Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an
island country
An island country, island state, or island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...
in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
, about off the southeastern coast of
East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
, east of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as
Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
,
Agaléga, and
St. Brandon (Cargados Carajos shoals).
The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, along with nearby
Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
(a
French overseas department
The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as "metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the same ...
), are part of the
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...
. The main island of Mauritius, where the population is concentrated, hosts the capital and largest city,
Port Louis
Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
. The country spans and has an
exclusive economic zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
covering approximately .
The 1502 Portuguese
Cantino planisphere has led some historians to speculate that
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
sailors were the first to discover the uninhabited island around 975, naming it ''Dina Arobi''. Called ''Ilha do Cirne'' or ''Ilha do Cerne'' on early
Portuguese maps, the island was visited by Portuguese sailors in 1507. A
Dutch fleet, under the command of Admiral Van Warwyck, landed at what is now the
Grand Port District
Grand Port () is a district of Mauritius, situated in the east of the island. The name means "large port" in French. The district has an area of 260.3 km2 and the estimated population was 112,997, as of 31 December 2015.
History
Grand Po ...
and took possession of the island in 1598, renaming it after
Maurice, Prince of Orange
Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Lordship of Frisia, Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became P ...
. Short-lived
Dutch attempts at permanent settlement took place over a century aimed at exploiting the local
ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
forests, establishing
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose
Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
and
arrack
Arrack is a Distillation, distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the Fermentation (food), fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon ...
production using cane plant cuttings from
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
together with over three hundred
Malagasy slaves, all in vain. French colonisation began in 1715, the island renamed "
Isle de France". In 1810, the United Kingdom
seized the island and under the
Treaty of Paris, France ceded Mauritius and its dependencies to the United Kingdom. The British colony of Mauritius now included Rodrigues, Agaléga, St. Brandon, the
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...
, and, until 1906, the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
.
Mauritius and France dispute sovereignty over the island of
Tromelin, the treaty failing to mention it specifically.
Mauritius became the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
's main sugar-producing colony and remained a primarily sugar-dominated plantation-based colony until independence, in 1968.
In 1965, the UK split the
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...
from
British Mauritius to create the
British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chago ...
(BIOT).
The
local population was forcibly expelled and the largest island,
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...
, was leased to the United States restricting access to the archipelago.
Ruling on the
sovereignty dispute, the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law ...
has ordered the return of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius leading to a 2025 bilateral agreement on the recognition of its sovereignty on the islands.
Given its geographic location and colonial past, the
people of Mauritius are diverse in ethnicity,
culture
Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
, language and faith. It is the only country in Africa where
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
is the most practised religion.
Indo-Mauritians make up the bulk of the population with significant
Creole,
Sino-Mauritian and
Franco-Mauritian minorities. The island's government is closely modelled on the
Westminster parliamentary system
The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of the system include an executive branch made up ...
with Mauritius highly ranked for
economic
An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
and
political freedom
Political freedom (also known as political autonomy or political agency) is a central concept in history and political thought and one of the most important features of democratic societies.Hannah Arendt, "What is Freedom?", ''Between Past and ...
.
The Economist Democracy Index
The ''Democracy Index'' published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. T ...
ranks Mauritius as the only country in Africa with full
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
while the
V-Dem Democracy Indices classified it as an "electoral autocracy".
Mauritius ranks
73rd (very high) in the
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
and the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
classifies it as a
high-income economy
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a country with a gross national income per capita of US$14,005 or more in 2023, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" ...
.
It is amongst the most competitive and most developed economies in the African region. The country is a
welfare state
A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...
. The government provides free
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...
,
free education
Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in most countries (often not including primary textboo ...
up through the
tertiary level, and free public transportation for students, senior citizens, and the disabled.
Mauritius is consistently ranked as the
most peaceful country in Africa.
Along with the other Mascarene Islands, Mauritius is known for its
biodiverse flora and fauna with many unique species endemic to the country. The main island was the only known home of the
dodo
The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinction, extinct flightless bird that was endemism, endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightles ...
, which, along with several other avian species, became extinct soon after human settlement. Other
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
animals, such as the
echo parakeet, the
Mauritius kestrel and the
pink pigeon, have survived and are subject to intensive and successful ongoing conservation efforts.
Etymology
The first historical evidence of the existence of the island now known as Mauritius is on a 1502 map called the
Cantino planisphere which was smuggled out of Portugal, for the Duke of Ferrara, by the Italian 'spy' Alberto Cantino. On this purloined copy of a Portuguese map, Mauritius bore the name ''Dina Arobi'' or ''Dina Arobin'' (likely ''Daniyah 'Arūbi'' or corruption of ''Dībah 'Arūbi''). In 1507, Portuguese sailors visited the uninhabited island after being blown off course from their route to India via the Mozambique channel. The island appears with the
Portuguese names ''Cirne'' (a typographical error where the 's' of the Portuguese 'Cisne' (Swan) became an 'r') or ''Do-Cerne'' (typo of 'do Cisne' meaning 'of' or 'belonging to the Swan') on early Portuguese maps, almost certainly from the name of a ship called ''Cisne'' which was captained by
Diogo Fernandes Pereira in the 1507 expedition which discovered Mauritius and Rodrigues which he called ''ilha de Diogo Fernandes'' but poorly transcribed by non-Portuguese speakers as ''Domigo Friz'' or ''Domingo Frias''.
Diogo Fernandes Pereira may have been the first European to sail east of Madagascar island ('outer route' to the East Indies) rather than through the perceived safer route through the Mozambique channel, following the East African shore line.
In 1598, a Dutch squadron under Admiral Wybrand van Warwyck landed at
Grand Port and named the island ''Mauritius'', in honour of
Prince Maurice van Nassau,
stadtholder
In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...
of the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. Later the island became a French colony and was renamed
Isle de France. On 3 December 1810, the French surrendered the island to the United Kingdom during the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. Under British rule, the island's name reverted to ''Mauritius'' . Mauritius is also commonly known as ''Maurice'' () and ''Île Maurice'' in French, as well as ''Moris'' () in
Mauritian Creole.
History
Early history
The island of Mauritius was uninhabited before its first recorded visit by Arab sailors in the end of the 10th century. Its name Dina Arobi has been associated with Arab sailors who first discovered the island.

The
Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in Tordesillas, Spain, on 7 June 1494, and ratified in Setúbal, Portugal, divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe between the Kingdom of Portugal and the Crown of Castile, along a meridian (geography) ...
, designed to prevent conflict between Portugal and Spain, gave the
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was a Portuguese monarchy, monarchy in the western Iberian Peninsula and the predecessor of the modern Portuguese Republic. Existing to various extents between 1139 and 1910, it was also known as the Kingdom of Portugal a ...
the right to colonise this part of the world. In 1507, Portuguese sailors came to the uninhabited island and established a visiting base.
Diogo Fernandes Pereira, a Portuguese navigator, was the first European known to land in Mauritius. He named the island "Ilha do Cisne" ("Island of the Swan"). The Portuguese did not stay long as they were not interested in these islands.
The
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...
were named after
Pedro Mascarenhas,
Viceroy of Portuguese India, after his visit to the islands in 1512.
Rodrigues Island was named after
Portuguese explorer Diogo Rodrigues, who first came upon the island in 1528.

In 1598, a Dutch squadron under Admiral Wybrand Van Warwyck landed at
Grand Port and named the island "Mauritius" after
Prince Maurice of Nassau (
Dutch: ''Maurits van Nassau'') of the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. The Dutch inhabited the island in 1638, from which they exploited
ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
trees and introduced
sugar cane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
, domestic animals and deer. It was from here that Dutch navigator
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...
set out to seek the Great Southern Land, mapping parts of
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, New Zealand and
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
. The first Dutch settlement lasted 20 years. In 1639, the Dutch East India Company brought enslaved Malagasy to cut down ebony trees and to work in the new tobacco and sugar cane plantations.
Several attempts to establish a colony permanently were subsequently made, but the settlements never developed enough to produce dividends, causing the Dutch to abandon Mauritius in 1710.
A
1755 article in the English ''
Leeds Intelligencer'' claims that the island was abandoned due to the large number of
long tailed macaque monkeys "which destroyed everything in it," and that it was also known at the time as the Island of Monkeys. Portuguese sailors had brought these monkeys to the island from their native habitat in Southeast Asia, prior to Dutch rule.
French Mauritius (1715–1810)
France, which already controlled neighbouring Île Bourbon (now
Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
), took control of Mauritius in 1715 and renamed it
Isle de France. In 1723, the ''
Code Noir
The (, ''Black code'') was a decree passed by King Louis XIV, Louis XIV of France in 1685 defining the conditions of Slavery in France, slavery in the French colonial empire and served as the code for slavery conduct in the French colonies ...
'' was established to regulate slavery; it categorised one group of human beings as "goods", allowing the owner of these "goods" to be able to obtain insurance money and compensation in case of loss of his "goods". The 1735 arrival of French governor
Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Bertrand-François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais (11 February 169910 November 1753) was a French Navy navy officer, officer and colonial administrator who was employed by the Louis XIV's East India Company, French East India Company.
Biography
...
coincided with the development of a prosperous economy based on sugar production. Mahé de La Bourdonnais established
Port Louis
Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
as a naval base and a shipbuilding centre.
Under his governorship, numerous buildings were erected, a number of which are still standing. These include part of Government House, the Château de Mon Plaisir, and the Line Barracks, the headquarters of the
police force. The island was under the administration of the
French East India Company, which maintained its presence until 1767.
During the French rule, slaves were brought from parts of Africa such as Mozambique
and Zanzibar. As a result, the island's population rose dramatically from 15,000 to 49,000 within thirty years.
Slave traders from
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
-
Sakalava or Arabs - bought slaves from slavers in the Arab
Swahili coast
The Swahili coast () is a coastal area of East Africa, bordered by the Indian Ocean and inhabited by the Swahili people. It includes Sofala (located in Mozambique); Mombasa, Gede, Kenya, Gede, Pate Island, Lamu, and Malindi (in Kenya); and Dar es ...
or
Portuguese Mozambique
Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...
and stopped at
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
for supplies before shipping the slaves to the slave markets of Mauritius, Réunion and India.
Of the 80,000 slaves imported to Réunion and Mauritius between 1769 and 1793, 45% was provided by slave traders of the
Sakalava people in North West Madagascar, who raided East Africa and
the Comoros for slaves, and the rest was provided by Arab slave traders who bought slaves from
Portuguese Mozambique
Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...
and transported them to Réunion via Madagascar.
During the late eighteenth century, African slaves accounted for around 80 percent of the island's population, and by the early nineteenth century there were 60,000 slaves on the island.
In early 1729, Indians from
Pondicherry, India, arrived in Mauritius aboard the vessel ''La Sirène''. Work contracts for these craftsmen were signed in 1734 at the time when they acquired their freedom.

From 1767 to 1810, except for a brief period during the
French Revolution when the inhabitants set up a government virtually independent of France, the island was controlled by officials appointed by the French government.
Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre lived on the island from 1768 to 1771, then went back to France, where he wrote ''
Paul et Virginie'', a love story that made the
Isle de France famous wherever the French language was spoken. In 1796 the settlers broke away from French control when the government in Paris attempted to abolish slavery. Two famous French governors were the Vicomte de Souillac (who constructed the Chaussée in Port Louis
[Port Louis, A tropical City, Auguste Toussaint. ] and encouraged farmers to settle in the district of Savanne) and
Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux (; 8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French Navy officer, explorer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Isle de France (Mauritius), governor of Isle de Fran ...
(who saw to it that the French in the Indian Ocean should have their headquarters in Mauritius instead of
Pondicherry
Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...
in India).
[''A short History of Mauritius'', P.J. Barnwell & A. Toussaint] Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen was a successful general in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
and, in some ways, a rival of
Napoléon I
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
. He ruled as
Governor of Isle de France and Réunion from 1803 to 1810. British naval
cartographer
Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
and explorer
Matthew Flinders
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...
was arrested and detained by General Decaen on the island from 1803 to 1810, in contravention of an order from Napoléon. During the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, Mauritius became a base from which
French corsairs
Corsairs () were privateers, authorised to conduct raids on shipping of a foreign state at war with the Kingdom of France, on behalf of the French crown. Seized vessels and cargo were sold at auction, with the corsair captain entitled to a portio ...
organised successful raids on British commercial ships. The raids continued until 1810, when a
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
expedition led by
Commodore Josias Rowley,
R.N., an
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...
aristocrat
The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...
, was sent to capture the island. Despite winning the
Battle of Grand Port
The Battle of Grand Port was a naval battle fought on 20–27 August 1810 between squadrons of frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy over possession of the harbour of Grand Port on Île de France (now Mauritius), as part of ...
against the British, the
French could not prevent the British from landing at
Cap Malheureux three months later. They formally surrendered the island on the fifth day of the invasion, 3 December 1810,
on terms allowing settlers to keep their land and property and to use the French language and law of France in criminal and civil matters. Under British rule, the island's name reverted to Mauritius.
British Mauritius (1810–1968)
The British administration, which began with
Sir Robert Farquhar as
its first governor, oversaw rapid social and economic changes. However, it was tainted by the
Ratsitatane episode. Ratsitatane, nephew of King Radama of
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
, was brought to Mauritius as a political prisoner. He managed to escape from prison and plotted a rebellion that would free the island's slaves. He was betrayed by his associate Laizaf and was caught by a group of militiamen and
summarily executed.
[''A New Comprehensive History of Mauritius'', Sydney Selvon, 2012. ]
In 1832, d'Épinay launched the first Mauritian newspaper (''Le Cernéen''), which was not controlled by the government. In the same year, there was a move by the ''procureur-general'' to abolish slavery without compensation to the slave owners. This gave rise to discontent, and, to check an eventual rebellion, the government ordered all the inhabitants to surrender their arms. Furthermore, a stone fortress, Fort Adelaide, was built on a hill (now known as the Citadel hill) in the centre of Port Louis to quell any uprising.
Slavery was gradually abolished over several years after 1833, and the planters ultimately received two million
pounds sterling
Sterling (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...
in compensation for the loss of their slaves, who had been imported from Africa and
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
during the French occupation. The
abolition of slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world.
The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...
had important effects on Mauritius's society, economy and population. The planters brought a large number of
indentured labourers
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or serv ...
from India to work in the sugar cane fields. Between 1834 and 1921, around half a million indentured labourers were present on the island. They worked on sugar estates, factories, in transport and on construction sites. Additionally, the British brought 8,740 Indian soldiers to the island.
Aapravasi Ghat, in the bay at
Port Louis
Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
and now a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
site, was the first British colony to serve as a major reception centre for
indentured servants
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...
. The labourers brought from India were not always fairly treated, and a Frenchman of German origin, Adolphe de Plevitz, made himself the unofficial protector of these immigrants. In 1871 he helped them to write a petition that was sent to
Governor Gordon. A commission was appointed and recommended several measures that would affect the lives of Indian labourers during the next fifty years.
In 1885,
a new constitution was introduced. It was referred to as ''Cens Démocratique'' and it incorporated some of the principles advocated by one of the Creole leaders, Onésipho Beaugeard. It created elected positions in the Legislative Council – although the franchise was restricted mainly to the white French and fair-skinned Indian elite who owned real estate. In 1886, Governor
John Pope Hennessy
Sir John Pope Hennessy (; 8 August 1834 – 7 October 1891), was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth Governor of Hong Kong and the fifteenth Governor of Mauritius.
Early life
John Pope Henness ...
nominated
Gnanadicarayen Arlanda as the first ever
Indo-Mauritian member of the ruling council – despite the sugar oligarchy's preference for rival Indo-Mauritian Emile Sandapa. Arlanda served until 1891. In 1903, motorcars were introduced in Mauritius, and in 1910, the first taxis came into service. The electrification of Port Louis took place in 1909, and in the same decade the Mauritius Hydro Electric Company of the
Atchia Brothers was authorised to provide power to the towns of upper
Plaines Wilhems
Plaine may refer to:
* Plaine (river), a tributary of the Meurthe (river), river Meurthe in France
* Plaine, Bas-Rhin, a commune in Alsace in north-eastern France
* Plaine-Haute, a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwester ...
.

The 1910s were a period of political agitation. The rising middle class (made up of doctors, lawyers, and teachers) began to challenge the political power of the sugar cane landowners.
Eugène Laurent, mayor of Port Louis, was the leader of this new group; his party,
Action Libérale, demanded that more people should be allowed to vote in the elections. Action Libérale was opposed by the Parti de l'Ordre, led by Henri Leclézio, the most influential of the sugar magnates.
In 1911, there were riots in Port Louis due to a false rumour that Laurent had been murdered by the oligarchs in Curepipe. This became known as the
1911 Curepipe riots. Shops and offices were damaged in the capital, and one person was killed.
[''Mauritius in the making across the censuses 1846–2000'', Monique Dinan. ] In the same year, 1911, the first public cinema shows took place in Curepipe, and, in the same town, a stone building was erected to house the Royal College.
In 1912, a wider telephone network came into service, used by the government, business firms, and a few private households.
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
broke out in August 1914. Many Mauritians volunteered to fight in Europe against the Germans and in
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
against the Turks. But the war affected Mauritius much less than the wars of the eighteenth century. In fact, the 1914–1918 war was a period of great prosperity, due to a boom in sugar prices. In 1919, the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate came into being, which included 70% of all sugar producers.
The 1920s saw the rise of a "retrocessionism" movement, which favoured the retrocession of Mauritius to France. The movement rapidly collapsed because none of the candidates who wanted Mauritius to be given back to France were elected in the 1921 elections. In the post-war recession, there was a sharp drop in sugar prices. Many sugar estates closed down, marking the end of an era for the sugar magnates who had not only controlled the economy but also the political life of the country.
From the end of nominated Arlanda's term in 1891, until 1926, there had been no Indo-Mauritian representation in the Legislative Council. However, at the 1926 elections, Dunputh Lallah and Rajcoomar Gujadhur became the first
Indo-Mauritians to be elected to the Legislative Council. At Grand Port, Lallah won over rivals Fernand Louis Morel and Gaston Gebert; at Flacq, Gujadhur defeated Pierre Montocchio. 1936 saw the birth of the
Labour Party, launched by
Maurice Curé.
Emmanuel Anquetil rallied the urban workers while Pandit Sahadeo concentrated on the rural working class. The
Uba riots of 1937 resulted in reforms by the local British government that improved labour conditions and led to the un-banning of labour unions.
Labour Day was celebrated for the first time in 1938. More than 30,000 workers sacrificed a day's wage and came from all over the island to attend a giant meeting at the Champ de Mars. Following the dockers' strikes, trade unionist
Emmanuel Anquetil was deported to Rodrigues,
Maurice Curé and Pandit Sahadeo were placed under house arrest, whilst numerous strikers were jailed. Governor Sir
Bede Clifford assisted Mr Jules Leclezio of the Mauritius Sugar Syndicate to counter the effects of the strike by using alternative workers known as 'black legs'.
At the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1939, many Mauritians volunteered to serve under the British flag in Africa and the Near East, fighting against the German and Italian armies. Mauritius was never really threatened, but in 1943, several British ships were sunk outside Port Louis by German submarines. In the initial stages of the war, locally recruited military formations were raised in order to defend the country in case the British imperial troops had to leave. On 24 March 1943, the
Mauritius Regiment, was created as an imperial unit and a new subsidiary of the East Africa Command (EAC). In late 1943, the 1st Battalion of the Mauritius Regiment (1MR) was sent to Madagascar for training, and in their place a battalion of the
King's African Rifles
The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from Britain's East African colonies in 1902. It primarily carried out internal security duties within these colonies along with military service elsewher ...
(KAR) was stationed in Mauritius. The dispatch of the 1MR proved to be politically unpopular on the basis of some troops resenting conscription and the battalion overseas comprising solely non-white troops, exacerbating racial tensions in the country. The 1MR troops were further aggrieved at the segregation they were subject to, unequal pay, physically demanding training, and were fearful of the Japanese soldiers, all these factors culminated in the 1MR mutinying.
During World War II, conditions were hard in the country; the prices of commodities doubled but workers' salaries increased only by 10 to 20 percent. There was civil unrest, and the colonial government censored all trade union activities. However, the labourers of Belle Vue Harel Sugar Estate went on strike on 27 September 1943. Police officers eventually fired directly at the crowd, resulting in the deaths of four labourers. This became known as the
1943 Belle Vue Harel Massacre. Social worker and leader of the Jan Andolan movement
Basdeo Bissoondoyal organised the funeral ceremonies of the four dead labourers. Three months later, on 12 December 1943, Bissoondoyal organised a mass gathering at "Marie Reine de la Paix" in Port Louis, and the significant crowd of workers from all over the island confirmed the popularity of the Jan Andolan movement.
After the proclamation of the 1947
Constitution of Mauritius, the general elections were held on 9 August 1948 – and, for the first time, the colonial government expanded the franchise to all adults who could write their name in one of the island's 19 languages, abolishing the previous gender and property qualifications.
Guy Rozemont's
Labour Party won the majority of the votes with 11 of the 19 elected seats won by
Hindus
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
. However, the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
Donald Mackenzie-Kennedy appointed 12 Conservatives to the Legislative Council on 23 August 1948 to perpetuate the predominance of white
Franco-Mauritians
Franco-Mauritians () form an ethnic group of white people in Mauritius who trace their ethnic ancestry to France and ethnic French people. Franco-Mauritians make up approximately 2% of the country's population. Other than documented European ance ...
.
[ In 1948, Emilienne Rochecouste became the first woman to be elected to the Legislative Council.][Ramola Ramtohul (2009]
Engendering Mauritian History: The HiddenControversies over Female Suffrage
''Afrika Zamani'', No. 17, pp63–80 Guy Rozemont's party bettered its position in 1953, and, on the strength of the election results, demanded universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
. Constitutional conferences were held in London in 1955 and 1957, and the ministerial system was introduced. Voting took place for the first time on the basis of universal adult suffrage on 9 March 1959. The general election was again won by the Labour Party, led this time by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (18 September 1900 – 15 December 1985), often referred to as Chacha "Uncle" Ramgoolam or SSR, was a Mauritian physician, politician, and wikt:statesman, statesman. He served as the island's only chief minister, first ...
.
A Constitutional Review Conference was held in London in 1961, and a programme of further constitutional advance was established. The 1963 election was won by the Labour Party and its allies. The Colonial Office
The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...
noted that politics of a communal nature was gaining ground in Mauritius and that the choice of candidates (by parties) and the voting behaviour (of electors) were governed by ethnic and caste considerations.[ Around that time, two eminent British academics, Richard Titmuss and ]James Meade
James Edward Meade FBA (23 June 1907 – 22 December 1995) was a British economist who made major contributions to the theory of international trade and welfare economics. Along with Richard Kahn, James Meade helped develop the concept of ...
, published a report of the island's social problems caused by overpopulation and the monoculture of sugar cane. This led to an intense campaign to halt the population explosion, and the decade registered a sharp decline in population growth.
In early 1965, a political assassination took place in the suburb of Belle-Rose, in the town of Quatre Bornes, where Labour activist Rampersad Surath was beaten to death by thugs of rival party Parti Mauricien. On 10 May 1965, racial riots broke out in the village of ''Trois Boutiques'' near Souillac and progressed to the historic village of Mahébourg. A nationwide state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
was declared on the whole British colony. The riot was initiated by the murder of Police Constable Beesoo in his vehicle by a Creole gang. This was followed by the murder of a civilian named Mr. Robert Brousse in Trois Boutiques. The Creole gang then proceeded to the coastal historic village of Mahébourg to assault the Indo-Mauritian spectators who were watching a Hindustani movie at Cinéma Odéon. Mahébourg police recorded nearly 100 complaints of assaults on Indo-Mauritians.
Independence and constitutional monarchy (1968–1992)
At the Lancaster Conference of 1965, it became clear that Britain wanted to relieve itself of the colony of Mauritius. In 1959, Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton (10 February 1894 – 29 December 1986), was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. Nickn ...
had made his famous " Wind of Change Speech" in which he acknowledged that the best option for Britain was to give complete independence to its colonies. Thus, since the late fifties, the way was paved for independence.
Later in 1965, after the Lancaster Conference, the Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...
was excised from the territory of Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chago ...
(BIOT). A general election took place on 7 August 1967, and the Independence Party obtained the majority of seats. In January 1968, six weeks before the declaration of independence the 1968 Mauritian riots occurred in Port Louis leading to the deaths of 25 people.
Mauritius adopted a new constitution, and independence was proclaimed on 12 March 1968. Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (18 September 1900 – 15 December 1985), often referred to as Chacha "Uncle" Ramgoolam or SSR, was a Mauritian physician, politician, and wikt:statesman, statesman. He served as the island's only chief minister, first ...
became the first prime minister of an independent Mauritius – with Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
remaining head of state as Queen of Mauritius.
In 1969, the opposition party, Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM; ) is a left-wing socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was founded by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM advocates a fairer society, without discrimination on the basis of social clas ...
(MMM), was founded, led by Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger (born 26 March 1945) is a Mauritian politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005. Bérenger currently serves as deputy prime minister since November 2024 and has previously held the o ...
. Later, in 1971, the MMM – backed by unions – called a series of strikes in the port, which caused a state of emergency in the country.
The coalition government of the Labour Party and the PMSD (Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate) reacted by curtailing civil liberties and curbing freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...
. Two unsuccessful apparent assassination attempts were made against Paul Bérenger in 1971, killing his supporter Fareed Muttur and dock worker and activist Azor Adélaïde. General elections were postponed and public meetings were prohibited. Members of the MMM, including Paul Bérenger, were imprisoned on 23 December 1971. The MMM leader was released a year later.
In 1973, Mauritius became the first country in Africa to be free from diagnoses of malaria
Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
.
In May 1975, a student revolt that started at the University of Mauritius
The University of Mauritius (UoM) () is the national university of Mauritius. It is the oldest and largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and the curriculum offered. The public university's main campus is located at Réd ...
swept across the country. The students were unsatisfied with an education system that did not meet their aspirations, and that gave limited prospects for future employment. On 20 May, thousands of students tried to enter Port-Louis over the Grand River North West bridge, and clashed with police. An act of Parliament was passed on 16 December 1975 to extend the right to vote to 18-year-olds. This was seen as an attempt to appease the frustration of the younger generation.
The next general elections took place on 20 December 1976. The Labour-CAM coalition won only 28 seats out of 62. The MMM secured 34 seats in Parliament but outgoing Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (18 September 1900 – 15 December 1985), often referred to as Chacha "Uncle" Ramgoolam or SSR, was a Mauritian physician, politician, and wikt:statesman, statesman. He served as the island's only chief minister, first ...
managed to remain in office, with a two-seat majority, after striking an alliance with the PMSD of Gaetan Duval.
In 1981, United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
newspapers reported that the Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
(CIA) was planning a covert operation to support the government of Mauritius as part of CIA strategy in the larger Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. According to the Washington Post, citing U.S. government sources, the planned operation was "mainly a quiet CIA effort to slip money" to the Mauritian government. This claim was repeated in a 1987 book by journalist Bob Woodward
Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs ...
, who further wrote that the U.S. government feared that Mauritius could become a Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
naval base if a "pro-Western" government did not remain in power.
In 1982 an MMM- PSM government (led by PM Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. The c ...
, Deputy PM Harish Boodhoo and Finance Minister Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger (born 26 March 1945) is a Mauritian politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005. Bérenger currently serves as deputy prime minister since November 2024 and has previously held the o ...
) was elected. However, ideological and personality differences emerged within the MMM and PSM leadership. The power struggle between Bérenger and Jugnauth peaked in March 1983. Jugnauth travelled to New Delhi to attend the 7th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...
summit; on his return, Bérenger proposed constitutional changes that would strip power from the Prime Minister. At Jugnauth's request, PM Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
of India planned an armed intervention involving the Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
and Indian Army
The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
to prevent a coup under the code name Operation Lal Dora.
The MMM- PSM government split up nine months after the June 1982 election. According to an Information Ministry official the nine months was a "socialist experiment". Harish Boodhoo dissolved his party PSM to enable all PSM parliamentarians to join Jugnauth's new party MSM, thus remaining in power whilst distancing themselves from MMM. The MSM-Labour-PMSD coalition was victorious at the August 1983 elections, resulting in Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. The c ...
as PM and Gaëtan Duval as Deputy PM.
That period saw growth in the EPZ (Export Processing Zone) sector. Industrialisation began to spread to villages as well, and attracted young workers from all ethnic communities. As a result, the sugar industry began to lose its hold on the economy. Large retail chains began opening stores in 1985 and offered credit facilities to low-income earners, thus allowing them to afford basic household appliances. There was also a boom in the tourism industry, and new hotels sprang up throughout the island. In 1989 the stock exchange opened its doors, and in 1992, the freeport began operation. In 1990, the Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
lost the vote on changing the Constitution to make the country a republic with Bérenger as president.
Republic (since 1992)
On 12 March 1992, Mauritius was proclaimed a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
and the monarch removed as head of state. The last Governor-General of Mauritius, Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, became the first President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
. This was under a transitional arrangement, in which he was replaced by Cassam Uteem later that year. Political power remained with the prime minister.
Despite an improvement in the economy, which coincided with a fall in the price of petrol and a favourable dollar exchange rate, the government did not enjoy full popularity. As early as 1984, there was discontent. Through the ''Newspapers and Periodicals Amendment Act'', the government tried to make every newspaper provide a bank guarantee of half a million rupees. Forty-three journalists protested by participating in a public demonstration in Port Louis, in front of Parliament. They were arrested and freed on bail. This caused a public outcry and the government had to review its policy.
There was also dissatisfaction in the education sector. There were not enough high-quality secondary colleges to answer the growing demand of primary school leavers who had got through their CPE (Certificate of Primary Education). In 1991, a master plan for education failed to get national support and contributed to the government's downfall.
In December 1995, Navin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam (born 14 July 1947) is a Mauritian politician and physician who is the current prime minister of Mauritius, serving since 2024. He previously held the office from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014 and intermittently serve ...
was elected as PM of the Labour–MMM alliance. In October 1996, the triple murder of political activists at Gorah-Issac Street in Port Louis led to several arrests and a long investigation.
The year 1999 was marked by civil unrest and riots in February
February is the second month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. The month has 28 days in common years and 29 in leap years, with the February 29, 29th day being called the ''leap day''.
February is the third a ...
and then in May
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days.
May is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the ...
. Following the Kaya riots, President Cassam Uteem and Cardinal Jean Margéot toured the country and calm was restored after four days of turmoil. A commission of enquiry was set up to investigate the root causes of the social disturbance. The resulting report delved into the cause of poverty and qualified many tenacious beliefs as perceptions. In January 2000, political activist Rajen Sabapathee was shot dead after he escaped from La Bastille jail.
Sir Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. The c ...
of the MSM returned to power in September 2000 after securing an alliance with the MMM. In 2002, the island of Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
became an autonomous entity within the republic and was thus able to elect its own representatives to administer the island. In 2003, the prime ministership was transferred to Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger (born 26 March 1945) is a Mauritian politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005. Bérenger currently serves as deputy prime minister since November 2024 and has previously held the o ...
of the MMM, and Sir Anerood Jugnauth became president. Bérenger was the first Franco-Mauritian Prime Minister in the country's post-Independence history.
In the 2005 elections, Navin Ramgoolam became PM under the new coalition of Labour–PMXD–VF–MR–MMSM. In the 2010 elections the Labour–MSM–PMSD alliance secured power and Navin Ramgoolam remained PM until 2014.
The MSM–PMSD–ML coalition was victorious at the 2014 elections under Anerood Jugnauth's leadership. Despite disagreements within the ruling alliance that led to the departure of PMSD, the MSM–ML stayed in power for their full 5-year term.
On 21 January 2017, Sir Anerood Jugnauth announced his resignation and that his son and Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth would assume the office of prime minister. The transition took place as planned on 23 January 2017.
In 2018, Mauritian president Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resigned over a financial scandal. The incumbent president is Prithvirajsing Roopun
Prithvirajsing (Pradeep) Roopun GCSK (; born 24 May 1959) is a Mauritian politician who served as the seventh president of Mauritius from 2019 to 2024.
Early life, education, career and family life
Prithvirajsing Roopun was born in an Indian ...
who has served since December 2019.
In the November 2019 Mauritius general elections, the ruling Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) won more than half of the seats in parliament, securing incumbent Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth a new five-year term.
On 25 July 2020, Japanese-owned bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef off the coast of Mauritius, leaking up to 1,000 tonnes of heavy oil into a pristine lagoon. Its location on the edge of protected fragile marine ecosystems and a wetland of international importance made the ''MV Wakashio'' oil spill one of the worst environmental disasters ever to hit the western Indian Ocean.
On 10 November 2024, the opposition coalition, Alliance du Changement, won 60 of the 64 seats in the Mauritian general election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
. Its leader, former prime minister Navin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam (born 14 July 1947) is a Mauritian politician and physician who is the current prime minister of Mauritius, serving since 2024. He previously held the office from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014 and intermittently serve ...
, became new prime minister.
Geography
The total land area of the country is . It is the 170th largest nation in the world by size. The Republic of Mauritius comprises Mauritius Island and several outlying islands. The nation's exclusive economic zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
covers about of the Indian Ocean, including approximately jointly managed with the Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
.
Mauritius Island
Mauritius is off the southeast coast of Africa, between latitudes 19°58.8'S and 20°31.7'S and longitudes 57°18.0'E and 57°46.5'E. It is long and wide. Its land area is . The island is surrounded by more than of white sandy beaches, and the lagoons are protected from the open sea by the world's third-largest coral reef, which surrounds the island. Just off the Mauritian coast lie some 49 uninhabited islands and islets
An islet ( ) is generally a small island. Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and ...
, several of which have been declared natural reserves for endangered species.
Mauritius Island ( Mauritian Creole: ''Lil Moris''; , ) is relatively young geologically, having been created by volcanic activity some 8 million years ago. Together with Saint Brandon, Réunion, and Rodrigues, the island is part of the Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...
. These islands emerged as a result of gigantic underwater volcanic eruptions that happened thousands of kilometres to the east of the continental block made up of Africa and Madagascar. They are no longer volcanically active and the hotspot now rests under Réunion Island. Mauritius is encircled by a broken ring of mountain ranges, varying in height from above sea level. The land rises from coastal plains to a central plateau where it reaches a height of ; the highest peak is in the south-west, Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire at . Streams and rivers speckle the island, many formed in the cracks created by lava flows.
Rodrigues Island
The autonomous island of Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
is located to the east of Mauritius, with an area . Rodrigues is a volcanic island
Geologically, a volcanic island is an island of volcanic origin. The term high island can be used to distinguish such islands from low islands, which are formed from sedimentation or the uplifting of coral reefs (which have often formed ...
rising from a ridge along the edge of the Mascarene Plateau
The Mascarene Plateau is a submarine plateau in the Indian Ocean, north and east of Madagascar. The plateau extends approximately , from Seychelles in the north to Réunion in the south. The plateau covers an area of over of shallow water, wi ...
. The island is hilly with a central spine culminating in the highest peak, Mont Limon at . The island also has a coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in group ...
and extensive limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
deposits. According to Statistics Mauritius, at 1 July 2019, the population of the island was estimated at 43,371.
Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago is composed of atolls and islands, and is located approximately 2,200 kilometres north-east of the main island of Mauritius. The islands are set to be returned to Mauritius in 2025, having previously formed the British Indian Ocean Territory
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chago ...
, with the exception of Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...
, which remains under British administration on a 99-year lease.
To the north of the Chagos Archipelago are Peros Banhos, the Salomon Islands
The Salomon Islands or Salomon Atoll is a small atoll of the Chagos Archipelago.
Description
The atoll is located in the northeast of the Chagos Archipelago, between Blenheim Reef and Peros Banhos. The main islands in the group are Île Bod ...
and Nelsons Island; to the south-west are The Three Brothers, Eagle Islands
Eagle Islands is a group of two islands in the Chagos Archipelago. They are located on the central-western rim of the Great Chagos Bank, which is the world's largest coral atoll structure. Islands
With a land area of 2.45 km, Île Aigle is t ...
, Egmont Islands and Danger Island. Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...
is in the south-east of the archipelago. In 2016, the Chagossian population was estimated at 8,700 in Mauritius, including 483 natives; 350 Chagossians live in the Seychelles, including 75 natives, while 3,000, including 127 natives, live in the UK (the population having grown from the 1200 Chagossians who moved there).
St. Brandon
St. Brandon, also known as the Cargados Carajos shoals, is located northeast of Mauritius Island. Saint Brandon is an archipelago composed of the remnants of the lost micro continent of Mauritia
''Mauritia'' is a genus of fan palms which is native to northern South America and to the Island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. Only two species are currently accepted.
References
Mauritia,
Trees of South America
Trees of Trinidad ...
and consists of five island groups, with between 28 and 40 islands in total, depending on seasonal storms, cyclones, and related sand movements. In 2008, the Privy Council (United Kingdom)
The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...
judgment (Article 71) confirmed Raphaël Fishing Company as "the holder of a Permanent Grant of the thirteen islands mentioned in the 1901 Deed (transcribed in Vol TB25 No 342) subject to the conditions therein referred to''"''. In 2002, St. Brandon was classified in 10th place globally by UNESCO for inclusion as a World Heritage Site well ahead of any other Mauritian candidates at the time.
On 8 May 2024, the Saint Brandon Conservation Trust was launched internationally at the Corporate Council on Africa in Dallas. Texas. The trust's mission is to protect, restore and conserve St. Brandon.
Agaléga Islands
The twin islands of Agaléga are located some to the north of Mauritius. Its North Island is long and wide, while its South Island is . The total area of both islands is . According to Statistics Mauritius, at 1 July 2019, the population of Agaléga and St. Brandon was estimated at 274.
Tromelin
Tromelin Island
Tromelin Island (; , ), once called the Isle of Sand, is a low, flat island in the Indian Ocean about north of Réunion and about east of Madagascar. Both France and Mauritius claim sovereignty over the islands, and France includes it in t ...
lies 430 km north-west of Mauritius. Mauritius claims sovereignty over Tromelin island, though it is registered as a part of France.
The French took control of Mauritius in 1715, renaming it Isle de France. France officially ceded Mauritius including all its dependencies to Britain through the Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814 and in which Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
was returned to France. The British Colony of Mauritius consisted of the main island of Mauritius along with its dependencies Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
, Agaléga, St. Brandon, Tromelin (disputed) and the Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...
