2
Land area:
1,850 km2; includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint
Brandon), and Rodrigues
Comparative area:
slightly less than 10.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
177 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
edge of continental margin or 200 nm
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
claims UK-administered Chagos Archipelago, which includes the island of
Diego Garcia in UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory; claims
French-administered Tromelin Island
Climate:
tropical modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to
November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)
Terrain:
small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central
plateau
Natural resources:
arable land, fish
Land use:
arable land 54%; permanent crops 4%; meadows and pastures 4%; forest and
woodland 31%; other 7%; includes irrigated 9%
Environment:
subject to cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by
reefs
Note:
located 900 km east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean

:Mauritius People

Population:
1,092,130 (July 1992), growth rate 0.8% (1992)
Birth rate:
19 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
7 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
-4 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
22 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
66 years male, 73 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
2.1 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Mauritian(s); adjective - Mauritian
Ethnic divisions:
Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%
Religions:
Hindu 52%, Christian (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%) 28.3%, Muslim
16.6%, other 3.1%
Languages:
English (official), Creole, French, Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bojpoori
Literacy:
82.8 % (male 88.7%, female 77.1%) age 13 and over can read and write (1985
UNESCO estimate)
Labor force:
335,000; government services 29%, agriculture and fishing 27%, manufacturing
22%, other 22%; 43% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor:
35% of labor force in more than 270 unions

:Mauritius Government

Long-form name:
none
Type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
Port Louis
Administrative divisions:
9 districts and 3