Demographics of Mauritius

Ethnic groups

The majority of the population are Indo-Mauritians (people of Indian descent) who make up 68% of the population. Creoles (of African descent or mixed-race) are about a quarter of the population. There are approximately 30,000 Sino-Mauritians from the Hakka and other Chinese sub-ethnic/linguistic groups.

Franco-Mauritians (Mauritian of French ancestry) are numbered about 24,000. The Franco-Mauritian group, mostly are the descendants of former slave-owners, comprises the largest group of people of European origin on the island. There is a smaller population of people of British descent living in Mauritius, most of whom have Mauritian nationality. The term Anglo-Mauritian, which may also include Mauritians living in the UK, is used unofficially. There's also a substantial new arrivals of white South Africans, numbering about 20,000, and is a growing community.

While within the Mauritian social context, the main ethnic groups are refer to as the following: Hindus or Indians (North Indians Hindus) 40%, residing all over the Island, with higher concentration in the North. Creoles (Afro or Afro-Indian) 22%, mostly central plateau area, the suburbs of Port Louis and coastal villages such as Bai du Tombeau and the black river region. Muslims (Indo-muslims) 16%, most living in the central plateau towns and Plaine Verte in the capital city. Tamils or South Indians (Tamils or Christian-Tamils) 15%, concentrated in the central plateau towns. Gens de Couleur or coloured creoles 3%, mostly Rose-Hill-Beau Basin, coastal villages of Albion and Tamarin and also Montagne Blanche. Chinese or Sino-Mauritian 2%, mostly in Port Louis. white/Franco-Mauritians 1%, reside in three main towns, Tamarin in the South west coast, Curepipe in the centre of the Island and in the North mostly in and around pointe aux canonniers. white-South Africans 1%, live exclusively in coastal town of Tamarin.

While the government officially groups Mauritians in four ethnic groups: Hindus, Muslims, Chinese and General population. The general population gathers all that don't practice the Hindu or Muslim religion, or are not Chinese by race. Hence general population is the Christian community, which includes whites, coloureds, blacks, and a good amount of those of Indian ancestry especially Tamils who have converted to Christianity. The exception to the rule is that the general population does not include the Christian-chinese, although 90% are Christians.

Note since independence 90% of the coloured community, 70% of the whites and 50% of the Chinese have departed; coloureds mostly to Australia, whites or near white coloureds (pass as whites) to South Africa and Chinese to Canada.

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.

Population

According to the 2010 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 1,281,000 in 2010, compared to 479,000 in 1950.

The proportion of the population aged under 15 was 21.9% in 2010. 71.2% were between 15 and 65 years of age, with 6.9% being 65 years or older.

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (04.07.2011) (Census, complete tabulation) :

Structure of the population (01.07.2012) (Estimates based on the results of the 2011 Population Census) :

Vital statistics

Mauritius has an estimated population of 1,283,415 on December 31, 2010. 14,701 children were born in 2011 (birth rate 11.4 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 is included.

Figures from Statistics Mauritius and United Nations Demographic Yearbook.

Language

The main languages spoken in Mauritius are English, French and Mauritian Creole. There is no official language. English is the official language of the parliament, though French is also permitted. However, the lingua franca is Mauritian Creole and the newspapers and television programms 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. Bhojpuri is also spoken by a large percentage of Mauritian people at home and in informal scenarios.

Religion

The religions present in the republic are Hinduism 51.9%, Roman Catholicism 25.1%, Other Christian 5.3%, Islam 15.3%, None 0.7%, Other 0.6, Unspecified 0.1%

More than 90% of the Sino-Mauritian community are Christian; the remainder are largely Buddhist.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

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 48.5% Roman Catholicism 26.3% Other Christian 6.4% Islam 17.3% None 0.7% Other 0.6 Unspecified 0.1%

Languages:

Creole 86.5% Bhojpuri 5.3% French 4.1%, Two languages 1.4%, Other 2.6% (includes English, which is spoken by less than 1% of the population) Unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)

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