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. Sugarcane is
grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25%
of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on
foreign investment. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore
entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and
investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion.
Mauritius, with its strong textile sector and responsible fiscal
management, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa
Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The government is encouraging
foreign investment in the information technology field.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $12.15 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
2.3% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $10,100 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 33%
services: 61% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line:
10% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
37 (1987 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.4% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
514,000 (1995)
Labor force - by occupation:
construction and industry 36%, services 24%, agriculture and
fishing 14%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, transportation and
communication 7%, finance 3% (1995)
Unemployment rate:
8.8% (2002 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $1.1 billion
expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA
(1999 est.)
Industries:
food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing;
chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical
machinery; tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
8% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production:
1.311 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 90.8%
hydro: 9.2%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
1.219 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
21,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish
Exports:
$1.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses
Exports - partners:
UK 27.7%, France 25.5%, US 16.4%, Madagascar 6.2%, Belgium 5% (2002)
Imports:
$1.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum
products, chemicals
Imports - partners:
France 18.4%, South Africa 13.5%, India 7.8%, China 4.5%, UK 4.2%
(2002)
Debt - external:
$2.4 billion (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$42 million (1997)
Currency:
Mauritian rupee (MUR)
Currency code:
MUR
Exchange rates:
Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 29.96 (2002), 29.13 (2001), 26.25
(2000), 25.19 (1999), 23.99 (1998)
Fiscal year:
1 July - 30 June