Mauritius: People & Society#
| Population | 1,348,242 (July 2016 est.) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | noun: Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian |
| Ethnic groups | Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2% |
| Languages | Creole 86.5%, Bhojpuri 5.3%, French 4.1%, two languages 1.4%, other 2.6% (includes English, the official language, which is spoken by less than 1% of the population), unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.) |
| Religions | Hindu 48.5%, Roman Catholic 26.3%, Muslim 17.3%, other Christian 6.4%, other 0.6%, none 0.7%, unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.) |
| Demographic profile | Mauritius has transitioned from a country of high fertility and high mortality rates in the 1950s and mid-1960s to one with among the lowest population growth rates in the developing world today. After World War II, Mauritius’ population began to expand quickly due to increased fertility and a dramatic drop in mortality rates as a result of improved health care and the eradication of malaria. This period of heightened population growth – reaching about 3% a year – was followed by one of the world’s most rapid birth rate declines. The total fertility rate fell from 6.2 children per women in 1963 to 3.2 in 1972 – largely the result of improved educational attainment, especially among young women, accompanied by later marriage and the adoption of family planning methods. The family planning programs’ success was due to support from the government and eventually the traditionally pronatalist religious communities, which both recognized that controlling population growth was necessary because of Mauritius’ small size and limited resources. Mauritius’ fertility rate has consistently been below replacement level since the late 1990s, a rate that is substantially lower than nearby countries in southern Africa. With no indigenous population, Mauritius’ ethnic mix is a product of more than two centuries of European colonialism and continued international labor migration. Sugar production relied on slave labor mainly from Madagascar, Mozambique, and East Africa from the early 18th century until its abolition in 1835, when slaves were replaced with indentured Indians. Most of the influx of indentured labor – peaking between the late 1830s and early 1860 – settled permanently creating massive population growth of more than 7% a year and reshaping the island’s social and cultural composition. While Indians represented about 12% of Mauritius’ population in 1837, they and their descendants accounted for roughly two-thirds by the end of the 19th century. Most were Hindus, but the majority of the free Indian traders were Muslims. Mauritius again turned to overseas labor when its success in clothing and textile exports led to a labor shortage in the mid-1980s. Clothing manufacturers brought in contract workers (increasingly women) from China, India, and, to a lesser extent Bangladesh and Madagascar, who worked longer hours for lower wages under poor conditions and were viewed as more productive than locals. Downturns in the sugar and textile industries in the mid-2000s and a lack of highly qualified domestic workers for Mauritius’ growing services sector led to the emigration of low-skilled workers and a reliance on skilled foreign labor. Since 2007, Mauritius has pursued a circular migration program to enable citizens to acquire new skills and savings abroad and then return home to start businesses and to invest in the country’s development. |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.44% (male 140,808/female 134,826) 15-24 years: 15.06% (male 102,593/female 100,465) 25-54 years: 43.87% (male 295,794/female 295,719) 55-64 years: 11.37% (male 72,733/female 80,621) 65 years and over: 9.25% (male 50,888/female 73,795) (2016 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 40.6% youth dependency ratio: 27.2% elderly dependency ratio: 13.4% potential support ratio: 7.4% (2015 est.) |
| Median age | total: 34.8 years male: 33.9 years female: 35.8 years (2016 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 0.61% (2016 est.) |
| Birth rate | 13.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Death rate | 7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.) |
| Urbanization | urban population: 39.7% of total population (2015) rate of urbanization: -0.08% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) |
| Major urban areas - population | PORT LOUIS (capital) 135,000 (2014) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.) |
| Maternal mortality rate | 53 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 10 deaths/1,000 live births male: 11.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.6 years male: 72.2 years female: 79.2 years (2016 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.75 children born/woman (2016 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 4.8% of GDP (2014) |
| Physicians density | 1.62 physicians/1,000 population (2013) |
| Hospital bed density | 3.4 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 99.9% of population rural: 99.8% of population total: 99.9% of population unimproved: urban: 0.1% of population rural: 0.2% of population total: 0.1% of population (2015 est.) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 93.9% of population rural: 92.6% of population total: 93.1% of population unimproved: urban: 6.1% of population rural: 7.4% of population total: 6.9% of population (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 0.88% (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 8,200 (2015 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 400 (2015 est.) |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 18.8% (2014) |
| Education expenditures | 5% of GDP (2015) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 90.6% male: 92.9% female: 88.5% (2015 est.) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 15 years male: 15 years female: 16 years (2014) |
| Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 | total: 25.1% male: 20.1% female: 32.6% (2014 est.) |