Mauritius

Economy - overview:
Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government’s development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$15.36 billion (2008 est.)
$14.6 billion (2007)
$13.86 billion (2006)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$8.128 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.2% (2008 est.)
5.4% (2007 est.)
5.1% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$12,100 (2008 est.)
$11,600 (2007 est.)
$11,100 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.5%
industry: 24.9%
services: 70.6% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
584,000 (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture and fishing 9%, construction and industry 30%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 22%, finance 6%, other services 25% (2007)
Unemployment rate:
7.6% (2008 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
39 (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
27.1% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.866 billion
expenditures: $2.243 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2008 est.)
Public debt:
57.2% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
10.1% (2008 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
21.87% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$1.673 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$6.759 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$8.582 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$5.666 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish
Industries:
food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
4.5% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:
2.321 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
2.058 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
22,450 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
0 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - imports:
23,650 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance:
-$982 million (2008 est.)
Exports:
$2.36 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:
clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish
Exports - partners:
UK 35.1%, France 14.4%, US 7.7%, Madagascar 6.3%, Italy 5.8% (2007)
Imports:
$4.503 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:
manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
Imports - partners:
India 21.2%, China 11.4%, France 10.7%, South Africa 7.4% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.909 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$2.55 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Exchange rates:
Mauritian rupees (MUR) per US dollar - 27.973 (2008 est.), 31.798 (2007), 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004)