• Mauritius:
• Society

Mauritius - Society

Population: 1,262,000 (2007); 44% lives in urban areas; growth 1.2% p.a. 1970–90 and 1.1% p.a. 1990–2004; birth rate (2005) 16 per 1,000 people (29 in 1970); life expectancy 73 years (62 in 1970). About 69% of the population is of Indian descent, 27% Creole, and the remainder largely of French or Chinese descent.

Religion: Hindus 52%, Christians (mainly Roman Catholics) 28%, Muslims 17%.

Language: The official language is English; Creole is the mother tongue of many Mauritians and French is also widely spoken. Other languages are Hindi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telegu, Marathi, Gujarati, Cantonese and Hakka.

Media: Mauritius has a free press. Daily newspapers and periodicals reflect the country’s wide cultural mix and are published in French, English, Hindi, Urdu and Chinese. The leading dailies are L’Express, Le Matinal and Le Mauricien (afternoon).

TV and radio covers the entire spectrum of news, current affairs and popular culture. MBC (Mauritius Broadcasting Company) is state run and operates three television channels. Television stations operated by MCA (Mauritius College of the Air) tend to broadcast more English-language programmes.

State-run MBC also operates a number of radio stations, including Radio Maurice 1 and 2, Kool FM, Taal FM and One World FM. Private radio stations include Top FM, Radio One and Radio Plus.

There are 299 TV sets (2002), 162 personal computers and 241 internet users (2006) per 1,000 people.

Education: Public spending on education was 4.5% of GDP in 2004/05. There are six years of compulsory education starting at age six. Net enrolment ratios are 95% for primary and 82% for secondary (2005). The pupil–teacher ratio for primary is 22:1 and for secondary about 17:1 (2005). The school year starts in January.

About 17% of the relevant age group is enrolled in tertiary education (2005). Tertiary education centres on the University of Mauritius; other institutions include Mauritius Institute of Education (training teachers), Mahatma Gandhi Institute (courses in Asian culture) and Mauritius College of the Air (distance education for adults and primary and secondary students). Academy of Medicine provides training for doctors, nurses and hospital administrators. Illiteracy among people age 15–24 is 5.5% (2006).

Health: Overall, the health profile is similar to that of developed countries. Health care in the public sector is free to all Mauritians. As well as some 13 hospitals, there are area and community health centres. Virtually the entire population uses an improved drinking water source and adequate sanitation facilities (2004/2005). Infant mortality was 13 per 1,000 live births in 2005 (67 in 1960). Malaria was substantially eradicated in the 1950s. A national AIDS prevention and control programme has been running since 1987.

Communications: Country code 230. There are some public telephones, mainly found at airports and hotels. Mauritius Telecom also offers payphones in its customer service centres. Mobile phone coverage is very good and local calls cost the same as those from landlines. Roaming agreements exist with international mobile phone companies but local handsets can also be hired.

Internet cafes can be found in the main towns and tourist centres and many hotels have high-speed connections. There is a good postal service.

There are 285 main telephone lines and 615 mobile phones per 1,000 people (2006).

Public holidays: New Year (two days), Abolition of Slavery (1 February), Independence Day (12 March), Labour Day (1 May), Assumption (15 August), All Saints’ Day (1 November), Arrival of the Indentured Labourers (2 November) and Christmas Day.

Religious and other festivals whose dates vary from year to year include Chinese New Year, Thaipoosam Cavadee (January/February), Maha Shivaratri (February/March), Ougadi (March/April), Good Friday, Ganesh Chathurthi (September), Diwali (October/November) and Eid al-Fitr (End of Ramadan, three days).