Mauritius

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 Arabic: دنية عروبي Daniyah 'Arūbi or corruption of دبية عروبي 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 of the Dutch Republic. 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. Under British rule, the island's name reverted to Mauritius . Mauritius is also commonly known as Maurice (pronounced [mɔʁis]) and Île Maurice in French, as well as Moris (pronounced [moʁis]) 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, designed to prevent conflict between Portugal and Spain, gave the Kingdom of Portugal 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 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 Dutch inhabited the island in 1638, from which they exploited ebony trees and introduced sugar cane, domestic animals and deer. It was from here that Dutch navigator Abel Tasman set out to seek the Great Southern Land, mapping parts of Tasmania, New Zealand and New Guinea.

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), took control of Mauritius in 1715 and renamed it Isle de France. In 1723, the Code Noir 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 coincided with the development of a prosperous economy based on sugar production. Mahé de La Bourdonnais established Port Louis 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—Sakalava or Arabs—bought slaves from slavers in the Arab Swahili coast or Portuguese Mozambique and stopped at Seychelles 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 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.

British Mauritius (1810–1968)

In the 19th century, Mauritius imported and exported convict labour, along with other British colonies. These migrations were caused both by labour shortages, due to the abolition of slavery, and by unmanageably large prison populations, partially attributed to social unrest in India. In 1811, the East India Company briefly stopped penal transportation sentences because, due to reports from returning convicts of indulgent treatment, they were no longer a deterrent to crime. Transport sentences were reinstated two years later due to swelling prison populations resulting partially from growing rebellion and unrest across the realm of the East India Company.

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, 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.

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. 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. After 1833, slavery was gradually abolished over several years, and the planters ultimately received two million pounds sterling in compensation for the loss of their slaves, who had been imported from Africa and Madagascar during the French occupation.

The abolition of slavery had important effects on Mauritius's society, economy and population. The planters brought a large number of indentured labourers 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 and now a UNESCO site, was the first British colony to serve as a major reception centre for indentured servants. 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.

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 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 was excised from the territory of Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory (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 became the first prime minister of an independent Mauritius – with Queen Elizabeth II remaining head of state as Queen of Mauritius.

In 1969, the opposition party, Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), was founded, led by Paul Bérenger. 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. 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 declared malaria-free. Malaria had once forced a significant portion of the population to move from the coastal regions to the Central Plateau in the late 19th century.

Republic (since 1992)

On 12 March 1992, Mauritius was proclaimed a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations and the monarch removed as head of state. The last Governor-General of Mauritius, Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, became the first President. This was under a transitional arrangement, in which he was replaced by Cassam Uteem later that year. Executive authority remained under the prime ministership.

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 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 and then in May. 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 of the MSM returned to power in September 2000 after securing an alliance with the MMM. In 2002, the island of Rodrigues 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 of the MMM, and Sir Anerood Jugnauth became president. Bérenger was the first Franco-Mauritian Prime Minister in the country's post-Independence history.

Geography

The total land area of the country is 2,040 km2 (790 sq mi). 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 covers about 2.3 million square kilometres (670,000 sq nmi; 890,000 sq mi) of the Indian Ocean, including approximately 400,000 km2 (150,000 sq mi) jointly managed with the Seychelles.

Mauritius Island

Mauritius is 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) 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 65 km (40 mi) long and 45 km (30 mi) wide. Its land area is 1,864.8 km2 (720.0 sq mi). The island is surrounded by more than 150 km (100 mi) 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, several of which have been declared natural reserves for endangered species.

Mauritius Island (Mauritian Creole: Lil Moris; French: Île Maurice, pronounced [il moʁis]) 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. 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 300 to 800 metres (1,000 to 2,600 ft) above sea level. The land rises from coastal plains to a central plateau where it reaches a height of 670 m (2,200 ft). The highest peak is in the south-west, Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire at 828 metres (2,717 ft). Streams and rivers speckle the island, many formed in the cracks created by lava flows.

Rodrigues Island

The autonomous island of Rodrigues is located 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) to the east of Mauritius, with an area 108 km2 (42 sq mi). Rodrigues is a volcanic island rising from a ridge along the edge of the Mascarene Plateau. The island is hilly with a central spine culminating in the highest peak, Mont Limon at 398 m (1,306 ft). The island also has a coral reef and extensive limestone 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 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi) north-east of the main island of Mauritius. The islands are set to be transferred to Mauritius in 2026, having previously formed the British Indian Ocean Territory, with the exception of Diego Garcia, which remains under British administration on a 99-year lease.

To the north of the Chagos Archipelago are Peros Banhos, the Salomon Islands and Nelsons Island; to the south-west are The Three Brothers, Eagle Islands, Egmont Islands and Danger Island. Diego Garcia 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 217 nautical miles (402 km; 250 mi) northeast of Mauritius Island. Saint Brandon is an archipelago composed of the remnants of the lost micro continent of Mauritia. It 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) judgment 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.

In 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 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi) to the north of Mauritius. Its North Island is 12.5 km (7.8 mi) long and 1.5 km (0.93 mi) wide, while its South Island is 7 by 4.5 km (4.3 by 2.8 mi). The total area of both islands is 26 km2 (10 sq mi). According to Statistics Mauritius, at 1 July 2019, the population of Agaléga and St. Brandon was estimated at 274.

Tromelin

Tromelin Island lies 230 nautical miles (430 km; 260 mi) 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. In May 1814, France ceded Mauritius including all its dependencies to Britain through the Treaty of Paris, and in which Réunion was returned to France. The British Colony of Mauritius consisted of the main island of Mauritius along with its dependencies Rodrigues, Agaléga, St. Brandon, Tromelin (disputed) and the Chagos Archipelago. The Seychelles 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 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 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 over the Chagos Archipelago, located 695 nautical miles (1,287 km; 800 mi) 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, Farquhar, and Desroches from the Seychelles, to form the British Indian Ocean Territory. The islands were formally established as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom on 8 November 1965.

In November 1975, during UK-US discussions on the Indian Ocean, 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, 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, including Diego Garcia, 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 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.

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. In 2011, Mauritius ranked second in a WTO global air quality index. It had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.46/10, ranking it 100th globally out of 172 countries.

Situated near the Tropic of Capricorn, Mauritius has a tropical climate. There are 2 seasons: a warm humid summer from November to April, with a mean temperature of 24.7 °C (76.5 °F) and a relatively cool dry winter from June to September, with a mean temperature of 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). 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 of 29.2 °C (84.6 °F). The coolest months are July and August with average overnight minimum temperatures of 16.4 °C (61.5 °F).

Annual rainfall ranges from 900 mm (35 in) on the coast to 1,500 mm (59 in) 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 22–27 °C (72–81 °F). The central plateau is much cooler than the surrounding coastal 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 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 MV Wakashio oil spill. France sent aircraft and specialists from Réunion and Greenpeace 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, facing rising temperatures, sea levels, and more frequent extreme weather events. The island faces stronger tropical cyclones, prolonged droughts, flash floods, landslides, and marine heatwaves which leading to coral bleaching.

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 mangroves, and raising public awareness.

Biodiversity

Mauritius 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 of the flightless dodo bird, a species unique to Mauritius, has become a representative example of human-driven extinction. The dodo is prominently featured as a heraldic supporter of the national coat of arms of Mauritius.

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, 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. 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 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 representative democratic republic in which the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government, assisted by a Council of Ministers. Mauritius has a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the Government. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the National Assembly.

The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral 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 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.

Administrative subdivisions

Mauritius has a single first-order administrative division, the Outer Islands of Mauritius (French: Îles éparses de Maurice), which consists of several outlying islands.

