Mauritius (2005) | Grenada (2001) | |
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 | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.4% (male 151,043/female 148,847)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 424,472/female 425,974) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 31,506/female 48,760) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
37.05% (male 16,739; female 16,318) 15-64 years: 59.03% (male 27,850; female 24,820) 65 years and over: 3.92% (male 1,592; female 1,908) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 6 (2004 est.) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
- |
Area | total: 2,040 sq km
land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues |
total:
340 sq km land: 340 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC | twice the size of Washington, DC |
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. | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. |
Birth rate | 15.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 23.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.231 billion
expenditures: $1.582 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$85.8 million expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
Capital | Port Louis | Saint George's |
Climate | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 177 km | 121 km |
Constitution | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 | 19 December 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Grenada |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 6.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.78 billion (2004 est.) | $182.8 million (1998) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John PRICE
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] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
chief of mission:
the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH
chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, were granted UK citizenship but no right to patriation in the UK; claims French-administered Tromelin Island | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $42 million (1997) | $8.3 million (1995) |
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 more equitable income distribution, 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 expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic information telecommunications industry. 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. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). | In this island economy progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have kept annual growth steady since 1998. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded; tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner. Major short-term concerns are the rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. Grenada shares a common central bank and a common currency with seven other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). |
Electricity - consumption | 1.707 billion kWh (2002) | 111.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.836 billion kWh (2002) | 120 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% | black 82% some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Amerindian |
Exchange rates | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002), 29.129 (2001), 26.25 (2000) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003) and Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Paul BERENGER (since 30 September 2003) 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 25 February 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA%; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on 30 September 2003 |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly |
Exports | NA | $62.3 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace |
Exports - partners | UK 33.1%, France 20.4%, US 14.8%, Madagascar 5.1%, Italy 4.1% (2004) | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $394 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 30% services: 62.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
9.7% industry: 15% services: 75.3% (1996 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,800 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.7% (2004 est.) | 7% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 17 S, 57 33 E | 12 07 N, 61 40 W |
Geography - note | the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada |
Highways | total: 2,000 km
paved: 1,960 km (including 60 km of expressways) unpaved: 40 km (2002) |
total:
1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US |
Imports | NA | $217.5 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) |
Imports - partners | South Africa 11.3%, China 9.4%, India 9.3%, France 9.2%, Bahrain 5.3%, Japan 4.1% (2004) | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) |
Independence | 12 March 1968 (from UK) | 7 February 1974 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2000 est.) | 0.7% (1997 est.) |
Industries | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction |
Infant mortality rate | total: 15.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4.5% (2004 est.) | 2.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 14 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 200 sq km (2000 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) |
Labor force | 560,000 (2004 est.) | 42,300 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995) | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 49.26%
permanent crops: 2.96% other: 47.78% (2001) |
arable land:
15% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 9% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4% (official), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census) | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas | based on English common law |
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 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.38 years
male: 68.4 years female: 76.41 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
64.52 years male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.6% male: 88.6% female: 82.7% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 22,946 GRT/27,102 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 4, passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 2 foreign-owned: 6 (India 4, Switzerland 2) (2005) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | National Police Force (includes the paramilitary Special Mobile Force or SMF and National Coast Guard) | Royal Grenada Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $12.5 million (2004) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.2% (2004) | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) |
Nationality | noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
noun:
Grenadian(s) adjective: Grenadian |
Natural hazards | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors |
Net migration rate | -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -15.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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 Social Democrat Party or PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH] - governing party; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various labor unions | NA |
Population | 1,230,602 (July 2005 est.) | 89,227 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.84% (2005 est.) | -0.06% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Port Louis | Grenville, Saint George's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2002) | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 57,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, other Christian 8.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census) | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 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 trunk system international: country code - 230; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment:
automatic, islandwide telephone system domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
Telephones - main lines in use | 348,200 (2003) | 27,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 462,400 (2003) | 976 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus several repeaters) (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau | volcanic in origin with central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 2.54 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.8% (2004 est.) | 15% (1997) |
Waterways | - | none |