Demographics of Mauritius

Mauritian society incorporates several ethnic and multi-ethnic groups. A majority of the republic's residents are descendants of people from India. Mauritius also comprises migrants from continental Africa, China, France, and the East African island of Madagascar. As of 2023, Mauritius now has the highest population density in Africa.

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

The average age of the population was 38 years;  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).

Ethnic groups
Indo-Mauritians are roughly sixty-six percent of the population. The Indo-Mauritian population consists of Hindu, Muslim and Christian descendants of Indian laborers.

Mauritian Creoles (descendants of Africans) are twenty-eight percent of the population. Today, a significant proportion of Creoles are of African descent, with varying amounts of French and Indian ancestry. The Creole community also includes the country's ‘Metisse’ or mixed-race communities, which consist of people with any admixture of the island's other groups. Rodrigues and Chagossians are usually incorporated within the Creole ethnic group.

Along with the French European community, there are about three percent of British expatriates or people of British descent in Mauritius.

Sino-Mauritians from the Hakka and other Chinese sub-ethnic/linguistic groups make up around three percent of Mauritian society.

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 the Hindu or Muslim religion and are not Chinese by ethnicity. Hence, the general population is the Christian community, which includes Creoles, mixed-race people, white people, and those who have converted to Christianity.

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

Population
According to the total population was  in, compared to 479,000 in 1950.

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

Structure of the population
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2012) (Based on the results of the 2011 Population Census.) :

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 04.VII.2019) (Excludes the islands of St. Brandon and Agalega.):

Vital statistics
Mauritius has an estimated population of 1,283,415 on 31 December 2010. 14,701 children were born in 2011 (birth rate 11.4 per 1,000).

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

Figures from Statistics Mauritius and United Nations Demographic Yearbook.

Current vital statistics

Language


The main languages spoken in Mauritius are English, French, Mauritian Creole, and Bhojpuri. There is no official language. English is the official 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. 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. It was developed in the 18th century by African slaves who used a pidgin language to communicate with each other as well as with their French masters, who did not understand the various African languages. The pidgin evolved with later generations to become a casual language.

Mauritian Creole is a French-based creole.

Religion
In 2015, the population was estimated to be 48.5% Hindu, 27.2% Roman Catholic, 17.5% Muslim, 3.9% No religion and unspecified, 2.5% Protestantism, 0.4% Other religions.

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

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:

Other demographic statistics
Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2022.


 * One birth every 41 minutes
 * One death every 46 minutes
 * Net gain of one person every 360 minutes

The following demographics are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated.

Population

 * 1,308,223 (2022 est.)

Age structure

 * 0–14 years: 19.44% (male 137,010/female 131,113)
 * 15–24 years: 14.06% (male 98,480/female 95,472)
 * 25–54 years: 43.11% (male 297,527/female 297,158)
 * 55–64 years: 12.31% (male 80,952/female 88,785)
 * 65 years and over: 11.08% (2020 est.) (male 63,230/female 89,638)

Median age

 * total: 36.3 years. Country comparison to the world: 80th
 * male: 35 years
 * female: 37.6 years (2020 est.)

Birth rate

 * 9.86 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 190th

Death rate

 * 8.86 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 64th

Total fertility rate

 * 1.35 children born/woman (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 218th

Population growth rate

 * 0.1% (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 188th

Contraceptive prevalence rate

 * 63.8% (2014)

Net migration rate

 * 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Country comparison to the world: 92nd

Life expectancy at birth

 * total population: 74.86 years. Country comparison to the world: 131st
 * male: 72.04 years
 * female: 77.88 years (2022 est.)

Infant mortality rate

 * 9.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios

 * total dependency ratio: 41.6 (2015 est.)
 * youth dependency ratio: 27.5 (2015 est.)
 * elderly dependency ratio: 14.1 (2015 est.)
 * potential support ratio: 7.1 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

 * urban population: 40.8% of total population (2022)
 * rate of urbanization: 0.28% annual rate of change (2020–25 est.)

Ethnic groups
Mauritians of Indian Origin 65.8%, Mauritians of African Origin 27.7%, Mauritians of Chinese Origin 3%, Mauritians of French Origin 2%

Languages
As mother tongue: Mauritian Creole 86.8%, Bhojpuri 5%, French 4.1%, Two languages 1.4%, Other 2.6%, Unspecified 0.1% (2011 est.)

As ancestral languages: Bhojpuri 29.5%, Urdu 17.3%, Tamil 10%, Chinese 3%, Telugu 2%, Marathi 2%

Education expenditures

 * 4.6% of GDP (2020) Country comparison to the world: 80th

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2016 est.)
 * total population: 91.3%
 * male: 93.4%
 * female: 89.4% (2018)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

 * total: 15 years (2017)
 * male: 14 years (2017)
 * female: 16 years (2017)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

 * total: 21.8%
 * male: 16.8%
 * female: 28.4% (2019 est.)