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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 1,250,882 (July 2007 est.)

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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.)

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Median age: total: 31.2 years male: 30.3 years female: 32.1 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 0.798% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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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.)

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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.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.88 years male: 68.92 years female: 76.9 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 700 (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (2001 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian

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Ethnic groups: Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%

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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)

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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)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.4% male: 88.4% female: 80.5% (2000 census)

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).

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $17.02 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $7.182 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $13,700 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5.1% industry: 25.2% services: 69.7% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 555,000 (2006 est.)

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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)

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Unemployment rate: 9.4% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 10% (2001 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37 (1987 est.)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.9% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 23.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $1.475 billion expenditures: $1.854 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 57.9% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish

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Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism

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Industrial production growth rate: 8% (2000 est.)

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Electricity - production: 2.107 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 1.96 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 21,500 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$651 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $2.318 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses

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Exports - partners: UK 30.6%, France 15.3%, UAE 10.6%, US 10.3%, Madagascar 7% (2006)

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Imports: $3.391 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals

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Imports - partners: France 15.8%, South Africa 8.8%, India 7.5%, China 6%, Bahrain 5.7%, Saudi Arabia 4.3%, UAE 4.2%, Germany 4.2% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.358 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $2.834 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $42 million (1997)

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Currency (code): Mauritian rupee (MUR)

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Exchange rates: Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002)

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Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June