Total area: 1,860 km2
land area: 1,850 km2; includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (St. Brandon) and Rodrigues

Comparative area: slightly less than 10.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 177 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claims Chagos Archipelago, which includes the island of Diego Garcia in UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory; claims French-administered Tromelin Island

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

Terrain: small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau

Natural resources: arable land, fish

Land use: 54% arable land; 4% permanent crops; 4% meadows and pastures; 31% forest and woodland; 7% other; includes 9% irrigated

Environment: subject to cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs

Note: located 900 km east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean

NOTE: The information regarding Mauritius on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mauritius Geography 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mauritius Geography 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.