Mauritius (2008) | Botswana (2001) | |
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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 | 10 districts and four town councils*; Central, Chobe, Francistown*, Gaborone*, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi, Kgatleng, Kweneng, Lobatse*, Ngamiland, North-East, Selebi-Pikwe*, South-East, Southern |
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:
40.3% (male 321,164; female 318,007) 15-64 years: 55.56% (male 423,954; female 457,227) 65 years and over: 4.14% (male 26,691; female 39,076) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish | sorghum, corn, millet, pulses, groundnuts (peanuts), beans, cowpeas, sunflower seed; livestock |
Airports | 5 (2007) | 92 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
81 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 56 under 914 m: 22 (2000 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:
600,370 sq km land: 585,370 sq km water: 15,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Texas |
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, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. | Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name upon independence in 1966. The economy, one of the most robust on the continent, is dominated by diamond mining. |
Birth rate | 15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 28.85 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.34 billion
expenditures: $1.642 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $560 million (FY96) |
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) |
Gaborone |
Climate | tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May) | semiarid; warm winters and hot summers |
Coastline | 177 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992 | March 1965, effective 30 September 1966 |
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:
Republic of Botswana conventional short form: Botswana former: Bechuanaland |
Currency | - | pula (BWP) |
Death rate | 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.18 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.583 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $455 million (2000) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Cesar CABRERA
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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador John E. LANGE embassy: address NA, Gaborone mailing address: P. O. Box 90, Gaborone telephone: [267] 353982 FAX: [267] 356947 |
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 Kgosi SEEPAPITSO IV chancery: 1531-1533 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-4990 FAX: [1] (202) 244-4164 |
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) | $73 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. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. 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). | Botswana has maintained one of the world's highest growth rates since independence in 1966. Through fiscal discipline and sound management, Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $6,600 in 2000. Diamond mining has fueled much of Botswana's economic expansion and currently accounts for more than one-third of GDP and for three-fourths of export earnings. Tourism, subsistence farming, and cattle raising are other key sectors. The government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty. Unemployment officially is 19%, but unofficial estimates place it closer to 40%. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world and threaten Botswana's impressive economic gains. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.973 billion kWh (2005) | 1.517 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 950 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 2.122 billion kWh (2005) | 610 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:
junction of the Limpopo and Shashe Rivers 513 m highest point: Tsodilo Hills 1,489 m |
Environment - current issues | water pollution, degradation of coral reefs | overgrazing; desertification; limited fresh water resources |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% | Tswana (or Setswana) 79%, Kalanga 11%, Basarwa 3%, other, including Kgalagadi and white 7% |
Exchange rates | Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 31.798 (2007), 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003) | pulas per US dollar - 5.4585 (January 2001), 5.1018 (2000), 4.6244 (1999), 4.2259 (1998), 3.6508 (1997), 3.3242 (1996) |
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:
President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Festus MOGAE (since 1 April 1998) and Vice President Seretse Ian KHAMA (since 13 July 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); vice president appointed by the president election results: Festus MOGAE elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 54.3% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | $2.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish | diamonds 72%, vehicles, copper, nickel, meat (1998) |
Exports - partners | UK 32.5%, France 15.1%, UAE 11.4%, US 8.3%, Madagascar 4.8% (2006) | EU 77%, Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 18%, Zimbabwe 3% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green | light blue with a horizontal white-edged black stripe in the center |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $10.4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.8%
industry: 25% services: 70.1% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 46% (including 36% mining) services: 50% (1998 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $6,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2007 est.) | 6% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 17 S, 57 33 E | 22 00 S, 24 00 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 | landlocked; population concentrated in eastern part of the country |
Highways | - | total:
18,482 km paved: 4,343 km unpaved: 14,139 km (1996) |
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 | 21,380 bbl/day (2004) | $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, textiles, petroleum products |
Imports - partners | France 14.3%, India 13.6%, China 8.6%, South Africa 7.3% (2006) | Southern African Customs Union (SACU) 76%, Europe 10%, South Korea 5% (1998) |
Independence | 12 March 1968 (from UK) | 30 September 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.7% (2007 est.) | 6.2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism | diamonds, copper, nickel, coal, salt, soda ash, potash; livestock processing |
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.) |
63.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2007 est.) | 8.6% (2000 est.) |
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 | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 220 sq km (2003) | 20 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | High Court; Court of Appeal; Magistrates' Courts (one in each district) |
Labor force | 550,000 (2007 est.) | 235,000 formal sector employees (1995) |
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) | 100,000 public sector; 135,000 private sector, including 14,300 who are employed in various mines in South Africa; most others engaged in cattle raising and subsistence agriculture (1995 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
4,013 km border countries: Namibia 1,360 km, South Africa 1,840 km, Zimbabwe 813 km |
Land use | arable land: 49.02%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 48.04% (2005) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 47% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
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), Setswana |
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 Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial review limited to matters of interpretation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Chiefs (a largely advisory 15-member body consisting of the chiefs of the eight principal tribes, four elected subchiefs, and three members selected by the other 12) and the National Assembly (44 seats, 40 members are directly elected by popular vote and 4 appointed by the majority party; members serve five-year terms)
elections: National Assembly elections last held 16 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - BDP 57.2%, BNF 26%, other 16.8%; seats by party - BDP 33, BNF 6, other 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.88 years
male: 68.92 years female: 76.9 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
37.13 years male: 36.77 years female: 37.51 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 84.4% male: 88.4% female: 80.5% (2000 census) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 69.8% male: 80.5% female: 59.9% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | Southern Africa, north of South Africa |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Africa |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
none (landlocked) |
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) |
- |
Military branches | no regular military forces; National Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2007) | Botswana Defense Force (includes Army and Air Wing), Botswana National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $61 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.3% (2006 est.) | 1.2% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
380,152 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
199,995 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
19,479 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 12 March (1968) | Independence Day, 30 September (1966) |
Nationality | noun: Mauritian(s)
adjective: Mauritian |
noun:
Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) adjective: Motswana (singular), Batswana (plural) |
Natural hazards | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility |
Natural resources | arable land, fish | diamonds, copper, nickel, salt, soda ash, potash, coal, iron ore, silver |
Net migration rate | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance Sociale or AS [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM] (governing coalition - includes MLD, MMSM, MR, MSD, PMXD); Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER]; Mauritian Socialist Militant Movement or MMSM [Madan DOLLOO]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM [Nando BODHA]; Mouvement Republicain or MR [Jayarama VALAYDEN]; Parti Mauricien Xavier Duval or PMXD [Xavier Luc DUVAL]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR] | Botswana Democratic Party or BDP [Festus MOGAE]; Botswana National Front or BNF [Kenneth KOMA]; Botswana Congress Party or BCP [Michael DINGAKE]; Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO]
note: main parties are: BDP, BNF, BCP; other minor parties joined forces in 1999 to form the Botswana Alliance Movement or BAM [Ephraim SETSHWAELO, chairman] but did not capture any parliamentary seats; the BAM parties are: the United Action Party [Ephraim Lepetu SETSHWAELO], the Botswana Peoples Party, the Independence Freedom Party [Motsamai MPHO], and the Botswana Progressive Union [D. K. KWELE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various labor unions | NA |
Population | 1,250,882 (July 2007 est.) | 1,586,119
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2001 est.) | 47% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.798% (2007 est.) | 0.47% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2001) | AM 7, FM 15, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Radios | - | 237,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
888 km narrow gauge: 888 km 1.067-m gauge (2000) |
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) | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 50% |
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.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 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: monopoly over fixed-line services terminated in 2005; fixed-line teledensity roughly 30 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular services launched in 1989 with teledensity in 2006 exceeding 60 per 100 persons international: country code - 230; landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides links to Asia and South Africa where it connects to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable that provides further links to parts of East Africa, and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries |
general assessment:
sparse system domestic: small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations international: two international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 357,300 (2006) | 86,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 772,400 (2006) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (plus several repeaters) (1997) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau | predominantly flat to gently rolling tableland; Kalahari Desert in southwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.94 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.2% (2007 est.) | 40% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |