Demographics of Mauritius

Demographics of Mauritius
Population pyramid of Mauritius in 2020
Population1,308,222 (2022 est.)
Density640 inhabitants per km² (2023)
Growth rate0.1% (2022 est.)
Birth rate9.86 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate8.86 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy74.86 years
 • male72.04 years
 • female77.88 years
Fertility rate1.35 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate12.08 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years15.4%
65 and over11.08%
Nationality
NationalityMauritian

The Mauritian society is multiethnic. Indo-Mauritians make up the bulk of the population with the rest being descendants of people from Subsaharan Africa, including Madagascar, China and Western Europe, mostly France.

Mauritius also hosts foreign nationals from mostly India, Bangladesh and France with the rest from South Africa, Madagascar and Subsaharan Africa. As of 2023, Mauritius had the highest population density in Africa.

Population

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects[1][2], the total population was 1,298,915 in 2021, compared to 479,000 in 1950.[3]

The proportion of the population aged under 15 was 21.9% in 2010.[3] 71.2% were between 15 and 65 years of age, with 6.9% being 65 years or older.[3]

2022 Census

Mauritius has a population of 1,235,260 (608,090 males, 627,170 females), according to the 2022 Census.[4] The population on the island of Mauritius was 1,191,280 (586,590 males and 604,690 females);[5] Rodrigues island was 43,650 (21,330 males and 22,320 females); and Agaléga island was 330 (170 males and 160 females).[5][4][6]

The average age of the population was 38 years;[5][4][6] the proportion of children aged under 15 years decreased from 20.7% (in 2011) to 15.4% (in 2022); and the number of adults aged 60 years and over increased from 12.7% (2011) to 18.7% (2022).[6]


millionyear0.20.40.60.811.21.419001920194019601980200020202040population (million)Mauritius population (millions)
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‰years-30-20-1001020304019001920194019601980200020202040Natural change (per 1000)Mauritius population natural change
View source data.
TFRyears1.21.51.82.12.42.733.31970198019902000201020202030Total Fertility RateMauritius total fertility rate
View source data.

Structure of the population

UN estimates

Total population Population aged 0–14 (%) Population aged 15–64 (%) Population aged 65+ (%)
1950 479 000 45.2 51.9 3.0
1955 570 000 46.1 51.3 2.6
1960 662 000 46.6 50.9 2.5
1965 754 000 46.2 51.3 2.5
1970 828 000 43.8 53.6 2.6
1975 891 000 39.9 57.3 2.8
1980 966 000 35.4 61.0 3.6
1985 1 021 000 31.4 64.5 4.1
1990 1 059 000 29.7 65.8 4.5
1995 1 122 000 27.8 67.2 5.0
2000 1 187 000 26.7 67.6 5.7
2005 1 243 000 24.8 69.1 6.1
2010 1 281 000 21.9 71.2 6.9

2012 estimates

Population Estimates by sex and age group (01.VII.2012) (Based on the results of the 2011 Population Census.) :

Age group Male Female Total %
Total 621 297 634 585 1,255,882 100
0–4 38 379 37 772 76 151 6.06
5–9 46 802 45 130 91 932 7.32
10–14 49 926 48 044 97 970 7.80
15–19 50 158 49 996 100 154 7.97
20–24 48 747 47 374 96 121 7.65
25–29 43 794 43 392 87 186 6.94
30–34 52 325 51 550 103 875 8.27
35–39 45 447 44 448 89 895 7.16
40–44 43 961 43 150 87 111 6.94
45–49 49 134 48 570 97 704 7.78
50–54 43 718 44 514 88 232 7.03
55–59 37 174 38 625 75 799 6.04
60–64 28 929 31 946 60 875 4.85
65–69 16 986 20 842 37 828 3.01
70–74 11 099 14 471 25 570 2.04
75–79 7 761 11 311 19 072 1.52
80–84 4 077 7 033 11 110 0.88
85+ 2 880 6 417 9 297 0.74
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 135 107 130 946 266 053 21.18
15–64 443 387 443 565 886 952 70.62
65+ 42 803 60 074 102 877 8.19