, while the Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
became a separate colony in 1906. It is disputed whether the transfer of Isle de France (as Mauritius was previously known under French rule) and its dependencies to Britain in 1814 included Tromelin island. Article 8 of the Treaty of Paris stipulate the cession by France to Britain of Isle de France "and its dependencies, namely Rodrigues and the Seychelles". France considers that the sovereignty of Tromelin island was never transferred to Britain. Mauritius's claim is based on the fact that the transfer of Isle de France and its dependencies to Britain in 1814 was general in nature, that it was beyond those called out in the Treaty of Paris, and that all the dependencies of Isle de France were not specifically mentioned in the Treaty. Mauritius's claim is that since Tromelin was a dependency of Isle de France, it was 'de facto' transferred to Britain in 1814. The islands of Agaléga, St Brandon and the Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...
were also not specifically mentioned in the Treaty of Paris but became part of the British Colony of Mauritius as they were dependencies of Isle de France at that time. In addition, the British authorities in Mauritius had been taking administrative measures with respect to Tromelin over the years; for instance, British officials granted four guano operating concessions on Tromelin island between 1901 and 1951. In 1959, British officials in Mauritius informed the World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology an ...
that it considered Tromelin to be part of its territory. A co-management treaty was reached by France and Mauritius in 2010 but has not been ratified.
Chagos Archipelago territorial dispute
Mauritius has long sought sovereignty
Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
over the Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...
, located to the north-east. Chagos was administratively part of Mauritius from the 18th century when the French first settled the islands. All of the islands forming part of the French colonial territory of Isle de France (as Mauritius was then known) were ceded to the British in 1810 under the Act of Capitulation signed between the two powers.
In 1965, three years before the independence of Mauritius, the United Kingdom split the Chagos Archipelago away from Mauritius, and the islands of Aldabra
Aldabra, the world's second-largest coral atoll (the largest is Kiritimati), is located east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands (Seychelles), Outer Islands ...
, Farquhar, and Desroches from the Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
, to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. The islands were formally established as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom on 8 November 1965. During UK-US discussions on the Indian Ocean in November 1975, the United Kingdom expressed its intention to return the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches to Seychelles to facilitate its peaceful transition to independence by June 1976. Both the UK and the United States acknowledged that these islands could not be used for defense purposes, as they were populated, and forcibly removing inhabitants, as had occurred in the Chagos Archipelago, would be politically unfeasible. On 18 March 1976, the UK and Seychelles signed an agreement to transfer the islands, which officially returned to Seychelles on its Independence Day, 29 June 1976. The BIOT now comprises the Chagos Archipelago only. The UK leased the main island of the archipelago, Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...
, to the United States under a 50-year lease to establish a military base. In 2016, Britain extended the lease to the US till 2036. Mauritius has repeatedly asserted that the separation of its territories is a violation of United Nations resolutions banning the dismemberment of colonial territories before independence and claims that the Chagos Archipelago
The Chagos Archipelago (, ) or Chagos Islands (formerly , and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about south of the Maldives archipelago. This chain of islands is the southernmo ...
, including Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...
, forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius under both Mauritian law and international law. Between 1968 and 1973, British officials forcibly expelled over 1,000 Chagossians
The Chagossians — also called Chagos Islanders or — are an Afro-Asians, Afro-Asian ethnic group originating from freed African slaves as well as people of Asian (Indian and Malay) descent brought to the Chagos Islands, specifically Diego ...
to Mauritius and the Seychelles. As part of the deportation, British officials have been accused of ordering the island's dog population of 1,000 to be gassed. At the United Nations and in statements to its Parliament, the UK stated that there was no "permanent population" in the Chagos Archipelago and described the population as "contract labourers" who were relocated. Since 1971, only the atoll of Diego Garcia is inhabited, home to some 3,000 UK and US military and civilian contracted personnel. Chagossians have since engaged in activism to return to the archipelago, claiming that their forced expulsion and dispossession were illegal.
Mauritius considers the territorial sea of the Chagos Archipelago and Tromelin island as part of its exclusive economic zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
.
On 20 December 2010, Mauritius initiated proceedings against the United Kingdom under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 169 sov ...
(UNCLOS) to challenge the legality of the Chagos Marine Protected Area
The Chagos Marine Protected Area, located in the central Indian Ocean in the British Indian Ocean Territory of the United Kingdom, is one of the world's largest officially designated marine protected areas, and one of the List of largest protecte ...
(MPA), which the UK purported to declare around the Chagos Archipelago in April 2010. The dispute was arbitrated by the Permanent Court of Arbitration
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...
. The Tribunal's decision determined that the UK's undertaking to return the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius gives Mauritius an interest in significant decisions that bear upon possible future uses of the archipelago.
On 25 February 2019, the judges of the International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
by thirteen votes to one stated that the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible. Only the American judge, Joan Donoghue, voted in favor of the UK. The president of the court, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, said the detachment of the Chagos Archipelago in 1965 from Mauritius had not been based on a "free and genuine expression of the people concerned". "This continued administration constitutes a wrongful act", he said, adding "The UK has an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible and that all member states must co-operate with the United Nations to complete the decolonization of Mauritius."
On 22 May 2019, the United Nations General Assembly debated and adopted a resolution that affirmed that the Chagos Archipelago, which has been occupied by the UK for more than 50 years, "forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius". The resolution gives effect to an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), demanded that the UK "withdraw its colonial administration ... unconditionally within a period of no more than six months". 116 states voted in favour of the resolution, 55 abstained and only Australia, Hungary, Israel and Maldives supported the UK and US. During the debate, the Mauritian Prime Minister described the expulsion of Chagossians as "a crime against humanity
Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
". While the resolution is not legally binding, it carries significant political weight since the ruling came from the UN's highest court and the assembly vote reflects world opinion. The resolution also has immediate practical consequences: the UN, its specialised agencies, and all other international organisations are now bound, as a matter of UN law, to support the decolonisation of Mauritius even if the UK claim that it has no doubt about its sovereignty.
On 3 October 2024 it was announced through a joint statement by the UK and Mauritian governments that the archipelago was to have its sovereignty transferred to Mauritius. The island of Diego Garcia, which contains the military base Camp Justice, was the only exception to this new treaty, with administration being leased to the United Kingdom by the Mauritian government for a period of at least 99 years. The transfer agreement was signed on 22 May 2025, with the provision that the island of Diego Garcia would be leased back to the UK for at least 99 years. The UK government
Environment and climate
The environment in Mauritius is typically tropical in the coastal regions with forests in the mountainous areas. Seasonal cyclones are destructive to its flora and fauna, although they recover quickly. Mauritius ranked second in an air quality index
An air quality index (AQI) is an indicator developed by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. As air pollution levels rise, so does the AQI, along with the a ...
released by the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
in 2011. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index
The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 47 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
mean score of 5.46/10, ranking it 100th globally out of 172 countries.
Situated near the Tropic of Capricorn
The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reach ...
, Mauritius has a tropical climate
Tropical climate is the first of the five major climate groups in the Köppen climate classification identified with the letter A. Tropical climates are defined by a monthly average temperature of or higher in the coolest month, featuring hot te ...
. There are 2 seasons: a warm humid summer from November to April, with a mean temperature of and a relatively cool dry winter from June to September with a mean temperature of . The temperature difference between the seasons is only 4.3°C (7.7°F). The warmest months are January and February with average day maximum temperature reaching and the coolest months are July and August with average overnight minimum temperatures of . Annual rainfall ranges from on the coast to on the central plateau. Although there is no marked rainy season, most of the rainfall occurs in the summer months. Sea temperature in the lagoon varies from . The central plateau is much cooler than the surrounding coastal
A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
areas and can experience as much as twice the rainfall. The prevailing trade winds keep the east side of the island cooler and bring more rain. Occasional tropical cyclones
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
generally occur between January and March and tend to disrupt the weather for about three days, bringing heavy rain.
Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth declared an environmental state of emergency after the 25 July 2020
The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
''MV Wakashio'' oil spill. France sent aircraft and specialists from Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
and Greenpeace
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
said that the leak threatened the survival of thousands of species, who are at "risk of drowning in a sea of pollution".
Mauritius is increasingly vulnerable to climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, facing rising temperatures, sea levels, and more frequent extreme weather
Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe weather, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weat ...
events. The island faces stronger tropical cyclones, prolonged droughts, flash floods, landslides, and marine heatwave
A marine heatwave is a period of abnormally high sea surface temperatures compared to the typical temperatures in the past for a particular season and region. Marine heatwaves are caused by a variety of drivers. These include shorter term weather ...
s which leading to coral bleaching
Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to loss of Symbiosis, symbiotic algae and Photosynthesis, photosynthetic pigments. This loss of pigment can be caused by various stressors, such as changes in water temperature, light, ...
. Coastal erosion, driven by rising sea levels, threatens infrastructure and freshwater supplies. Climate change is also impacting key sectors such as tourism and fisheries, with significant economic consequences. To adapt, Mauritius is implementing disaster preparedness measures, protecting coastal ecosystems like mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...
s, and raising public awareness.
Biodiversity
The country is home to some of the world's rarest plants and animals, but human habitation and the introduction of non-native species have threatened its indigenous flora and fauna. Due to its volcanic origin, age, isolation, and unique terrain, Mauritius is home to a diversity of flora and fauna not usually found in such a small area. Before the Portuguese arrival in 1507, there were no terrestrial mammals on the island. This allowed the evolution of a number of flightless birds and large reptile species. The arrival of humans saw the introduction of invasive alien species, the rapid destruction of habitat and the loss of much of the endemic flora and fauna. In particular, the extinction
Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
of the flightless dodo
The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinction, extinct flightless bird that was endemism, endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest relative was the also-extinct and flightles ...
bird, a species unique to Mauritius, has become a representative example of human-driven extinction. The dodo is prominently featured as a (heraldic) supporter
In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as ''attendants'', are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up.
Historically, supporters were left to an individual's free choice and were assu ...
of the national coat of arms of Mauritius
Adoption
The current coat of arms of Mauritius was officially granted on 25th of August, 1906 by a royal warrant from Edward VII, King Edward VII to the British Crown Colony of Mauritius. It was designed to represent key aspects of the island� ...
.
Less than 2% of the native forest now remains, concentrated in the Black River Gorges National Park in the south-west, the Bambous Mountain Range in the south-east, and the Moka-Port Louis Ranges in the north-west. There are some isolated mountains, Corps de Garde, Le Morne Brabant
Le Morne Brabant is a peninsula at the extreme southwestern tip of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. On it is a basaltic monolith of the same name 556 metres (1,824 ft) high. Its summit covers an area of over . There are many caves and overha ...
, and several offshore islands, with remnants of coastal and mainland diversity. Over 100 species of plants and animals have become extinct and many more are threatened. Conservation activities began in the 1980s with the implementation of programmes for the reproduction of threatened bird and plant species as well as habitat restoration in the national parks and nature reserves.
In 2011, the Ministry of Environment & Sustainable Development issued the "Mauritius Environment Outlook Report," which recommended that St Brandon be declared a Marine protected area
A marine protected area (MPA) is a protected area of the world's seas, oceans, estuaries or in the US, the Great Lakes. These marine areas can come in many forms ranging from wildlife refuges to research facilities. MPAs restrict human activity ...
. In the President's Report of the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) dated March 2016, St Brandon is declared an official MWF project to promote the conservation of the atoll.
The Mauritian flying fox is the only remaining mammal endemic to the island, and has been severely threatened in recent years due to the government sanctioned culling introduced in November 2015 due to the belief that they were a threat to fruit plantations. Prior to 2015 the lack of severe cyclone had seen the fruit bat population increase and the status of the species was then changed by the IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...
from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2014. October 2018, saw the authorisation of the cull of 20% of the fruit bat population, amounting to 13,000 of the estimated 65,000 fruit bats remaining, although their status had already reverted to Endangered due to the previous years' culls.
Government and politics
The politics of Mauritius take place in a framework of a parliamentary
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
representative democratic republic, in which the President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
is the head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
and the Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
is the head of government
In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
, assisted by a Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
. Mauritius has a multi-party system
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...
. Executive power
The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law.
Function
The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...
is exercised by the Government. Legislative power
A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...
is vested in both the Government and the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
.
The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
legislature, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992, when the country became a republic. It consists of 70 members, 62 elected for four-year terms in multi-member constituencies
An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
and eight additional members, known as "best losers", appointed by the Electoral Service Commission to ensure that ethnic and religious minorities are equitably represented. The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), which monitors member states' compliance with the International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights (ICPCR), has criticised the country's Best Loser System following a complaint by a local youth and trade union movement. The president is elected for a five-year term by the Parliament.
The island of Mauritius is divided into 20 constituencies that return three members each. The island of Rodrigues is a single district that returns two members.
After a general election, the Electoral Supervisory Commission may nominate up to eight additional members with a view to correct any imbalance in the representation of ethnic minorities in Parliament. This system of nominating members is commonly called the best loser system.
The political party or party alliance that wins the majority of seats in Parliament forms the government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister, who selects the Cabinet from elected members of the Assembly, except for the Attorney General of Mauritius, who may not be an elected member of the Assembly. The political party or alliance which has the second largest group of representatives forms the Official Opposition and its leader is normally nominated by the President of the Republic as the Leader of the Opposition. The Assembly elects a Speaker, a Deputy Speaker and a Deputy Chairman of Committees as some of its first tasks.
Mauritius is a democracy with a government elected every five years. The most recent National Assembly Election was held on 7 November 2019 in all the 20 mainland constituencies, and in the constituency covering the island of Rodrigues. Elections have tended to be a contest between two major coalitions of parties.
The 2018 Ibrahim Index of African Governance ranked Mauritius first in good governance. According to the 2023 Democracy Index
The ''Democracy Index'' published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. ...
compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts ...
that measures the state of democracy in 167 countries, Mauritius ranks 20th worldwide and is the only African-related country with "full democracy". The V-Dem Democracy Report described 2024 Mauritius as the 18th most electoral democratic country in Africa and autocratizing.
Administrative subdivisions
Mauritius has a single first-order administrative division, the Outer Islands of Mauritius
The Outer Islands of Mauritius () is the first-level administrative divisions of the country and consists of the islands of Mauritius and several outlying islands. The Outer Islands of Mauritius are managed ''under the aegis'' of the Prime Mi ...
(), which consists of the islands of Mauritius and several outlying islands.
The following are the island-groups in Mauritius:
*Island of Mauritius
*Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
* Saint Brandon
* Agaléga
The island of Mauritius is subdivided into nine districts, which are the country's second-order administrative divisions.
Military
All military, police, and security functions in Mauritius are carried out by 10,000 active-duty personnel under the Commissioner of Police. The 8,000-member National Police Force is responsible for domestic law enforcement. The 1,400-member Special Mobile Force (SMF) and the 688-member National Coast Guard are the only two paramilitary units in Mauritius. Both units are composed of police officers on lengthy rotations to those services. Mauritius also has a special operations military known as 'GIPM' that would intervene in any terrorist attack or high risk operations.
Foreign relations
Mauritius has strong and friendly relations with various African, American, Asian, European and Oceanic countries. Considered part of Africa geographically, Mauritius has friendly relations with African states in the region, particularly South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, by far its largest continental trading partner. Mauritian investors are gradually entering African markets, notably Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The country's political heritage and dependence on Western markets have led to close ties with the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and its member states, particularly France. Relations with India are very strong for both historical and commercial reasons. Mauritius established diplomatic relations with China in April 1972 and was forced to defend this decision, along with naval contracts with the USSR in the same year. It has also been extending its Middle East outreach with the setting up of an embassy in Saudi Arabia whose Ambassador also doubles as the country's ambassador to Bahrain.
Mauritius is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
, the African Union
The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...
, the Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...
, La Francophonie
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
, the Southern Africa Development Community, the Indian Ocean Commission
The Indian Ocean Commission (, COI) is an intergovernmental organisation that links African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an overseas region of France), and Seychelles. There are also seven observers: China, th ...
, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whi ...
, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association.
Legal system
Mauritius has a hybrid legal system derived from English common law
English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality bef ...
and the French civil law. The Constitution of Mauritius established the separation of powers
The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...
between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
and guaranteed the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. Mauritius has a single-structured judicial system consisting of two tiers, the Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
and subordinate courts. The Supreme Court is composed of various divisions exercising jurisdiction such as the Master's Court, the Family Division, the Commercial Division (Bankruptcy), the Criminal Division, the Mediation Division, the Court of First Instance in civil and criminal proceedings, the Appellate jurisdiction: the Court of Civil Appeal and the Court of Criminal Appeal. Subordinate courts consist of the Intermediate Court, the Industrial Court, the District Courts, the Bail and Remand Court and the Court of Rodrigues. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 August ...
is the final court of appeal of Mauritius. After the independence of Mauritius in 1968, Mauritius maintained the Privy Council as its highest court of appeal. Appeals to the Judicial Committee from decisions of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court may be as of right or with the leave of the Court, as set out in section 81 of the Constitution and section 70A of the Courts Act. The Judicial Committee may also grant special leave to appeal from the decision of any court in any civil or criminal matter as per section 81(5) of the Constitution.
Demographics
Mauritius had a population of 1,235,260 (608,090 males, 627,170 females) according to the final results of the 2022 Census. The population on the island of Mauritius was 1,191,280 (586,590 males and 604,690 females), and that of Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
island was 43,650 (21,330 males and 22,320 females); Agalega island total population of 330 (170 males and 160 females). Mauritius has the second highest population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
in Africa. According to the 2022 census, the average age of the population was 38 years. The 2022 Census indicated that the proportion of children aged below 15 years went down from 20.7% in 2011 to 15.4% in 2022 while the share of persons aged 60 years and over has risen from 12.7% to 18.7% in the same period.
Subsequent to a Constitutional amendment in 1982, the census does not compile data on ethnic identities anymore but still does on religious affiliation. The 1972 census was the last one to measure ethnicity. Mauritius is a multiethnic society, drawn from Indian, African, Chinese and European (mostly French) origin. Mauritian Creoles
Mauritian Creoles are the people on the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agaléga and the Chagos Archipelago and in the wider overseas Mauritian diaspora who trace their roots to continental Africans who were brought to Mauritius under slave ...
carry the Bantu haplotype
A haplotype (haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent.
Many organisms contain genetic material (DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA orga ...
and their mitochondrial genetics show significant ancestry with enslaved populations from East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...
and Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
while Indo-Mauritians carry genes associated with the Chota Nagpur Plateau
The Chota Nagpur Plateau () is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and th ...
in Ranchi District
Ranchi district is the most populous district of Jharkhand state in eastern India. Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, is the district headquarters.
History
Iron slag, potsherds and iron tools have been found in the Chota Nagpur plateau dated to ...
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
.
According to the Constitution of Mauritius, there are 4 distinct communities on the island for the purposes of representation in the National Assembly. Schedule I, Paragraph 3(4) of the Constitution states that ''The population of Mauritius shall be regarded as including a Hindu community, a Muslim community, and a Sino-Mauritian community, and every person who does not appear, from his way of life, to belong to one or other of those three communities shall be regarded as belonging to the General Population, which shall itself be regarded as a fourth community.'' Thus each ethnic group in Mauritius falls within one of the four main communities known as Hindus
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, General Population, Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
and Sino-Mauritians.
As per the above constitutional provision, the 1972 ethnic statistics are used to implement the Best Loser System, the method used in Mauritius since the 1950s to guarantee ethnic representation across the entire electorate in the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
without organising the representation wholly by ethnicity.
Religion
According to the 2022 census conducted by Statistics Mauritius
Statistics Mauritius, formerly known as the Central Statistics Office (CSO) until 2000, is the national statistical agency of Mauritius. It operates under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and is responsible for all ...
, 47.87% of the Mauritian population follows Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
; 32.29% follows Christianity, with more than three-fourths of that number practicing Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
; Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
(18.24%) and other religions (0.86%) (including Chinese ethnic religions). 0.63% reported themselves as non-religious
Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ration ...
and 0.11% did not answer.
The constitution prohibits discrimination on religious grounds and provides for freedom to practice, change one's religion or not have any. The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, Presbyterian Church of Mauritius, Seventh-day Adventists, Hindu Temples Associations and Muslim Mosques Organisations enjoy tax-exemptions and are allocated financial support based on their respective share of the population. Other religious groups can register and be tax-exempt but receive no financial support. Public holidays of religious origins are the Hindu festivals of Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...
