- The current population of Mauritius is 1,277,411 as of Thursday, March 9, 2023.
- We are grateful for this data which is based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.
- Unfortunately we are unable to compare the Mauritian data with Scotland’s population from the same source because Scotland is not an independent country
The people of Mauritius are highly diverse in ethnicity, culture, language and faith and it is the only country in Africa where Hinduism is the most practised religion
Mauritius is a multi ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian, Sub Saharan African, Mauritian Creole, European and Chinese descent, as well as those of a mixed background from any combination of the aforementioned ethnic groups.
The known history of Mauritius begins with its discovery by Arabs and Malays, followed by Europeans and then its appearance on maps in the early 16th century. Mauritius was successively colonised by the Netherlands, France and Great Britain, and only became independent on 12 March 1968.
In December 1991, the Constitution was amended to make Mauritius a republic within the Commonwealth. Subsequently Mauritius became a republic on 12 March 1992
The Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres (1,100 nautical miles) off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Agaléga and St. Brandon
Today Mauritius is described in these ways:
And Mauritius’ future as an independent country is described in similar terms below:
“The country’s economy has made great strides since independence in 1968 and is now classified as an upper-middle-income economy.
Its key challenges include managing the transition to a knowledge-based economy and adapting to the impact of climate change”
Mauritius is envied as a sound social democratic country which looks after all of its citizens fairly and without favour.
Little known facts about Mauritius
- The currency of Mauritius is Mauritian Rupee (MUR). In 2023, $1 US dollar is equal to 36.30 MUR (Mauritian rupees.)
- Mauritius was the only known habitat of the now-extinct dodo bird, a type of pigeon which settled on the island more than 4 million years ago.
- Lewis Carroll is said to have been inspired by the dodo to write his famous book “Alice in Wonderland” in 1865.
- The Seven Coloured Earths is a well-known tourist attraction at Chamarel in the southwest part of Mauritius. Visitors are enthralled by this geological formation of seven colours of sand that spontaneously settle in different layers, giving the dunes a surrealistic, striped appearance. These coloured sand dunes seemingly never erode, in spite of Mauritius’ torrential, tropical rains
- The colourful national flag of Mauritius, also known as the “Four Bands”, was adopted upon independence in 1968.
As shown above the flag consists of red, blue, yellow and green bands representing:
- Red: bloodshed at the time of slavery or self-determination/independence.
- Blue: the Indian Ocean surrounding the islands
- Yellow: the new light of independence shining, golden or the bright future.
- Green: the lush vegetation of the island