The following are the island-groups in Mauritius:

Island of Mauritius

Rodrigues

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 servicemembers under the Commissioner of Police. The 8,000-member National Police Force is responsible for domestic law enforcement. The 1,400-strong Special Mobile Force (SMF) and the 688-strong 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 will 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. Mauritius has friendly relations with African states in the region, particularly South Africa, 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 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 African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Southern Africa Development Community, the Indian Ocean Commission, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Indian Ocean Rim Association.

Legal system

Mauritius has a hybrid legal system derived from English common law and the French civil law. The Constitution of Mauritius establishes the separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary and guarantees 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 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 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

In the 2022 census, Mauritius had a population of 1,235,260 (608,090 males, 627,170 females). The population on the island of Mauritius was 1,191,280 (586,590 males and 604,690 females), and that of Rodrigues island was 43,650 (21,330 males and 22,320 females). Agalega island's population was 330 (170 males and 160 females).

Mauritius has the second highest population density in Africa. In the 2022 census, the average age of the population was 38 years. The proportion of the populated 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 records 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 carry the Bantu haplotype and their mitochondrial genetics show significant ancestry with enslaved populations from East Africa and Madagascar while Indo-Mauritians carry genes associated with the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Ranchi District, Jharkhand.

In 2022, the number of Bangladeshi nationals and Indian nationals had respectively risen to 1.21% and 1.19% of the total resident population. Bengali is spoken at home by 1.18% of the population. Non-Mauritians make up 3.39% of the total resident population.

According to the Constitution of Mauritius, there are four 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, General Population, Muslims 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 without organising the representation wholly by ethnicity.

Religion

According to the 2022 census conducted by Statistics Mauritius, 47.87% of the Mauritian population follows Hinduism, followed by Christianity (32.29%), out of which 24.94% are Catholic, Islam (18.24%) and other religions (0.86%) (including Chinese ethnic religions). 0.63% reported themselves as non-religious 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, Church of England, Presbyterian Church of Mauritius, Seventh-day Adventists, Hindu Temples Associations and Muslim Mosques Organisations have 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, Ougadi, Thaipoosam Cavadee, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Diwali; the Christian festivals of All Saints Day and Christmas; and the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. The state actively participates in their organisation with special committees presiding over the pilgrimage to Ganga Talao for Maha Shivaratri and the annual Catholic procession to Jacques-Désiré Laval's resting place at Sainte-Croix.

Languages

The Mauritian constitution makes no mention of an official language. 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 codes, are in French. The Mauritian currency features the Latin, Tamil and Devanagari scripts.

The Mauritian population is multilingual. Mauritian Creole is the mother tongue of most Mauritians. Most people are also fluent in English and French, and 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, and attempts have been made to standardise it. The Creole languages spoken in different islands of the country are more or less similar: Mauritian, Rodriguan, Agalega and Chagossian Creoles are spoken by people from the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agaléga and Chagos, respectively. The following ancestral languages, also spoken in Mauritius, have received official recognition by acts of parliament: Bhojpuri, Chinese, Hindi, Marathi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Bhojpuri, 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 exams are organised in public and government subsidised private schools in English by Cambridge International Examinations while paid private schools mostly follow the French Baccalaureate model.

Education

The education 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" as part of their title.

The O-Level and A-Level examinations are carried out by the University of Cambridge through University of Cambridge International Examinations 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 and the University of Technology, in addition to the Université des Mascareignes, founded in 2012, and the Open University of Mauritius. These four public universities and several other technical institutes and higher education colleges are tuition-free for students as of 2019.

The government of Mauritius provides free education 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 adult literacy rate was at 91.9% in 2022 with 8.8% of the total population holding a tertiary level qualification. Mauritius was ranked 53rd in the Global Innovation Index in 2025, 1st in Africa.

Economy

Mauritius is often described as the most developed country in Africa. Since independence from Britain in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculture-based economy to a high-income diversified economy, based on tourism, textiles, sugar, and financial services. The economic history of Mauritius since independence has been called "the Mauritian Miracle" and the "success of Africa".

