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Mauritius

Mauritius, the island in the Indian Ocean, offers an amazing visitor attraction, an underwater waterfall. The stunning natural phenomenon is a spectacular illusion only to be seen from the air. The mountain to the left is Le Morne Brabant, the center of one of the island's two World Heritage Sites.
Image: MTPA

Location map of Mauritius

Flag of Mauritius

Mauritius in brief

Destination Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, a Nations Online country profile of the small remote archipelago in the Indian Ocean in eastern Southern Africa. The island nation is situated about 900 km (560 mi) east of Madagascar and 180 km (110 mi) northeast of French Réunion.

The country includes several islands of volcanic origin. Besides the main island of Mauritius, there is Rodrigues Island 600 km away to the east and two outer islands, Agaléga, 1065 km to the north, and the uninhabited archipelago of the Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), 430 km to the northeast.

Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Réunion belong to the Mascarene Islands, with Mauritius being the largest. The island is about 61 km long and 45 km wide, with an area of 1,864 km²; in comparison, it is slightly smaller than Tenerife or about as big as Maui, Hawaii.

The archipelago has a population of 1.37 million people (in 2020). The island state is the country with the highest population density in Africa. Almost the entire population lives on Mauritius. The capital and largest city is Port Louis. Spoken languages are Morisien, English, and French. Morisien is a Creole language based on French and is used by almost the entire population in everyday life.
The sparsely populated and isolated 108 km² (42 sq mi) big island of Rodrigues is of volcanic origin and about 500 km from the main island in the Indian Ocean.

What is Mauritius famous for?
Mauritius is famous for the Dodo (an extinct flightless bird the size of a swan), a multicultural population, incredible expensive resorts (up to $600 a night and more) the island caters for the more wealthy customers, Mauritius rum, sugar and fruit jams, the Seven Coloured Earths, an underwater waterfall, the Giant water lilies in the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, ravanne drum and Sega music, and nice golf courses.

Republic of Mauritius | République de Maurice | Repiblik Moris

Background:
Mauritius was eventually discovered by the Arabs, followed by tribes of Malays, and some hundred years later, by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. The island was more or less successfully occupied by the Dutch, French, and British before gaining independence in 1968.

Since then, Mauritius has evolved from a low-income, agricultural economy to a diversified middle-income economy with a growing industrial, financial, and tourism sector.

The country has attracted some 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China, and it has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Mauritius has a stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record.

Country Profile

Official Name:
Republic of Mauritius
République de Maurice (in French)
short form: Mauritius

ISO Country Code: mu, MUS

Time:
Local Time = UTC +4h
Actual Time: Sun-Dec-8 06:31

Country Calling Code: +230

Capital City: Port Louis (pop. 148 000)

Official Sites of Mauritius

Mauritius Parliament building in Port Louis

Government House building at Place D'Armes in Port Louis, Mauritius. The lady in marble is Queen Victoria. The government building is one of the oldest buildings in the city and dates from the time of the French colony.
Image: Martin Falbisoner

Political System
Mauritius has one of the few stable representative democracies in Africa. The National Assembly is the parliament in the country's single-house legislative system. Members of parliament are elected for five years. Head of state is the president, head of government is the prime minister.

Note: External links will open in a new browser window.

The Government of Mauritius
The web portal of the Government of Mauritius provides governmental information.

Office of the President
Official website of Mauritius' State House.

Mauritius National Assembly
The site provides information about the Mauritius National Assembly.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Mauritius Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Regional Cooperation.

Diplomatic Missions
Embassy of the Republic of Mauritius
Washington D.C.
Mauritius Embassies in Foreign Countries
Address list of Mauritius Diplomatic Missions abroad.
Foreign Embassies in Mauritius
Address list of Foreign Embassies accredited in Mauritius.

Transparency Mauritius
Combating corruption in Mauritius.

Statistics
The Central Statistical Office/Mauritius
Mauritius in Figures.

Weather
Mauritius Meteorological Services
Mauritius Weather.

Maps of Mauritius

Map of Mauritius (click map to enlarge)
Image: © nationsonline.org

Maps

Map of Mauritius
Map of Mauritius and Rodrigues island.

Google Earth Mauritius
Searchable map and satellite view of Mauritius.

Google Earth Port Louis
Searchable map and satellite view of Mauritius's capital city.

Political Map of Africa
The 54 countries of Africa.

Map of Africa
A Relief Map of Africa.

Evening view of Port Louis, capital city of Mauritius

Evening view of Port Louis, the capital city of Mauritius.
Image: Peter Kuchar

News of Mauritius

Mauritius newspapers

Online News from Mauritius

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the environment for the media in Mauritius is not hostile. Still, stories involving tourism, corruption, the nation's various communities, or religious radicalization are difficult to cover, if not entirely off-limits.
According to the BBC, television is the most popular medium. State-owned Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) radio and TV generally reflect government thinking. MBC is funded by advertising and a TV license fee.

L'Express
National news (in French)

Le Mauricien
National news (in French)

Mauritius Times
English weekly newspaper.

Radio/TV
Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)
The public broadcasting station of the Republic of Mauritius.

Arts & Culture of Mauritius

Entrance to the Blue Penny Museum in Port Louis

The Blue Penny Museum in Port Louis is dedicated to the history and art of Mauritius.
Image: Martin Falbisoner

Arts & Culture

The culture of Mauritius has been shaped by its history. People from Africa, China, India, and Europe have made the island their home; their way of life, customs, and traditions influenced the island's daily life. These influences ultimately merged into the cosmopolitan fabric of the unique culture of Mauritius. It is reflected in its music, dance, festivals, local crafts, literature, religion, and language.

A Sega dancer.
Image: Matteo Fini

Major festivals are Thaipusam, a Tamil festival on the full moon in the Tamil month of Thai (January/February). Thimithi, a Hindu fire-walking festival in honor of the goddess Draupati.
The annual Chinese Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) is celebrated by the Chinese community of Mauritius in January or February.
Holi is the colorful spring festival in honor of the Hindu deity Lord Krishna (February or March).
The Sunburn Beach Festival is Mauritius' Full Moon Party.
Diwali, lights and firecrackers remind of the return of Lord Rama from the jungle; the festival is also associated with Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity (end October to mid-November)

Mauritius Culture
Article about the culture of Mauritius by the BBC.

Culture of Mauritius
Wikipedia page about the Culture of Mauritius, with a list of public holidays and festivals, the cuisine of Mauritius, Mauritian literature, and the national sport, horse racing.

RadioMoris.Com
Music from Mauritius: Séga, Seggae, Zouk, Soukous, Ragga, and Reggae (Streaming on FB).

The Sega
Image gallery of Sega dancer, the Sega is both the national dance and musical form of Mauritius.

Business & Economy of Mauritius

Air Mauritius A330 at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, the main international airport in Mauritius.
Image: Simisa

Economy of Mauritius
Mauritius' mixed developing economy is based on agriculture, especially sugar-cane, financial services, and tourism. The port facilities in Port Louis handle most of the country's exports. The main international airport of the island is located on the opposite side of the island. Measured by GDP per capita, Mauritius is one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, only surpassed by Equatorial Guinea and the Seychelles.

The island boasts with dream beaches, turquoise water, and unique nature, but there is another side of the beautiful picture.
Tourism is an important economic sector for Mauritius. The oil spill caused by the Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio has caused massive damage to the island. The accident now adds to the coronavirus pandemic problem, which has considerably restricted international travel and, thus, tourism on the island. Maybe the incident is related to the government's plans to create new economic pillars, and the petroleum and bunkering sector is one of them. ^[1]
Bunkering refers to the practice and business of refueling ships at sea or in port with bunker fuel.

The broken up bulk carrier MV Wakashio caussed the Mauritius oil spill

The broken up bulk carrier MV Wakashio caussed the Mauritius oil spill

The broken apart bulk carrier MV Wakashio. The ship caused the Mauritius oil spill when it ran aground on a coral reef at the island's south-eastern tip.
Image: International Maritime Organization (IMO)

The Mauritius oil spill has triggered protests by Mauritians. Thousands of people have marched through the Mauritian capital, Port Louis, in protest at the authorities' handling of a massive oil spill and the discovery of 39 dead dolphins. ^[2]

Businesses of Mauritius
Bank of Mauritius
The state-owned Bank of Mauritius (French: Banque de Maurice) was established in September 1967 as the central bank of the Republic of Mauritius.

Stock Exchange of Mauritius
Mauritius's primary stock exchange is located at Port Louis.

Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry - MCCI
Official website of Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The organization's headquarters is located in Port Louis.

Mauritius Trade Easy
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports Mauritius Trade Easy; it offers support for regional integration and international trade with Mauritius.

Yellow Pages Mauritius
Mauritius Yellow Pages.

Major Mauritian Companies
Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels
Mauritius-based hospitality company operating eight hotels in Mauritius, founded in 1952.

Emtel
Emtel is a telecommunications company and was the first mobile telephony operator in the Southern Hemisphere

ENL Group
A Stock Exchange of Mauritius listed conglomerate made up of about 100 companies involved in many Mauritius economies. Among other things, they developed and now operate the Bagatelle Mall of Mauritius.

Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation
MBC is the national public broadcaster of the Republic of Mauritius.

Medine Limited
The Mauritius-based company is engaged in agriculture, education, leisure, and property.

Phoenix Beverages
The largest brewery in Mauritius is best known for its Phoenix Beer.

Transportation

Airlines
Air Mauritius
The state-owned airline is the flag carrier of Mauritius.

Freeport
Mauritius Freeport
The Mauritius Freeport Authority.

Metro Express
Mauritius Metro Express
The brand new public transport system in Mauritius.

An Urbos 100-3 of the Mauritius Metro Express at Rose Hill Central Station. The Mauritius Metro Express runs between Rose Hill and Port Louis. Construction Phase 2 will extend the line from Rose Hill to Curepipe in September 2021.
Image: Yash400

Tourism in Mauritius

Infinity pool and sea Mauritius

A fantastic view over the water of an infinity pool in a luxury resort on Mauritius. A dream come true.
Image: govmu

Destination Mauritius - Travel and Tour Guides

Discover Mauritius:

"Went ashore in the forenoon at Port Louis, a little town, but with the largest variety of nationalities and complexions we have encountered yet. French, English, Chinese, Arabs, Africans with wool, blacks with straight hair, East Indians, half-whites, quadroons—and great varieties in costumes and colors." Mark Twain

Visiting Mauritius is a journey into the blue. The sky turns from cobalt-blue to azure blue in the morning and bright sky-blue at noon. The Indian Ocean features a great variety of different shades of blue on its surface. Above the coral reefs, the shallow water takes on an intense turquoise color; in the deep places, it waves azure, and on a cloudy day, it showcases a distinct forbidding gray-blue.

Mauritius
Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority's official travel and tourism site for Mauritius, with information about accommodation, hotels, attractions, festivals, events, etc.

Mauritius Calendar
Get informed about the cultural, leisure, and sports events taking place all year round in Mauritius.

Mauritius Island On-line
US-based Mauritius Portal.

Wikivoyage: Mauritius
A Wikivoyage guide to Mauritius.

Mauritius is considered a luxury travel destination. The island is known for its crystal clear water with different shades of blue and green, white palm-fringed signature beaches with powder-fine, golden sands, and its fantastic submarine world of coral reefs. Mauritius features a year-round tropical climate, and one will find flowers and sugar cane and forested areas with ebony and eucalyptus trees.

Things that can cause inconvenience in Mauritius are pickpockets, cyclones, and stone fish, and now an oil spill.

Trois Mamelles peaks, Mauritius

Les Trois Mamelles are peaks in the southwest of Mauritius, the main island of the Republic of Mauritius. Their name comes from the resemblance of the three peaks to udders.
Image: J. Philipp Krone

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Port Louis, Mauritius

View of one of the former Immigration Depot buildings, the Aapravasi Ghat, now home to an interpretation center in Port Louis, Mauritius. It is one of Mauritius' two UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Image: Ashish Bhatnagar

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in
There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mauritius (see the List)

Le Morne Cultural Landscape
Le Morne Brabant is an isolated mountain that juts into the Indian Ocean in southwestern Mauritius and was used as a refuge by runaway slaves, known as maroons, through the 18th and early years of the 19th century.

Aapravasi Ghat
The Aapravasi Ghat are the remains of the building complex of the former Immigration Depot in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, which was the first British colony to receive indentured laborers from India. The British Government selected the island to be the first site for what it called 'the great experiment' in the use of 'free' labor to replace slaves; however, indentured labor was still a form of slavery. From 1849 to 1923, half a million Indian indentured laborers passed through the Immigration Depot, to be transported to plantations throughout the British Empire.

Education in Mauritius

The old Agriculture College building of the University of Mauritius, today part of the Faculty of Agriculture.
Image: UoM

University of Mauritius
The University of Mauritius is the national university and the oldest and largest university in the country, founded in 1965. The university's main campus is located at Réduit, Moka.

Uniciti Education Hub
The Medine Education Village in Bambous, Black River offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD courses. The Uniciti Education Hub was created in 2012 by the Medine Group in collaboration with the government of Mauritius to provide higher education to students from the island and other African countries.

Curtin University Mauritius Campus
CU is an Australian public research university based in Perth, Western Australia. It opened its fourth international campus in Mauritius in May 2018.

Middlesex University Mauritius
Middlesex University London is a public research university in Hendon, north-west London, with campuses in London, Mauritius, Malta, and Dubai. Its Mauritius Campus, opened in 2010, is located at Flic-en-Flac. It was the first British university to open in the country.

Environment & Nature

Black River Gorges National Park, Mauritius

Black River Gorges National Park in the hilly south-western part of Mauritius. The park protects most of the island's remaining rainforest.
Image: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation is committed to the conservation of the Mauritian fauna and flora.

Black River National Park, Mauritius

Trees in Black River National Park.
Image: Rod Waddington

Mauritius History

Copper engraving from 'Het Tweede Boeck' showing Dutch activities on the shore of Mauritius

The jolly island-life of the Dutch on Mauritius. They were busy with fishing, boatbuilding, coopering, forging, teaching and preaching, hunting flying foxes (Pteropus niger), and eradicating Dodos and giant tortoises (Cylindraspis).
Image: Copper engraving from 'Het Tweede Boeck' showing Dutch activities on the shore of Mauritius during the 1598 voyage of Admiral Jacob van Neck.

History of Mauritius
About eight million years ago, the archipelago of the Mascarenes, which includes Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Réunion, was formed due to volcanic activity in the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean.
It seems that the island was already known to the Arabs in the 10th century because it is shown on some old Arabic nautical charts.
Mauritius was "officially" discovered in 1505 (or 1512) by Portuguese navigator Dom Pedro Mascarenhas, who later in his life became Viceroy of Portuguese-India. The island was subsequently settled by the Dutch, the French, and eventually conquered by the British in the early 19th century.
The colonization by the Dutch failed. After 72 years of attempted settlement, characterized by poor administration and harsh conditions, the Dutch finally left the island in 1710.

French efforts to colonize the area were more successful. Around 1638 they had taken the islands of Rodrigues and Reunion, and in 1715 an expedition of the French East India Company claimed Mauritius for France; in 1764, it became a crown colony and eventually the seat of government for all French territories in the region. Under French government rule, between 1764 and 1810, Port Louis gained prestige and wealth. The plantation owners of the colony became rich. Agricultural prosperity was achieved through the exploitation of cheap slave labor. In 1797 the population of the island numbered 6,200 whites, 3,700 free persons, and 49,100 slaves.

A consequence of the French Revolution of 1789 was the decline of French rule in the region. It allowed British troops to land on Mauritius in 1810. The French capitulated to the British. The Treaty of Paris of 1814 awarded the island, together with the Seychelles and Rodrigues Islands, to Britain, which exploited Mauritius until its independence in 1968.

Brief History of Mauritius
A brief overview of the History of Mauritius.

Explore Mauritius: History
Article about the History of Mauritius by the Mauritian government.

Mauritius : History
The Commonwealth article about the history of Mauritius.

History of Mauritius
Articles about the history of Mauritius in many languages on Wikipedia.

Additional Information

Selected country profiles of Mauritius published by international organizations.

BBC Country Profile: Mauritius
Country profiles by the British public service broadcaster.

FAO: Mauritius
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a UN agency that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.

GlobalEDGE: Mauritius
The Global Business Knowledge Portal about Mauritius.

The Heritage Foundation: Mauritius
Index of Economic Freedom by The Heritage Foundation, an American conservative think tank.

OEC: Mauritius
The Observatory of Economic Complexity provides the latest trade data.

Reporters Without Borders: Mauritius
RSF (Reporters sans frontières) is an international NGO that defends and promotes media freedom.

Wikipedia - Mauritius
Wikipedia's Mauritius page in many languages.

The CIA World Factbook -- Mauritius
The CIA World Factbook intelligence on Mauritius.