Mauritius (2001) | Sierra Leone (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
25.53% (male 153,691; female 150,094) 15-64 years: 68.24% (male 404,940; female 407,056) 65 years and over: 6.23% (male 29,588; female 44,456) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,321,563/female 1,370,721)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,494,502/female 1,625,733) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 90,958/female 101,773) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 5 (2000 est.) | 10 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total:
1,860 sq km land: 1,850 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues |
total: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
Background | Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. | The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the 1991 to 2002 civil war that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005, leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces, but a new civilian UN office remains to support the government. Mounting tensions related to planned 2007 elections, deteriorating political and economic conditions in Guinea, and the tenuous security situation in neighboring Liberia may present challenges to continuing progress in Sierra Leone's stability. |
Birth rate | 16.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 45.76 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.1 billion expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Port Louis | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 177 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | Mauritian rupee (MUR) | - |
Death rate | 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.03 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.9 billion (1998 est.) | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mark W. ERWIN embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 208-2347, 208-2354, 208-9763 through 9767 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Usha JEETAH chancery: Suite 441, 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); claims French-administered Tromelin Island | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone perpetuate insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts, and refugees in border areas; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone pressures Guinea to remove its forces from the town of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
Economic aid - recipient | $42 million (1997) | $297.4 million (2003 est.) |
Economy - overview | Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on foreign investment. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Economic performance since 1991 has continued strong with solid growth and low unemployment. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings, accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity, such as the rehabilitation of bauxite mining. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.172 billion kWh (1999) | 242.4 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 1.26 billion kWh (1999) | 260.6 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
91.27% hydro: 8.73% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.900 (January 2001), 26.250 (2000), 25.186 (1999), 22.993 (1998), 21.057 (1997), 17.948 (1996) | leones per US dollar - 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002), 1,986.2 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Cassam UTEEM (since 1 July 1992) and Vice President Angidi Verriah CHETTIAR (since 28 June 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 17 September 2000) and Deputy Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since 17 September 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms; election last held 28 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president and are responsible to the National Assembly election results: Cassam UTEEM reelected president and Angidi Verriah CHETTIAR elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA% |
chief of state: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held 28 July 2007) election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH reelected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 70.6%, Ernest KOROMA (APC) 22.4% |
Exports | $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | UK 32%, France 19%, US 15%, Germany 6%, Italy 4% (1999 est.) | Belgium 66.2%, Germany 13.5%, US 4.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 29% services: 61% (1996) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,400 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 7.5% (2000 est.) | 7.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 17 S, 57 33 E | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | - | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
Heliports | - | 2 (2006) |
Highways | total:
1,910 km paved: 1,834 km (including 36 km of expressways) unpaved: 76 km (1998) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
Illicit drugs | minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally | - |
Imports | $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals (1996) | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | France 14%, South Africa 11%, India 8%, UK 5% (1999 est.) | Germany 18.9%, Cote d'Ivoire 11.2%, UK 8.5%, US 6.9%, China 5.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, South Africa 4.1% (2005) |
Independence | 12 March 1968 (from UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 17.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 160.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 177.47 deaths/1,000 live births female: 142.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 5.3% (2000 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, InOC, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 170 sq km (1993 est.) | 300 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 514,000 (1995) | 1.369 million (1981 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | construction and industry 36%, services 24%, agriculture and fishing 14%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, transportation and communication 7%, finance 3% (1995) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land:
49% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 22% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (66 seats - 62 elected by popular vote, 4 appointed by the election commission from the losing political parties to give representation to various ethnic minorities; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 September 2000 (next to be held by September 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - MSM/MMM 52.3%, MLP/PMSD 36.9%, OPR 10.8%; seats by party - MSM/MMM 54, MLP/PMSD 6, OPR 2 |
unicameral Parliament (124 seats - 112 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 14 May 2002 (next to be held May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 70.06%, APC 22.35%, PLP 3%, others 4.59%; seats by party - SLPP 83, APC 27, PLP 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
71.25 years male: 67.26 years female: 75.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 40.22 years
male: 38.05 years female: 42.46 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82.9% male: 87.1% female: 78.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 29.6% male: 39.8% female: 20.5% (2000 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,909 GRT/87,313 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, combination bulk 2, container 2, liquefied gas 1, refrigerated cargo 2 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: India 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 54 ships (1000 GRT or over) 185,037 GRT/249,996 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 36, chemical tanker 3, combination ore/oil 3, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 14 (China 2, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Russia 1, Syria 1, UAE 3, Ukraine 4, US 1) (2006) |
Military branches | National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF and National Coast Guard) | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Maritime Wing) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $11 million (FY97/98) | $14.25 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.3% (FY97/98) | 1.7% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
339,473 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
171,206 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun:
Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | -0.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Hizbullah [Cehl Mohamed FAKEEMEEAH]; Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER] - in coalition with MSM; Mauritian Militant Renaissance or MMR [Dr. Paramhansa NABABSING]; Mauritian Social Democrat Party or PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH] - governing party; Rodrigues Movement or OPR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY] | All People's Congress or APC [Ben KANU]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON, interim chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Sama BANYA]; numerous others |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various labor unions | trade unions and student unions |
Population | 1,189,825 (July 2001 est.) | 6,005,250 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10.6% (1992 est.) | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.88% (2001 est.) | 2.3% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Port Louis | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 420,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1% | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
small system with good service domestic: primarily microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries |
general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 223,000 (1997) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 37,000 (1997) | 113,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.08 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6.4% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |