Demographics of Mauritius
Encyclopedia
This article is about the demographic
features of the population
of Mauritius
, including population density
, ethnicity
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Mauritian society includes people from many different ethnic groups. A majority of the republic's residents are the descendants of people from the Indian subcontinent
. Mauritius also contains substantial populations from continental Africa
, Madagascar
, France
, Great Britain
, and China
, among other places.
s (when the ethnic groups are combined) and Creoles
(of African descent) are the predominant population. There are approximately 30,000 Mauritians of Chinese descent, from the Hakka and Cantonese language groups. More than 90% of the Sino-Mauritian
community are Roman Catholic, the remainder are largely Buddhist.
While there is a small population of British citizens living in Mauritius, most of whom have Mauritian nationality, few identify as being Mauritian. The term Anglo-Mauritian, a term which may include Mauritians living in the UK
, is used unofficially.
Though the Franco-Mauritian
group is small, it is the largest of the European ancestries on the island.
Small groups of foreign students from Europe or the Indian Ocean region are also present. Recent years have seen a steady flow of foreign workers into the textile industry (primarily Chinese women), the construction industry (primarily Indian workers), and harbour-related activities (primarily Taiwanese men). Immigration policy does not provoke much debate in Mauritius, and the relative economic stability of the island serves to attract foreign workers.
The table below presents the population development of Mauritius since 1900. The figure up to 1945 are for the island of Mauritius only. As of 1946 the island of Rodrigues
is included.
The main languages spoken in Mauritius are Mauritian Creole
, French
and English
. English is the only official language
but the lingua franca
is Mauritian Creole and the newspapers and television programmes are usually in French.
Mauritian Créole, which is spoken by 90 percent of the population, is considered to be the native language of the country and is used most often in informal settings. It was developed in the 18th century by slaves who used a pidgin language to communicate with each other as well as with their French masters, who did not understand the various African languages. The pidgin evolved with later generations to become a casual language. Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole due to its close ties with French pronunciation and vocabulary.
(52%), Roman Catholicism (28%), Islam
(16.6%), Buddhism
(2.5%), Adventist
Protestantism
(2%) and Sikhism
(0.3%).
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
Age structure:
0–14 years: 22.5% (male 147,136/female 142,121)
15–64 years: 70.4% (male 449,176/female 455,057)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 36,309/female 54,465) (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.776% (2010 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.67 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
17.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) - 12.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
74 years
male:
70.53 years
female:
77.65 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.02 children born/woman (2000 est.)
1.80 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Mauritian(s)
adjective:
Mauritian
Ethnic groups:
Indian
68%, Creole
27%, Chinese
3%, French
2%
Religions:
Hinduism
52%, Christianity
28.3% (Roman Catholicism 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Islam
16.6%, other 3.1%
Languages:
English
(Official), French
, Mauritian Creole
, Hindi, Tamil
, Marathi
, Bhojpuri
, Hakka.
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
84.4%
male:
88.4%
female:
80.5% (2000 est.)
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
features of the population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, including population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
, ethnicity
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Mauritian society includes people from many different ethnic groups. A majority of the republic's residents are the descendants of people from the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
. Mauritius also contains substantial populations from continental Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, among other places.
Ancestry
The Indo-MauritianIndo-Mauritian
Indo-Mauritians are people of Indian descent living on the island of Mauritius, where they represent a majority comprising 68% of the population according to the July 2007 statistics...
s (when the ethnic groups are combined) and Creoles
Mauritian Creole People
Mauritian Creole people are the people of African and Malagasy origin who live in Mauritius. However, the Creole people today also includes minorities of people that have both African and Malagasy origins with Indian, Chinese, French and/or British backgrounds....
(of African descent) are the predominant population. There are approximately 30,000 Mauritians of Chinese descent, from the Hakka and Cantonese language groups. More than 90% of the Sino-Mauritian
Sino-Mauritian
Sino-Mauritians, also referred to as Chinese Mauritians or Mauritian Chinese, are Mauritians of Chinese descent. They form about 3% of the local population.-Migration history:...
community are Roman Catholic, the remainder are largely Buddhist.
While there is a small population of British citizens living in Mauritius, most of whom have Mauritian nationality, few identify as being Mauritian. The term Anglo-Mauritian, a term which may include Mauritians living in the UK
Mauritian British
Mauritians in the United Kingdom include British citizens and residents of Mauritian descent. In 2001, some 27,078 Mauritian-born people were present in the UK. The Office for National Statistics estimates that there were 47,000 Mauritian-born residents of the UK in 2010...
, is used unofficially.
Though the Franco-Mauritian
Franco-Mauritian
Franco-Mauritians are people of mainly French origin who reside in Mauritius. They number more than 24,000.-Origins:The first French settlers arrived in Mauritius in 1722, after the previous attempts of settlement by the Dutch had failed, and the island had once again become abandoned...
group is small, it is the largest of the European ancestries on the island.
Small groups of foreign students from Europe or the Indian Ocean region are also present. Recent years have seen a steady flow of foreign workers into the textile industry (primarily Chinese women), the construction industry (primarily Indian workers), and harbour-related activities (primarily Taiwanese men). Immigration policy does not provoke much debate in Mauritius, and the relative economic stability of the island serves to attract foreign workers.
Vital statistics
Mauritius has an estimated population of 1,283,415 on December 31, 2010. 15,005 children were born in 2010 (birth rate 11.7 per 1,000).The table below presents the population development of Mauritius since 1900. The figure up to 1945 are for the island of Mauritius only. As of 1946 the island of Rodrigues
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...
is included.
| Average population (x 1000) | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 371 | 14 490 | 13 695 | 795 | 38.6 | 36.5 | 2.1 |
| 1901 | 371 | 12 910 | 14 970 | -2 060 | 34.8 | 40.4 | -5.6 |
| 1902 | 371 | 13 495 | 12 716 | 779 | 35.9 | 33.8 | 2.1 |
| 1903 | 371 | 13 611 | 15 034 | -1 423 | 36.3 | 40.1 | -3.8 |
| 1904 | 371 | 14 103 | 12 064 | 2 039 | 37.2 | 31.9 | 5.3 |
| 1905 | 370 | 14 043 | 15 379 | -1 336 | 37.2 | 40.7 | -3.5 |
| 1906 | 370 | 12 669 | 15 124 | -2 455 | 33.6 | 40.0 | -6.4 |
| 1907 | 370 | 14 186 | 13 037 | 1 149 | 37.7 | 34.6 | 3.1 |
| 1908 | 370 | 13 456 | 15 094 | -1 638 | 36.0 | 40.3 | -4.3 |
| 1909 | 369 | 12 837 | 13 761 | - 924 | 34.4 | 36.9 | -2.5 |
| 1910 | 369 | 13 329 | 12 488 | 841 | 36.1 | 33.8 | 2.3 |
| 1911 | 369 | 14 585 | 12 204 | 2 381 | 39.2 | 32.8 | 6.4 |
| 1912 | 370 | 13 209 | 14 429 | -1 220 | 35.5 | 38.8 | -3.3 |
| 1913 | 371 | 15 153 | 13 201 | 1 952 | 40.8 | 35.5 | 5.3 |
| 1914 | 372 | 15 229 | 12 134 | 3 095 | 40.8 | 32.5 | 8.3 |
| 1915 | 373 | 13 094 | 13 101 | - 7 | 34.8 | 34.8 | -0.0 |
| 1916 | 374 | 13 162 | 11 432 | 1 730 | 35.0 | 30.4 | 4.6 |
| 1917 | 375 | 13 887 | 12 234 | 1 653 | 36.9 | 32.5 | 4.4 |
| 1918 | 375 | 13 109 | 12 794 | 315 | 34.8 | 33.9 | 0.9 |
| 1919 | 375 | 13 261 | 24 455 | -11 194 | 35.2 | 64.9 | -29.7 |
| 1920 | 376 | 12 791 | 11 773 | 1 018 | 35.1 | 32.3 | 2.8 |
| 1921 | 376 | 14 360 | 15 159 | - 799 | 38.1 | 40.3 | -2.2 |
| 1922 | 376 | 13 955 | 12 967 | 988 | 37.0 | 34.5 | 2.5 |
| 1923 | 377 | 13 879 | 10 778 | 3 101 | 36.8 | 28.5 | 8.3 |
| 1924 | 380 | 15 430 | 10 558 | 4 872 | 41.1 | 28.1 | 13.0 |
| 1925 | 383 | 16 545 | 9 327 | 7 218 | 42.6 | 24.9 | 17.7 |
| 1926 | 386 | 15 520 | 9 958 | 5 562 | 39.4 | 25.3 | 14.1 |
| 1927 | 389 | 13 748 | 10 015 | 3 733 | 34.5 | 25.1 | 9.4 |
| 1928 | 391 | 15 206 | 11 342 | 3 864 | 37.9 | 28.2 | 9.7 |
| 1929 | 393 | 13 771 | 12 413 | 1 358 | 34.0 | 30.7 | 3.3 |
| 1930 | 393 | 12 793 | 14 341 | -1 548 | 31.6 | 35.4 | -3.8 |
| 1931 | 393 | 11 941 | 15 467 | -3 526 | 29.7 | 38.4 | -8.7 |
| 1932 | 390 | 10 266 | 12 848 | -2 582 | 25.7 | 32.2 | -6.5 |
| 1933 | 390 | 13 479 | 10 615 | 2 864 | 33.8 | 26.6 | 7.2 |
| 1934 | 392 | 13 516 | 10 069 | 3 447 | 33.7 | 25.1 | 8.6 |
| 1935 | 394 | 13 246 | 10 445 | 2 801 | 32.8 | 25.8 | 7.0 |
| 1936 | 398 | 13 867 | 10 500 | 3 367 | 34.1 | 25.8 | 8.3 |
| 1937 | 400 | 14 097 | 11 527 | 2 570 | 34.4 | 28.1 | 6.3 |
| 1938 | 402 | 13 420 | 12 046 | 1 374 | 32.6 | 29.2 | 3.4 |
| 1939 | 405 | 14 578 | 11 340 | 3 238 | 35.2 | 27.4 | 7.8 |
| 1940 | 407 | 12 145 | 10 373 | 1 772 | 29.1 | 24.9 | 4.2 |
| 1941 | 407 | 13 430 | 10 436 | 2 994 | 32.2 | 25.0 | 7.2 |
| 1942 | 408 | 13 553 | 11 927 | 1 626 | 32.5 | 28.6 | 3.9 |
| 1943 | 410 | 13 604 | 10 642 | 2 962 | 32.6 | 25.5 | 7.1 |
| 1944 | 419 | 18 258 | 11 355 | 6 903 | 43.4 | 27.0 | 16.4 |
| 1945 | 424 | 16 290 | 15 277 | 1 013 | 38.4 | 36.0 | 2.4 |
| 1946 | 437 | 16 939 | 12 678 | 4 261 | 38.8 | 29.0 | 9.8 |
| 1947 | 445 | 19 458 | 8 830 | 10 628 | 43.7 | 19.8 | 23.9 |
| 1948 | 455 | 19 429 | 10 680 | 8 749 | 42.7 | 23.5 | 19.2 |
| 1949 | 458 | 20 931 | 7 523 | 13 408 | 45.7 | 16.4 | 29.3 |
| 1950 | 479 | 23 667 | 6 611 | 17 056 | 49.4 | 13.8 | 35.6 |
| 1951 | 498 | 23 543 | 7 305 | 16 238 | 47.3 | 14.7 | 32.6 |
| 1952 | 514 | 24 689 | 7 569 | 17 120 | 48.0 | 14.7 | 33.3 |
| 1953 | 537 | 24 428 | 8 550 | 15 878 | 45.5 | 15.9 | 29.6 |
| 1954 | 551 | 22 513 | 8 587 | 13 926 | 40.9 | 15.6 | 25.3 |
| 1955 | 570 | 23 612 | 7 260 | 16 352 | 41.4 | 12.7 | 28.7 |
| 1956 | 591 | 25 666 | 6 910 | 18 756 | 43.4 | 11.7 | 31.7 |
| 1957 | 609 | 26 055 | 7 823 | 18 232 | 42.8 | 12.8 | 29.9 |
| 1958 | 627 | 25 398 | 7 307 | 18 091 | 40.5 | 11.7 | 28.9 |
| 1959 | 644 | 24 792 | 7 040 | 17 752 | 38.5 | 10.9 | 27.6 |
| 1960 | 662 | 26 017 | 7 588 | 18 429 | 39.3 | 11.5 | 27.8 |
| 1961 | 680 | 27 028 | 6 697 | 20 331 | 39.7 | 9.8 | 29.9 |
| 1962 | 700 | 27 162 | 6 485 | 20 677 | 38.8 | 9.3 | 29.5 |
| 1963 | 715 | 28 859 | 6 912 | 21 947 | 40.4 | 9.7 | 30.7 |
| 1964 | 735 | 28 610 | 6 421 | 22 189 | 38.9 | 8.7 | 30.2 |
| 1965 | 754 | 27 195 | 6 637 | 20 558 | 36.1 | 8.8 | 27.3 |
| 1966 | 773 | 27 831 | 6 944 | 20 887 | 36.0 | 9.0 | 27.0 |
| 1967 | 789 | 24 471 | 6 750 | 17 721 | 31.0 | 8.6 | 22.5 |
| 1968 | 804 | 25 409 | 7 382 | 18 027 | 31.6 | 9.2 | 22.4 |
| 1969 | 815 | 22 621 | 6 733 | 15 888 | 27.7 | 8.3 | 19.5 |
| 1970 | 828 | 22 765 | 6 520 | 16 245 | 27.5 | 7.9 | 19.6 |
| 1971 | 841 | 21 926 | 6 436 | 15 490 | 26.1 | 7.7 | 18.4 |
| 1972 | 851 | 21 495 | 6 753 | 14 742 | 25.3 | 7.9 | 17.3 |
| 1973 | 869 | 20 015 | 6 779 | 13 236 | 23.0 | 7.8 | 15.2 |
| 1974 | 881 | 24 002 | 6 424 | 17 578 | 27.3 | 7.3 | 20.0 |
| 1975 | 891 | 22 557 | 7 201 | 15 356 | 25.3 | 8.1 | 17.2 |
| 1976 | 903 | 23 274 | 6 968 | 16 306 | 25.8 | 7.7 | 18.0 |
| 1977 | 918 | 23 859 | 7 154 | 16 705 | 26.0 | 7.8 | 18.2 |
| 1978 | 934 | 25 278 | 6 596 | 18 682 | 27.1 | 7.1 | 20.0 |
| 1979 | 948 | 26 163 | 6 871 | 19 292 | 27.6 | 7.2 | 20.3 |
| 1980 | 966 | 26 294 | 6 919 | 19 375 | 27.2 | 7.2 | 20.1 |
| 1981 | 981 | 24 967 | 6 653 | 18 314 | 25.5 | 6.8 | 18.7 |
| 1982 | 993 | 22 459 | 6 584 | 15 875 | 22.6 | 6.6 | 16.0 |
| 1983 | 1 002 | 21 073 | 6 532 | 14 541 | 21.0 | 6.5 | 14.5 |
| 1984 | 1 011 | 20 332 | 6 646 | 13 686 | 20.1 | 6.6 | 13.5 |
| 1985 | 1 021 | 19 376 | 6 906 | 12 470 | 19.0 | 6.8 | 12.2 |
| 1986 | 1 028 | 19 170 | 6 805 | 12 365 | 18.6 | 6.6 | 12.0 |
| 1987 | 1 037 | 20 033 | 6 753 | 13 280 | 19.3 | 6.5 | 12.8 |
| 1988 | 1 043 | 20 941 | 6 879 | 14 062 | 20.1 | 6.6 | 13.5 |
| 1989 | 1 051 | 21 822 | 7 149 | 14 673 | 20.8 | 6.8 | 14.0 |
| 1990 | 1 059 | 22 602 | 7 031 | 15 571 | 21.3 | 6.6 | 14.7 |
| 1991 | 1 070 | 22 197 | 7 027 | 15 170 | 20.7 | 6.6 | 14.2 |
| 1992 | 1 084 | 22 902 | 7 023 | 15 879 | 21.1 | 6.5 | 14.6 |
| 1993 | 1 098 | 22 329 | 7 433 | 14 896 | 20.3 | 6.8 | 13.6 |
| 1994 | 1 113 | 21 795 | 7 402 | 14 393 | 19.6 | 6.7 | 12.9 |
| 1995 | 1 122 | 20 549 | 7 465 | 13 084 | 18.3 | 6.7 | 11.7 |
| 1996 | 1 134 | 20 763 | 7 670 | 13 093 | 18.3 | 6.8 | 11.5 |
| 1997 | 1 148 | 20 012 | 7 986 | 12 026 | 17.4 | 7.0 | 10.5 |
| 1998 | 1 160 | 19 434 | 7 839 | 11 595 | 16.8 | 6.8 | 10.0 |
| 1999 | 1 175 | 20 311 | 7 944 | 12 367 | 17.3 | 6.8 | 10.5 |
| 2000 | 1 187 | 20 205 | 7 982 | 12 223 | 17.0 | 6.7 | 10.3 |
| 2001 | 1 200 | 19 696 | 7 983 | 11 713 | 16.4 | 6.7 | 9.8 |
| 2002 | 1 210 | 19 983 | 8 310 | 11 673 | 16.5 | 6.9 | 9.6 |
| 2003 | 1 223 | 19 343 | 8 520 | 10 823 | 15.8 | 7.0 | 8.8 |
| 2004 | 1 233 | 19 230 | 8 475 | 10 755 | 15.6 | 6.9 | 8.7 |
| 2005 | 1 243 | 18 820 | 8 646 | 10 174 | 15.1 | 7.0 | 8.2 |
| 2006 | 1 253 | 17 604 | 9 162 | 8 442 | 14.0 | 7.3 | 6.7 |
| 2007 | 1 261 | 17 034 | 8 498 | 8 536 | 13.5 | 6.7 | 6.8 |
| 2008 | 1 268 | 16 372 | 9 004 | 7 368 | 12.9 | 7.1 | 5.8 |
| 2009 | 1 275 | 15 344 | 9 222 | 6 122 | 12.0 | 7.2 | 4.8 |
| 2010 | 1 281 | 15 005 | 9 131 | 5 874 | 11.7 | 7.1 | 4.6 |
Language
Mauritian Creole
Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. In addition to the French base of the language, there are also some words from English and from the many African and Asian languages that have been spoken on the island.- Sociolinguistic Situation :Mauritian Creole is the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. English is the only official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
but the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
is Mauritian Creole and the newspapers and television programmes are usually in French.
Mauritian Créole, which is spoken by 90 percent of the population, is considered to be the native language of the country and is used most often in informal settings. It was developed in the 18th century by slaves who used a pidgin language to communicate with each other as well as with their French masters, who did not understand the various African languages. The pidgin evolved with later generations to become a casual language. Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole due to its close ties with French pronunciation and vocabulary.
Religion
The religions present in the republic are HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
(52%), Roman Catholicism (28%), Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
(16.6%), Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
(2.5%), Adventist
Adventist
Adventism is a Christian movement which began in the 19th century, in the context of the Second Great Awakening revival in the United States. The name refers to belief in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It was started by William Miller, whose followers became known as Millerites...
Protestantism
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
(2%) and Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
(0.3%).
CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
Age structure:
0–14 years: 22.5% (male 147,136/female 142,121)
15–64 years: 70.4% (male 449,176/female 455,057)
65 years and over: 7.1% (male 36,309/female 54,465) (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.776% (2010 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.67 male(s)/female
total population:
0.98 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
17.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) - 12.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
74 years
male:
70.53 years
female:
77.65 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.02 children born/woman (2000 est.)
1.80 children born/woman (2010 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Mauritian(s)
adjective:
Mauritian
Ethnic groups:
Indian
Indo-Mauritian
Indo-Mauritians are people of Indian descent living on the island of Mauritius, where they represent a majority comprising 68% of the population according to the July 2007 statistics...
68%, Creole
Mauritian Creole People
Mauritian Creole people are the people of African and Malagasy origin who live in Mauritius. However, the Creole people today also includes minorities of people that have both African and Malagasy origins with Indian, Chinese, French and/or British backgrounds....
27%, Chinese
Sino-Mauritian
Sino-Mauritians, also referred to as Chinese Mauritians or Mauritian Chinese, are Mauritians of Chinese descent. They form about 3% of the local population.-Migration history:...
3%, French
Franco-Mauritian
Franco-Mauritians are people of mainly French origin who reside in Mauritius. They number more than 24,000.-Origins:The first French settlers arrived in Mauritius in 1722, after the previous attempts of settlement by the Dutch had failed, and the island had once again become abandoned...
2%
Religions:
Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
52%, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
28.3% (Roman Catholicism 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
16.6%, other 3.1%
Languages:
English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
(Official), French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Mauritian Creole
Mauritian Creole
Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. In addition to the French base of the language, there are also some words from English and from the many African and Asian languages that have been spoken on the island.- Sociolinguistic Situation :Mauritian Creole is the...
, Hindi, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri language
Bhojpuri is a language spoken in parts of north-central and eastern India. It is spoken in the western part of state of Bihar, the northwestern part of Jharkhand, and the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh , as well as adjoining parts of the Nepal Terai. Bhojpuri is also spoken in Guyana,...
, Hakka.
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
84.4%
male:
88.4%
female:
80.5% (2000 est.)