Census 2019

Population by sex and age group (Census 04.VII.2019) (Excludes the islands of St. Brandon and Agalega.):[7]

Age group Male Female Total %
Total 610 848 625 969 1,236,817 100
0–4 36 702 36 376 73 078 5.91
5–9 44 947 44 068 89 015 7.20
10–14 47 302 46 337 93 639 7.57
15–19 50 715 50 293 101 008 8.17
20–24 46 871 45 800 92 671 7.49
25–29 45 589 45 348 90 937 7.35
30–34 52 182 51 247 103 429 8.36
35–39 44 241 43 556 87 797 7.10
40–44 45 150 44 236 89 386 7.23
45–49 49 800 49 541 99 341 8.03
50–54 42 996 43 341 86 337 6.98
55–59 35 713 37 341 73 054 5.91
60–64 27 143 30 199 57 342 4.64
65–69 15 846 19 593 35 439 2.87
70–74 10 986 14 389 25 375 2.05
75–79 7 349 10 695 18 044 1.46
80–84 4 176 7 193 11 369 0.92
85–89 2 135 4 233 6 368 0.51
90–94 512 1 470 1 982 0.16
95–99 107 384 491 0.04
100+ 13 83 96 0.01
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 128 951 126 781 255 732 20.68
15–64 440 400 440 902 881 302 71.26
65+ 41 124 58 040 99 164 8.02
unknown 373 246 619 0.05

Vital statistics

The table below presents the population development of Mauritius since 1900. The figures up to 1945 are for the island of Mauritius only. As of 1946, the island of Rodrigues is included.

