Mauritius (2007) | Norfolk Island (2004) | |
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 | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.5% (male 147,808/female 146,270)
15-64 years: 69.8% (male 436,043/female 437,441) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 32,475/female 50,845) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 5 (2007) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
- |
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: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in 1505; it 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. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
Birth rate | 15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.236 billion
expenditures: $1.562 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | name: Port Louis
geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Kingston |
Climate | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 177 km | 32 km |
Constitution | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius
conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius |
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.419 billion (2006 est.) | NA |
Dependency status | - | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories |
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, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534 |
none (territory of Australia) |
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 |
none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin Island | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $31.93 million (2005) | NA |
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). | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.973 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 2.122 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Piton 828 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians |
Exchange rates | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003); Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005) 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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held in 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); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
Exports - partners | UK 32.5%, France 15.1%, UAE 11.4%, US 8.3%, Madagascar 4.8% (2006) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.2%
industry: 25.2% services: 69.6% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2006 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 20 17 S, 57 33 E | 29 02 S, 167 57 E |
Geography - note | the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated |
Highways | - | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | 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 | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | NA |
Imports - partners | France 14.3%, India 13.6%, China 8.6%, South Africa 7.3% (2006) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Independence | 12 March 1968 (from UK) | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2000 est.) | NA |
Industries | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism | tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.14 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.9% (2006 est.) | NA |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | UPU |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | 541,000 (2006 est.) | NA |
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) | tourism NA, subsistence agriculture NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 49.02%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 48.04% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census) | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
Legal system | based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AS 38, MSM/MMM 22, OPR 2; appointed seats - AS 4, MSM/MMM 2, OPR 2 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.88 years
male: 68.92 years female: 76.9 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.4% male: 88.4% female: 80.5% (2000 census) |
NA |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,417 GRT/19,700 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 (India 2) (2007) |
none |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | no regular military forces; National Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2007) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.3% (2006 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) |
Nationality | noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
Natural hazards | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | fish |
Net migration rate | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance Sociale or AS; 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 (the governing party) [Pravind JUGNAUTH]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various labor unions | none |
Population | 1,250,882 (July 2007 est.) | 1,841 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2001 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.798% (2007 est.) | -0.01% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Religions | Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census) | Anglican 37.4%, Uniting Church in Australia 14.5%, Roman Catholic 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, none 12.2%, unknown 17.4%, other 3.9% (1996) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.997 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
NA |
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: adequate
domestic: NA international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite service planned for near future |
Telephones - main lines in use | 357,300 (2006) | 2,532; note: a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 772,400 (2006) | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus several repeaters) (1997) | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (1998) |
Terrain | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.94 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.4% (2006 est.) | NA |