, Ougadi, Thaipoosam Cavadee, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Diwali
Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
; the Christian festivals of All Saints Day
All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas, is a Christianity, Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the Church, whether ...
and Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
; and the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr () is the first of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam, the other being Eid al-Adha. It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide becaus ...
. The state actively participates in their organisation with special committees presiding over the pilgrimage to Ganga Talao for Maha Shivaratri
Maha Shivaratri is a Hindu festival celebrated annually to worship the deity Shiva, between February and March. According to the Hindu calendar, the festival is observed on the fourteenth day of the first half (night start with darkness - ...
and the annual Catholic Procession to Jacques-Désiré Laval
Jacques-Désiré Laval (18 September 1803 – 9 September 1864) was a French people, French Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest who served in the Catholic missions, missions in Mauritius; he was a professed member from the Holy Ghost Fat ...
's resting place at Sainte-Croix.
Languages
The Mauritian constitution makes no mention of an official language
An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...
. It only mentions that the official language of the National Assembly is English; however, any member can also address the chair in French. English and French are generally considered to be de facto national and common languages of Mauritius, as they are the languages of government administration, courts, and business. The constitution of Mauritius is written in English, while some laws, such as the Civil and Criminal code
A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
s, are in French. The Mauritian currency features the Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
and Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...
scripts.
The Mauritian population is multilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
; while Mauritian Creole is the mother tongue
A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...
of most Mauritians, most people are also fluent in English and French; they tend to switch languages according to the situation. French and English are favoured in educational and professional settings, while Asian languages are used mainly in music, religious and cultural activities. The media and literature are primarily in French.
The Mauritian Creole language, which is French-based with some additional influences, is spoken by the majority of the population as a native language. The Creole languages spoken in different islands of the country are more or less similar: Mauritian Creole, Rodriguan creole, Agalega creole and Chagossian creole are spoken by people from the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
, Agaléga and Chagos. The following ancestral languages, also spoken in Mauritius, have received official recognition by acts of parliament: Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri may refer to:
* Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal
* Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language
* Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language
* Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language
* Bhojpuri region ...
, Chinese, Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, Marathi
Marathi may refer to:
*Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India
**Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
*Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Mar ...
, Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
, Telugu and Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
. Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri may refer to:
* Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal
* Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language
* Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language
* Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language
* Bhojpuri region ...
, once widely spoken as a mother tongue, has become less commonly spoken over the years. According to the 2022 census, Bhojpuri was spoken by 5.1% of the population compared to 12.1% in 2000.
School students must learn English and French; they may also opt for an Asian language or Mauritian Creole. The medium of instruction varies from school to school but is usually English for public and government subsidised private schools and mainly French for paid private ones. O-Level and A-Level
The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
Exams are organised in public and government subsidised private schools in English by Cambridge International Examinations
Cambridge International Education (abbreviated CIE, informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education and CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a pro ...
while paid private schools mostly follow the French Baccalaureate
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
model.
Education
The education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
system in Mauritius consists of pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The education structure consists of two to three years of pre-primary school, six years of primary schooling leading to the Primary School Achievement Certificate, five years of secondary education leading to the School Certificate, and two years of higher secondary ending with the Higher School Certificate. Secondary schools have "college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
" as part of their title. The government of Mauritius provides free education
Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in most countries (often not including primary textboo ...
to its citizens from pre-primary to tertiary level. In 2013 government expenditure on education was estimated at ₨ 13,584 million, representing 13% of total expenditure. As of January 2017, the government has introduced changes to the education system with the Nine-Year Continuous Basic Education programme, which abolished the Certificate of Primary Education (CPE).
The O-Level and A-Level
The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
examinations are carried out by the University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
through University of Cambridge International Examinations
Cambridge International Education (abbreviated CIE, informally known as Cambridge International or simply Cambridge and formerly known as CAIE, Cambridge Assessment International Education and CIE, Cambridge International Examinations) is a pro ...
in collaboration with the MES. The tertiary education sector includes universities and other technical institutions in Mauritius. The two main public universities are the University of Mauritius
The University of Mauritius (UoM) () is the national university of Mauritius. It is the oldest and largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and the curriculum offered. The public university's main campus is located at Réd ...
and the University of Technology
An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...
, in addition to the Université des Mascareignes, founded in 2012, and the Open University Mauritius. These four public universities and several other technical institutes and higher education colleges are tuition-free for students as of 2019.
The adult literacy rate
Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...
was at 91.9% in 2022 with 8.8% of the total population holding a tertiary level qualification. Mauritius was ranked 55th in the Global Innovation Index
The Global Innovation Index is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for and success in innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It was started in 2007 by INSEAD and ''World Business'', a Britis ...
in 2024, 1st in Africa.
Economy
Mauritius is often described as Africa's most developed country. Since independence from Britain in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculture-based economy to a high-income
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a country with a gross national income per capita of US$14,005 or more in 2023, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" ...
diversified economy, based on tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
, textiles, sugar, and financial services. The economic history of Mauritius since independence has been called "the Mauritian Miracle" and the "success of Africa" (Romer, 1992; Frankel, 2010; Stiglitz, 2011).
In recent years, information and communication technology, seafood, hospitality and property development, healthcare, renewable energy, and education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
and training have emerged as important sectors, attracting substantial investment from both local and foreign investors. Mauritius has one of the largest exclusive economic zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
s in the world, and in 2012 the government announced its intention to develop the marine economy.
Mauritius has no exploitable fossil fuel reserves and so relies on petroleum products to meet most of its energy requirements. Local and renewable energy sources are biomass, hydro, solar and wind energy. Mauritius contributes approximately 0.01% of global greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
. The country has pledged to cut emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to projected levels without intervention, with a goal of reaching net zero
Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
by 2070. As part of its climate change strategy, Mauritius plans to eliminate coal from electricity generation by 2030, reduce landfill
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...
waste by diverting 70% of it through a circular economy
A circular economy (also referred to as circularity or CE) is a model of resource Production (economics), production and Resource consumption, consumption in any economy that involves sharing, leasing, Reuse, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and ...
approach, and increase the share of electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...
s to 15% by the same year.
Mauritius is ranked high in terms of economic competitiveness, a friendly investment climate, good governance and a free economy. The Gross Domestic Product (PPP) was estimated at US$29.187 billion in 2018, and GDP (PPP) per capita was over US$22,909, the second highest in Africa.
Mauritius has a high-income economy
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a country with a gross national income per capita of US$14,005 or more in 2023, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" ...
, according to the World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
in 2019. The World Bank's 2019 Ease of Doing Business Index
Ease or EASE may refer to:
Computing
* Ease (programming language)
* Enhanced Acoustic Simulator for Engineers, software for optimizing acoustics
Health and medicine
* Methylone, marketed briefly in New Zealand as Ease
*Examination of Anomalous ...
ranks Mauritius 13th worldwide out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business. According to the Mauritian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country's challenges are heavy reliance on a few industry sectors, high brain drain, scarcity of skilled labour, ageing population and inefficient public companies and para-statal bodies.
Mauritius has built its success on a free market economy. According to the 2019 Economic Freedom of the World report, Mauritius is ranked as having the 9th most free economy in the world.
Mauritius has historically relied on external financial inflows like tourism revenue, offshore finance and foreign aid.
Financial services
According to the Financial Services Commission, financial and insurance activities contributed to 11.1% of the country's GDP in 2018. Over the years, Mauritius has been positioning itself as the preferred hub for investment into Africa due its strategic location between Asia and Africa, hybrid regulatory framework, ease of doing business, investment protection treaties, non-double taxation treaties, highly qualified and multilingual workforce, political stability, low crime rate coupled with modern infrastructure and connectivity. It is home to a number of international banks, legal firms, corporate services, investment funds and private equity funds. Financial products and services include private banking, global business, insurance and reinsurance, limited companies, protected cell companies, trust and foundation, investment banking, global headquarter administration.
Corporate tax rate ranges from 15% to 17% and individual tax rate ranges from 10% to 25%. While the country also offers incentives such as tax holidays and exemptions in some specific sectors to boost its competitiveness, the country is often tagged as a tax haven by the press due to individuals and companies who engaged in abusive practices in its financial sector. The country has built up a solid reputation by making use of best practices and adopting a strong legal and regulatory framework to demonstrate its compliance with international demands for greater transparency. In June 2015, Mauritius adhered to the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, and has an exchange information mechanism with 127 jurisdictions. Mauritius is a founding member of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti Money Laundering Group and has been at the forefront in the fight against money laundering and other forms of financial crime. The country has adopted exchange of information on an automatic basis under the Common Reporting Standard
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an information standard for the Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI) regarding financial accounts on a global level, between tax authorities, which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Develo ...
and the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act.
Tourism
Mauritius is a major tourist destination, and the tourism sector is one of the main pillars of the Mauritian economy. The island nation enjoys a tropical climate with clear warm sea waters, beaches, tropical fauna and flora, complemented by a multi-ethnic and cultural population. The forecast of tourist arrivals for the year 2019 is maintained at 1,450,000, representing an increase of 3.6% over the figure of 1,399,408 in 2018.
Mauritius currently has two UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Sites
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
, namely, Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape. Additionally, Black River Gorges National Park is currently in the UNESCO tentative list.
Transport
Since 2005 public buses, and later trains, in Mauritius have been free of charge for students, people with disabilities, and senior citizens. The Metro Express railway currently links all five cities and the University of Mauritius
The University of Mauritius (UoM) () is the national university of Mauritius. It is the oldest and largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and the curriculum offered. The public university's main campus is located at Réd ...
at Réduit with planned expansion to the east and south. Former privately owned industrial railways have been abandoned since the 1960s. The harbour of Port Louis
Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is admi ...
handles international trade as well as a cruise terminal. The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport ( French: ''Aéroport International Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam'') is the primary international airport serving the island nation of Mauritius. It is located at Plaine Magnien, southeast of the c ...