In recent years, information and communication technology, seafood, hospitality and property development, healthcare, renewable energy, and education and training have emerged as important sectors, attracting substantial investment from both local and foreign investors. Mauritius has one of the largest exclusive economic zones 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. In 2024, Mauritius contributed approximately 0.01% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The country has pledged to cut emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to projected levels without intervention, with a goal of reaching net zero by 2070. As part of its climate change strategy, Mauritius plans to eliminate coal from electricity generation by 2030, reduce landfill waste by diverting 70% of it through a circular economy approach, and increase the share of electric vehicles to 15% by the same year.

In 2012, Mauritius was 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, according to the World Bank in 2019. The World Bank's 2019 Ease of Doing Business Index 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.

Financial services

In 2018, financial and insurance activities contributed to 11.1% of the Mauritius's GDP. 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 Mauritius also offers incentives such as tax holidays and exemptions in some specific sectors to boost its competitiveness, Mauritius is often tagged as a tax haven by the press due to individuals and companies who engaged in abusive practices in its financial sector. Mauritius 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. Mauritius has adopted exchange of information on an automatic basis under the Common Reporting Standard 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. Mauritius enjoys a tropical climate with clear warm sea waters, beaches, tropical fauna and flora, complemented by a multi-ethnic and cultural population. In 2025, the number of tourist arrivals recorded was 1.44 million, an increase from the 1.38 million in 2024.

Mauritius has two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely, Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne Cultural Landscape. Black River Gorges National Park is currently in the UNESCO tentative list.

Transport

Public transit in Mauritius has been free of charge for students, people with disabilities, and senior citizens since 2005 for buses, and later for trains. The Metro Express railway links all five cities and the University of Mauritius 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 handles international trade and a cruise terminal. The Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, 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. The Plaine Corail Airport operates from Rodrigues ensuring air link with the main island of Mauritius and international flights with Réunion.

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 for Africa – is based in Ebene.

Mauritius is also connected to global Internet infrastructure via multiple optical fibre submarine communications cables, including the Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION) cable, the Mauritius–Rodrigues Submarine Cable, and the South Africa Far East (SAFE) cable.

Biomedical exports

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, Mauritius has become the world's leading exporter of macaques for biomedical testing. During the pandemic, China, formerly the world's top macaque exporter, restricted its exports in order to bolster its domestic supply. Western nations have increasingly looked to Mauritius to supply their laboratories. Farmers and trappers on the islands sell the monkeys to exporters and breeders. Proponents of the industry say that it regulates the invasive macaque population, to the benefit of agriculture and the islands' biodiversity. Some Hindu Mauritians have raised ethical and religious objections to industry practices.

Culture

Art

Prominent Mauritian painters include Henri Le Sidaner, 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, 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 are some of the most prominent Mauritian writers. Le Clézio, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature 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.

Music

The major musical genres of Mauritius are sega and its fusion genre, seggae, Bhojpuri folk songs and Indian film music especially Bollywood. Western classical music and Indian classical music are taught, respectively, at the François Mitterrand Conservatory and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute.

Cuisine

Mauritian cuisine is a combination of Indian, Creole, French and Chinese cuisines, with many dishes unique to the island. Local variants of Asian and European cuisines include vegetarian and non vegetarian curries, parathas locally known as farata or roti, 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, dals, zassar from Indian-origin achar and leaf vegetables known as brèdes are commonly consumed in all households. Street food sold by hawkers include popular wraps dholl puri and roti, 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, 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, Raksha Bandhan, Durga Puja, Makar Sankranti and Père Laval Pilgrimage also enrich the cultural landscape of Mauritius.

Sports

The most popular sport in Mauritius is football and the national team 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.

Kim le Court is a successful professional cyclist. 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, which dates from 1812 when the Champ de Mars Racecourse was inaugurated, remains popular. The Mauritius Turf Club is the oldest horse-racing club in the Southern Hemisphere and the second oldest in the world. Mauritius 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 in Beijing when boxer Bruno Julie won the bronze medal.

In golf, the former Mauritius Open and the current AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open have been part of the European Tour.