Figures are from Statistics Mauritius[8] and United Nations Demographic Yearbook.[9]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) TFR
1900 371,000 14,490 13,695 795 38.6 36.5 2.1
1901 371,000 12,910 14,970 -2,060 34.8 40.4 -5.6
1902 371,000 13,495 12,716 779 35.9 33.8 2.1
1903 371,000 13,611 15,034 -1,423 36.3 40.1 -3.8
1904 371,000 14,103 12,064 2,039 37.2 31.9 5.3
1905 370,000 14,043 15,379 -1,336 37.2 40.7 -3.5
1906 370,000 12,669 15,124 -2,455 33.6 40.0 -6.4
1907 370,000 14,186 13,037 1,149 37.7 34.6 3.1
1908 370,000 13,456 15,094 -1,638 36.0 40.3 -4.3
1909 369,000 12,837 13,761 – 924 34.4 36.9 -2.5
1910 369,000 13,329 12,488 841 36.1 33.8 2.3
1911 369,000 14,585 12,204 2,381 39.2 32.8 6.4
1912 370,000 13,209 14,429 -1,220 35.5 38.8 -3.3
1913 371,000 15,153 13,201 1,952 40.8 35.5 5.3
1914 372,000 15,229 12,134 3,095 40.8 32.5 8.3
1915 373,000 13,094 13,101 – 7 34.8 34.8 -0.0
1916 374,000 13,162 11,432 1,730 35.0 30.4 4.6
1917 375,000 13,887 12,234 1,653 36.9 32.5 4.4
1918 375,000 13,109 12,794 315 34.8 33.9 0.9
1919 375,000 13,261 24,455 -11,194 35.2 64.9 -29.7
1920 376,000 12,791 11,773 1,018 35.1 32.3 2.8
1921 376,000 14,360 15,159 – 799 38.1 40.3 -2.2
1922 376,000 13,955 12,967 988 37.0 34.5 2.5
1923 377,000 13,879 10,778 3,101 36.8 28.5 8.3
1924 380,000 15,430 10,558 4,872 41.1 28.1 13.0
1925 383,000 16,545 9,327 7,218 42.6 24.9 17.7
1926 386,000 15,520 9,958 5,562 39.4 25.3 14.1
1927 389,000 13,748 10,015 3,733 34.5 25.1 9.4
1928 391,000 15,206 11,342 3,864 37.9 28.2 9.7
1929 393,000 13,771 12,413 1,358 34.0 30.7 3.3
1930 393,000 12,793 14,341 -1,548 31.6 35.4 -3.8
1931 393,000 11,941 15,467 -3,526 29.7 38.4 -8.7
1932 390,000 10,266 12,848 -2,582 25.7 32.2 -6.5
1933 390,000 13,479 10,615 2,864 33.8 26.6 7.2
1934 392,000 13,516 10,069 3,447 33.7 25.1 8.6
1935 394,000 13,246 10,445 2,801 32.8 25.8 7.0
1936 398,000 13,867 10,500 3,367 34.1 25.8 8.3
1937 400,000 14,097 11,527 2,570 34.4 28.1 6.3
1938 402,000 13,420 12,046 1,374 32.6 29.2 3.4
1939 405,000 14,578 11,340 3,238 35.2 27.4 7.8
1940 407,000 12,145 10,373 1,772 29.1 24.9 4.2
1941 407,000 13,430 10,436 2,994 32.2 25.0 7.2
1942 408,000 13,553 11,927 1,626 32.5 28.6 3.9
1943 410,000 13,604 10,642 2,962 32.6 25.5 7.1
1944 419,000 18,258 11,355 6,903 43.4 27.0 16.4
1945 424,000 16,290 15,277 1,013 38.4 36.0 2.4
1946 437,000 16,939 12,678 4,261 38.8 29.0 9.8
1947 445,000 19,458 8,830 10,628 43.7 19.8 23.9
1948 455,000 19,429 10,680 8,749 42.7 23.5 19.2
1949 458,000 20,931 7,523 13,408 45.7 16.4 29.3
1950 479,000 23,667 6,611 17,056 49.4 13.8 35.6
1951 498,000 23,543 7,305 16,238 47.3 14.7 32.6
1952 514,000 24,689 7,569 17,120 48.0 14.7 33.3
1953 537,000 24,428 8,550 15,878 45.5 15.9 29.6
1954 551,000 22,513 8,587 13,926 40.9 15.6 25.3
1955 570,000 23,612 7,260 16,352 41.4 12.7 28.7
1956 591,000 25,666 6,910 18,756 43.4 11.7 31.7
1957 609,000 26,055 7,823 18,232 42.8 12.8 29.9
1958 627,000 25,398 7,307 18,091 40.5 11.7 28.9
1959 644,000 24,792 7,040 17,752 38.5 10.9 27.6
1960 662,000 26,017 7,588 18,429 39.3 11.5 27.8
1961 680,000 27,028 6,697 20,331 39.7 9.8 29.9
1962 700,000 27,162 6,485 20,677 38.8 9.3 29.5
1963 715,000 28,859 6,912 21,947 40.4 9.7 30.7
1964 735,000 28,610 6,421 22,189 38.9 8.7 30.2
1965 754,000 27,195 6,637 20,558 36.1 8.8 27.3
1966 773,000 27,831 6,944 20,887 36.0 9.0 27.0
1967 789,000 24,471 6,750 17,721 31.0 8.6 22.5
1968 804,000 25,409 7,382 18,027 31.6 9.2 22.4
1969 815,000 22,621 6,733 15,888 27.7 8.3 19.5
1970 828,000 22,765 6,520 16,245 27.5 7.9 19.6
1971 841,000 21,926 6,436 15,490 26.1 7.7 18.4
1972 851,000 21,495 6,753 14,742 25.3 7.9 17.3
1973 869,000 20,015 6,779 13,236 23.0 7.8 15.2
1974 881,000 24,002 6,424 17,578 27.3 7.3 20.0
1975 891,000 22,557 7,201 15,356 25.3 8.1 17.2 3.19
1976 903,000 23,274 6,968 16,306 25.8 7.7 18.0 3.13
1977 918,000 23,859 7,154 16,705 26.0 7.8 18.2 3.04
1978 934,000 25,278 6,596 18,682 27.1 7.1 20.0 3.09
1979 948,000 26,163 6,871 19,292 27.6 7.2 20.3 3.07
1980 966,000 26,294 6,919 19,375 27.2 7.2 20.1 3.19
1981 981,000 24,967 6,653 18,314 25.5 6.8 18.7 2.68
1982 993,000 22,459 6,584 15,875 22.6 6.6 16.0 2.39
1983 1,002,000 21,073 6,532 14,541 21.0 6.5 14.5 2.23
1984 1,011,000 20,332 6,646 13,686 20.1 6.6 13.5 2.16
1985 1,021,000 19,376 6,906 12,470 19.0 6.8 12.2 2.02
1986 1,028,000 19,170 6,805 12,365 18.6 6.6 12.0 1.99
1987 1,037,000 20,033 6,753 13,280 19.3 6.5 12.8 2.05
1988 1,043,000 20,941 6,879 14,062 20.1 6.6 13.5 2.14
1989 1,051,000 21,822 7,149 14,673 20.8 6.8 14.0 2.23
1990 1,059,000 22,602 7,031 15,571 21.3 6.6 14.7 2.32
1991 1,070,000 22,197 7,027 15,170 20.7 6.6 14.2 2.30
1992 1,084,000 22,902 7,023 15,879 21.1 6.5 14.6 2.37
1993 1,098,000 22,329 7,433 14,896 20.3 6.8 13.6 2.31
1994 1,113,000 21,795 7,402 14,393 19.6 6.7 12.9 2.25
1995 1,122,000 20,549 7,465 13,084 18.3 6.7 11.7 2.14
1996 1,134,000 20,763 7,670 13,093 18.3 6.8 11.5 2.12
1997 1,148,000 20,012 7,986 12,026 17.4 7.0 10.5 2.04
1998 1,160,000 19,434 7,839 11,595 16.8 6.8 10.0 1.97
1999 1,175,000 20,311 7,944 12,367 17.3 6.8 10.5 2.05
2000 1,187,000 20,205 7,982 12,223 17.0 6.7 10.3 1.99
2001 1,200,000 19,696 7,983 11,713 16.4 6.7 9.8 1.93
2002 1,210,000 19,983 8,310 11,673 16.5 6.9 9.6 1.96
2003 1,223,000 19,343 8,520 10,823 15.8 7.0 8.8 1.91
2004 1,233,000 19,230 8,475 10,755 15.6 6.9 8.7 1.92
2005 1,243,000 18,820 8,646 10,174 15.1 7.0 8.2 1.88
2006 1,253,000 17,604 9,162 8,442 14.0 7.3 6.7 1.77
2007 1,261,000 17,034 8,498 8,536 13.5 6.7 6.8 1.74
2008 1,268,000 16,372 9,004 7,368 12.9 7.1 5.8 1.67
2009 1,275,000 15,344 9,224 6,120 12.0 7.2 4.8 1.59
2010 1,281,000 15,005 9,131 5,874 11.7 7.1 4.6 1.57
2011 1,286,000 14,701 9,170 5,531 11.7 7.3 4.4 1.55
2012 1,256,000 14,502 9,343 5,159 11.5 7.4 4.1 1.56
2013 1,259,000 13,688 9,440 4,248 10.9 7.5 3.4 1.45
2014 1,261,000 13,283 9,682 3,601 10.5 7.7 2.8 1.44
2015 1,263,000 12,738 9,747 2,991 10.1 7.7 2.4 1.37
2016 1,263,000 12,948 10,174 2,774 10.2 8.1 2.1 1.41
2017 1,265,000 13,385 10,140 3,245 10.6 8.0 2.6 1.46
2018 1,265,000 12,980 10,787 2,193 10.3 8.5 1.8 1.42
2019 1,266,000 12,862 11,174 1,688 10.2 8.8 1.4 1.41
2020 1,266,000 13,465 11,060 2,405 10.6 8.7 1.9 1.46
2021 1,264,000 12,982 13,274 -292 10.3 10.5 -0.2 1.42
2022 1,261,000 12,096 12,938 -842 9.6 10.2 -0.6 1.33
2023 1,248,000 12,872 11,839 1,033 10.3 9.5 0.8 1.40
2024 1,245,000 12,853 12,507 346 10.3 10.0 0.3 1.44

Current vital statistics

[10]

Period Live births Deaths Natural change
2023 12,872 11,839 +1033
2024 12,853 12,507 +346
Difference -19 (-0.1%) +668 (+5.64%) -687

Life expectancy

Period Life expectancy in
Years[11]
1950–1955 50.19
1955–1960 55.74
1960–1965 61.23
1965–1970 62.96
1970–1975 63.55
1975–1980 65.58
1980–1985 68.10
1985–1990 68.49
1990–1995 70.28
1995–2000 70.36
2000–2005 72.09
2005–2010 72.75
2010–2015 74.13

Ethnic groups

Indo-Mauritians represent roughly sixty-eight percent of the population. The Indo-Mauritian population consists of Hindu and Muslim descendants of Indian laborers.

Mauritian Creoles, descendants of African slaves, represent twenty-seven percent of the population. The Creole community also includes the country's mixed-race communities, which consist of people with any admixture of the island's other groups.[12] Rodriguais and Chagossians are usually incorporated within the Creole ethnic group.

Sino-Mauritians from the Hakka and other ethnolinnguistic groups make up around three percent of Mauritian society.[13]

White Mauritians, of mostly French descent, make up roughly two percent of the population of Mauritius.[14][15]

While the government officially groups Mauritians into four ethnic groups – Hindus, Muslims, Chinese, and General Population – the general population includes all who do not practice Hinduism or Islam and are not Chinese by ethnicity. The general population is mostly made-up of Christian Creole and White Mauritians.

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 Bangladeshi men), the construction industry (primarily Indian and Bangladeshi workers), and harbor-related activities.

Language

Further information: Languages of Mauritius

The main languages spoken in Mauritius are Mauritian Creole, English, French, and Bhojpuri.[16] English is the official administrative language of the parliament, though French is also permitted. However, the lingua franca is Mauritian Creole, and the newspapers and television programs are usually in French.[17] The Mauritian currency features the Latin, Tamil and Devanagari scripts.

Mauritian Creole, 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.[16] It was developed in the 18th century by enslaved Africans who used a pidgin language to communicate with each other and with French enslavers and colonizers. The pidgin evolved with later generations to become a casual and main language.[18]

Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole.

Religion

Religion in Mauritius (2022 census)[19]
  1. Hinduism (47.9%)
  2. Christianity (32.3%)
  3. Islam (18.2%)
  4. Other (1.00%)
  5. None (0.60%)
Further information: Religion in Mauritius

More than 90% of the Sino-Mauritian community are Christian; the remainder are largely Buddhist.[13]

Migrants

According to the United Nations, there were 28,713 international migrants in Mauritius in 2017.

Their most common countries of origin were as follows:

International migrants in Mauritius in 2017
 India 8,689
 Bangladesh 8,364
 China 2,964
 Madagascar 2,287
 France 1,511
 Sri Lanka 1,131
 South Africa 624
 Great Britain 456
 Pakistan 187
 Italy 146
 Germany 136
 Seychelles 124
Source: United Nations "Migrant Stock by Origin and Destination" (PDF). 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.

References

  1. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  2. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950–2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "World Population Prospects, the 2010 Revision". 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 6 May 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b c "2022 Population Census – Main Results - Highlights". statsmauritius.govmu.org.
  5. ^ a b c "2022 Population Census – Main Results - Highlights". statsmauritius.govmu.org.
  6. ^ a b c "Economic and Social Indicators" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2022.
  7. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Statistics Mauritius : Population and Vital Statistics". Statsmauritius.govmu.org. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  9. ^ "United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  10. ^ "Statistics Mauritius. Population and Vital Statistics". statsmauritius.govmu.org. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  11. ^ "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  12. ^ Common Denominators: Ethnicity nationalism and the politics of compromise in Mauritius
  13. ^ a b Eriksen 1998, p. 82
  14. ^ "BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Brits Abroad". news.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Mauritius - UK Relations". www.globalsecurity.org.
  16. ^ a b "English Usage in Mauritius". Chass.utoronto.ca. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  17. ^ "Coexistence International at Brandeis University" (PDF). Brandeis.edu. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  18. ^ "Mauritius". M2002.thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  19. ^ "2022 HOUSING AND POPULATION CENSUS" (PDF). Republic of Mauritius. May 2024. pp. 136–138. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

Further reading

  • Eriksen, T. H. (1998). Common denominators: nation-building and compromise in Mauritius. Oxford: Berg Publishers. ISBN 9781859739594.
  • Media related to Demographics of Mauritius at Wikimedia Commons
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