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Economy - overview:
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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 expanding local
financial institutions and building a domestic information
telecommunications industry. 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, has been well
poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $15.68 billion (2004 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.7% (2004 est.)
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $12,800 (2004 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
7.6%
industry: 30%
services: 62.4% (2004 est.) |
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Investment (gross fixed):
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22.5% of GDP (2004
est.) |
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Population below poverty line:
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10% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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37 (1987 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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4.5% (2004 est.)
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Labor force:
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560,000 (2004 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture and
fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and
communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other
services 24% (1995) |
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Unemployment rate:
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10.8% (2004 est.)
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Budget:
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revenues:
$1.231 billion
expenditures: $1.582 billion, including capital expenditures
of NA (2004 est.) |
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Public debt:
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29.2% of GDP (2004
est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sugarcane, tea, corn,
potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish |
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Industries:
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food processing
(largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal
products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism
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Industrial production growth rate:
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8% (2000 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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1.836 billion kWh
(2002) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
90.8%
hydro: 9.2%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption:
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1.707 billion kWh
(2002) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2002) |
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2002) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - consumption:
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21,000 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA |
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Oil - imports:
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NA |
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Current account balance:
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$284.1 million (2004
est.) |
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Exports:
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$2.012 billion f.o.b.
(2004 est.)
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Exports - commodities:
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clothing and
textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses |
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Exports - partners:
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UK 30.6%, France
22.7%, US 13.7%, Madagascar 7.7% (2004) |
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Imports:
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$2.245 billion f.o.b.
(2004 est.)
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Imports - commodities:
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manufactured goods,
capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
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Imports - partners:
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France 13.1%, South
Africa 10.8%, India 7.6%, China 5.9%, Germany 4.5%, Singapore 4%
(2004) |
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
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$1.676 billion (2004
est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$1.78 billion (2004
est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$42 million (1997)
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Currency:
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Mauritian rupee (MUR)
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Currency code:
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MUR |
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Exchange rates:
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Mauritian rupees per
US dollar - 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002), 29.129
(2001), 26.25 (2000)
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Fiscal year:
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1 July - 30 June
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