, the largest one in the Indian Ocean, is the main international airport and serves as the home operating base for the national airline Air Mauritius
Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius. The airline is headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius, with its Airline hub, hub at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport.
History Foundation
The company was established on 14 J ...
. The Plaine Corail Airport operates from Rodrigues
Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...
ensuring air link with the main island of Mauritius and international flights with Réunion
Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
.
Information and communications technology (ICT)
The information and communications technology (ICT) sector has contributed to 5.7% of its GDP in 2016.
Additionally, the African Network Information Centre ( AFRINIC) – the regional Internet registry
A regional Internet registry (RIR) is an organization that manages the allocation and registration of Internet number resources within a region of the world. Internet number resources include IP addresses and autonomous system (AS) numbers.
...
for Africa – is based in Ebene.
Mauritius is also connected to global Internet infrastructure via multiple optical fibre submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and car ...
s, including the Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
) cable, the Mauritius–Rodrigues Submarine Cable, and the South Africa Far East (SAFE
A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...
) cable.
Culture
Art
Prominent Mauritian painters include Henri Le Sidaner
Henri Eugène Augustin Le Sidaner (7 August 1862 – 14 July 1939) was an Intimism (art movement), intimist painter known for his paintings of domestic interiors and quiet street scenes. His style contained elements of impressionism with the in ...
, Malcolm de Chazal, Raouf Oderuth and Vaco Baissac while Gabrielle Wiehe is a prominent illustrator and graphic designer.
The Mauritius "Post Office" stamps, the first stamps produced outside Great Britain, among the rarest postage stamps in the world, are widely considered "the greatest item in all philately".
Architecture
The distinctive architecture of Mauritius reflects the island nation's history as a colonial trade base connecting Europe with the East. Styles and forms introduced by Dutch, French, and British settlers from the seventeenth century onward, mixed with influences from India and East Africa, resulted in a unique hybrid architecture of international historic, social, and artistic significance. Mauritian structures present a variety of designs, materials, and decorative elements that are unique to the country and inform the historical context of the Indian Ocean and European colonialism.
Decades of political, social, and economic change have resulted in the routine destruction of Mauritian architectural heritage. Between 1960 and 1980, the historic homes of the island's high grounds, known locally as campagnes, disappeared at alarming rates. More recent years have witnessed the demolition of plantations, residences, and civic buildings as they have been cleared or drastically renovated for new developments to serve an expanding tourism industry. The capital city of Port Louis remained relatively unchanged until the mid-1990s, yet now reflects the irreversible damage that has been inflicted on its built heritage. Rising land values are pitted against the cultural value of historical structures in Mauritius, while the prohibitive costs of maintenance and the steady decline in traditional building skills make it harder to invest in preservation.
The general populace historically lived in what are termed creole houses.
Literature
Mauritius is remembered in literature mostly for the novel Paul et Virginie, a classic of French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by French people, French citizens; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of Franc ...
, by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre and for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland's Dodo
Jean-Marie Le Clézio, Ananda Devi, Nathacha Appanah, Malcolm de Chazal, Eugénie Poujade, Marie-Thérèse Humbert, Shenaz Patel, Khal Torabully, Aqiil Gopee, South-African born Lindsey Collen-Seegobin writing in English and French, Dev Virahsawmy writing mostly in Mauritian Creole and Abhimanyu Unnuth writing in Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
are some of the most prominent Mauritian writers. Le Clézio, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in t ...
in 2008, is of Mauritian heritage and holds dual French-Mauritian citizenship. The island plays host to the Le Prince Maurice Prize. In keeping with the island's literary culture the prize alternates on a yearly basis between English-speaking and French-speaking writers.
Media
Music
The major musical genres of Mauritius are Sega
is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
and its fusion genre
A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are sometim ...
, Seggae, Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri may refer to:
* Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal
* Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language
* Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language
* Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language
* Bhojpuri region ...
folk songs
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...
, Indian movie music especially Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
, and Classical music mainly Western classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
and Indian classical music
Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...
.
Cuisine
Mauritian cuisine
The cuisine of Mauritius is mainly influenced by the tropical location of the island as well as the cultural diversity that characterizes the country. Mauritian cuisine is a blend of African, Chinese, European (mainly French) and Indian (mai ...
is a combination of Indian, Creole, French and Chinese cuisines, with many dishes unique to the island. Local variants of Asian and European cusines include vegetarian and non vegetarian curries, paratha
Paratha (, also parantha/parontah) is a flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent, with earliest reference mentioned in early medieval Sanskrit, India. It is one of the most popular flatbreads in the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East.
...
s locally known as ''farata'', the potato rich briani, wok prepared mines frires and diriz frires, a chop suey dish known as ''bol renversé'' (upside-down bowl), sausage and tomato based ''rougaille'' and Mughlai-origin alouda, a cold beverage, amongst others. Locally made French pastry and bread are sold in most localities with locally unique desserts like "napolitaine", a local version of sablé coated with a pink icing, coconut based ''gâteau coco'' and ''macacha coco'' and iced kulfi.
Masala spices, dal
Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses.
Dal or DAL may also refer to:
Places
Cambodia
*Dal, Ke Chong
Finland
* Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki
India
* Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
* Dal ...
s, ''zassar'' from Indian-origin achar and leaf vegetables known as brèdes are commonly consumed in all households. Street food
Street food is food sold by a Hawker (trade), hawker or vendor on a street or at another public place, such as a market, fair, or park. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
sold by hawkers include popular wraps ''dholl puri'' and roti
Roti is a round flatbread originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly consumed in many South Asian, Southeast Asian, Caribbean, East African, and Southeast African countries.
It is made from stoneground whole-wheat flour, kno ...
, local versions of Indian pakoras like ''gâteau piment'' and chana puris.
Holidays and festivals
The public holidays of Mauritius involve the blending of several cultures from Mauritius's history. There are Hindu festivals
Hindus celebrate a significant number of festivals and celebrations, many of which commemorate events from ancient India and often align with seasonal changes. These festivities take place either on a fixed annual date on the solar calendar ...
, Christian festivals, Chinese festivals, and Muslim festivals. There are 14 annual public holidays in Mauritius with New Year celebrated over two days if it falls on a weekend. All the public holidays related to religious festivals have dates that vary from year to year except for Christmas. Other festivals such as Holi
Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...
, Raksha Bandhan
Raksha Bandhan Quote: m Hindi ''rakśābandhan'' held on the full moon of the month of Savan, when sisters tie a talisman (rakhi q.v.) on the arm of their brothers and receive small gifts of money from them. is a popular and traditionally Hin ...
, Durga Puja
Durga Puja (ISO 15919, ISO: , ), also known as Durgotsava or Shaaradotsava, is an annual festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which pays homage to the Hinduism, Hindu goddess Durga, and is also celebrated because of Durga's victo ...
, Makar Sankranti
Makar(a) Sankrānti (), () also referred to as Uttarāyana, Makara, or simply Sankrānti, is a Hinduism, Hindu observance and a mid-winter harvest festival in India and Nepal. It is typically celebrated on 14 January annually (15 January on a ...
and Père Laval Pilgrimage also enrich the cultural landscape of Mauritius.
Sports
The most popular sport in Mauritius is football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
[Richards, Alexandra.''Mauritius: Rodrigues, Réunion''. Bradt Travel Guides, 2009, p. 90] and the national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
is known as The Dodos or Club M. Other popular sports in Mauritius include cycling, table tennis, horse racing, badminton, volleyball, basketball, handball, boxing, judo, karate, taekwondo, weightlifting, bodybuilding and athletics. Water sports include swimming, sailing, scuba diving, windsurfing and kitesurfing
Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...
.
Kim le Court is a successful professional cyclist
Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
. With multiple podium places in the African Road Championships, she is the 2024 national road race and time trial champion. She won stage 8 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia Women. In 2025, she won Liege-Bastogne-Liege Femmes, came 3rd overall in the UAE Tour Women and 5th in the Tour of Flanders for Women.
Horseracing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
, which dates from 1812 when the Champ de Mars Racecourse was inaugurated, remains popular. The country hosted the second (1985), fifth (2003) and tenth editions (2019) of the Indian Ocean Island Games. Mauritius won its first Olympic medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
in Beijing when boxer Bruno Julie won the bronze medal.
In golf, the former Mauritius Open and the current AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open
The AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open is a men's professional golf tournament co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Sunshine Tour, and formerly by the Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, t ...
have been part of the European Tour
The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
.
See also
* Outline of Mauritius
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
* ''This article incorporates public domain text from the websites of the Government of Mauritius
, the United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
, the U.S. Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
, and the CIA World Factbook
''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print ve ...
.''
Further reading
*
*
*
Novels
* Geneviève Dormann, ''Le bal du dodo'', Albin Michel, 2000, .
* J. M. G. Le Clézio, ''La quarantaine'', Gallimard, 1997, .
* Nathacha Appanah, ''Les rochers de poudre d'or'', Gallimard, 2006.
* Shenaz Patel, ''Le silence des Chagos'', éditions de l'Olivier, 2005, .
External links
References
Country Profile
from BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
Key Development Forecasts for Mauritius
from International Futures
Mauritius
at ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
Mauritius
entry at ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
''
Mauritius
''The World Factbook
''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The off ...
''. Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
.
Government
Board of Investment
Mauritius Government portal
Statistics Mauritius
Geography
*
*
WikiSatellite view of Mauritius at WikiMapia
{{Authority control
1638 establishments in the Dutch Empire
1968 establishments in Africa
Countries and territories where English is an official language
Countries in Africa
East African countries
French-speaking countries and territories
Island countries of the Indian Ocean
Island countries
Mascarene Islands
Member states of the African Union
Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations
Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
Member states of the United Nations
Miocene Africa
Populated places established by the Dutch East India Company
Populated places established in 1638
Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations
Small Island Developing States
States and territories established in 1968