Mauritius

• tropical, modified by southeast trade winds;
• warm, dry winter (May to November);
• hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)

agricultural land:

43.8%;

• arable land 38.4%;
• permanent crops 2%;
• permanent pasture 3.4%

forest:

17.3%

other:

38.9% (2011 est.)

party to:

Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs;
• former home of the dodo, a large flightless bird related to pigeons, driven to extinction by the end of the 17th century through a combination of hunting and the introduction of predatory species

noun:

Mauritian(s)

adjective:

Mauritian

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.68 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Mauritius

conventional short form:

Mauritius

local long form:

Republic of Mauritius

local short form:

Mauritius

note: island named after Prince Maurice VAN NASSAU, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, in 1598

name:

Port Louis

geographic coordinates:

20 09 S, 57 29 E

time difference:

UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• several previous;
• latest adopted 12 March 1968;
• amended many times, last in 2015 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 out of the previous 7 years including the last 12 months

chief of state:

President Ameenah GURIB-FAKIM (since 5 June 2015); Vice President Paramaslyum (aka Barlen) Pillay VYAPOORY (since 4 April 2016)

head of government:

Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 17 December 2014)

cabinet:

Cabinet of Ministers (Council of Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 4 June 2015 (next to be held in 2020);
• prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly

election results:

Ameenah GURIB-FAKIM (independent) elected president by the National Assembly - unanimous vote

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (70 seats maximum; 62 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and up to 8 seats allocated to non-elected party candidates by the Electoral Commissioner's Office to ensure fair and adequate representation of each community and party in the Assembly, as outlined in the Constitution; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 10 December 2014 (next to be held by 2019); note - the National Assembly was dissolved on 6 October 2014, resulting in early elections

election results:

• percent of vote by party - Alliance Lepep 49.8%, PTR-MMM 38.5%, FSM 2.1%, OPR 1.1%, other 8.5%;
• elected seats by party - Alliance Lepep 47, PTR-MMM 13, OPR 2;
• appointed seats Alliance Lepep 4, PTR-MMM 3

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Mauritius (consists of the chief justice, a senior puisne judge, and 17 puisne judges);
• note - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) serves as the final court of appeal

judge selection and term of office:

• chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister;
• senior puisne judge appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice;
• other puisne judges appointed by the president with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Commission, a 4-member body of judicial officials including the chief justice;
• all judges serve until retirement at age 62

subordinate courts:

• Court of Civil Appeal;
• Court of Criminal Appeal;
• Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal

• Alliance Lepep (Alliance of the People) [Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH] (coalition including MSM, PMSD, and ML)
• Labor Party (Parti Travailliste) or PTR or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]
• Mauritian Militant Movement (Mouvement Militant Mauricien) or MMM [Paul BERENGER]
• Mauritian Social Democratic Party (Parti Mauricien Social Democrate) or PMSD [Xavier Luc DUVAL]
• Mauritian Solidarity Front (Front Solidarite Mauricienne) or FSM [Cehl FAKEERMEEAH, known as Cehl MEEAH]
• Militant Socialist Movement (Mouvement Socialist Mauricien) or MSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH]
• Muvman Liberater or ML [Ivan COLLENDAVELLOO]
• Rodrigues Peoples Organization (Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais) or OPR [Serge CLAIR]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Sooroojdev PHOKEER (since 3 August 2015)

chancery:

1709 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; administrative offices at 3201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 244-1491 through 1492

FAX:

[1] (202) 966-0983

chief of mission:

• Ambassador (vacant);
• Charge d'Affaires Melanie ZIMMERMAN (since 2016);
• note - also accredited to Seychelles

embassy:

4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Avenue, Port Louis

mailing address:

international mail: P.O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450

telephone:

[230] 202-4400

FAX:

[230] 208-9534

• four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green;
• red represents self-determination and independence, blue the Indian Ocean surrounding the island, yellow has been interpreted as the new light of independence, golden sunshine, or the bright future, and green can symbolize either agriculture or the lush vegetation of the island

name:

"Motherland"

lyrics/music:

Jean Georges PROSPER/Philippe GENTIL

note: adopted 1968

• sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses;
• cattle, goats;
• fish

agriculture and fishing:

9%

construction and industry:

30%

transportation and communication:

7%

trade, restaurants, hotels:

22%

finance:

6%

other services:

25% (2007)

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

small system with good service

domestic:

• monopoly over fixed-line services terminated in 2005;
• fixed-line teledensity roughly 25 per 100 persons;
• mobile-cellular services launched in 1989 with current teledensity roughly 130 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 230;
• landing point for the SAFE submarine cable that provides links to Asia and South Africa where it connects to the SAT-3/WASC submarine cable that provides further links to parts of East Africa, and Europe;
• satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean);
• new microwave link to Reunion;
• HF radiotelephone links to several countries (2015)

• the government maintains control over TV broadcasting through the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), which operates 3 analog and 10 digital TV stations;
• MBC is a shareholder in a local company that operates 2 pay-TV stations;
• the state retains the largest radio broadcast network with multiple stations;
• several private radio broadcasters have entered the market since 2001;
• transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are available (2007)

number of registered air carriers:

1; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 13

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,466,527

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

168.773 million mt-km (2015)

total:

2,149 km

paved:

2,149 km (includes 75 km of expressways) (2012)

country comparison to the world: 174

total:

4

by type:

passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 1 (2010)

country comparison to the world: 132

current situation:

• Mauritius is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking;
• Mauritian girls are induced or sold into prostitution, often by peers, family members, or businessmen offering other forms of employment;
• Mauritian adults have been identified as labor trafficking victims in the UK, Belgium, and Canada, while Mauritian women from Rodrigues Island are also subject to domestic servitude in Mauritius;
• Malagasy women transit Mauritius en route to the Middle East for jobs as domestic servants and subsequently are subjected to forced labor;
• Cambodian men are victims of forced labor on foreign fishing vessels in Mauritius’ territorial waters;
• other migrant workers from East and South Asia and Madagascar are also subject to forced labor in Mauritius’ manufacturing and construction sectors

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Mauritius does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2014, the government made modest efforts to address child sex trafficking but none related to adult forced labor;
• law enforcement lacks an understanding of trafficking crimes outside of child sex trafficking, despite increasing evidence of other forms of human trafficking;
• authorities made no trafficking prosecutions or convictions and made modest efforts to assist a couple of child sex trafficking victims;
• officials sustained an extensive public awareness campaign to prevent child sex trafficking, but no efforts were made to raise awareness or reduce demand for forced adult or child labor (2015)

• consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia;
• small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally;
• significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry