly; French may be used by members when addressing the chair.

Editorial methodology: This profile is a compact, cross-comparable country reference. Values are presented with their reference dates and source conventions, while political and territorial changes are stated only to the extent supported by dated documents. It is not a substitute for full historical, fiscal, legal or diplomatic analysis. [1] [2] [5] [6] [3] [18] [23]