Mauritius Economy - 2006

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 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).

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$16.28 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$6.252 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
3.1% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$13,200 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6.1%
industry: 29.9%
services: 64% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
570,000 (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995)

Unemployment rate:
10.5% (2005 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):
5.6% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
21.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.377 billion
expenditures: $1.77 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)

Public debt:
26.2% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish

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:
1.941 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
1.805 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
21,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
$151 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
$1.949 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses

Exports - partners:
UK 33.1%, France 20.4%, US 14.8%, Madagascar 5.1%, Italy 4.1% (2004)

Imports:
$2.507 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals

Imports - partners:
South Africa 11.3%, China 9.4%, India 9.2%, France 9.2%, Bahrain 5.3%, Japan 4.1% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.605 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
$2.958 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$42 million (1997)

Currency (code):
Mauritian rupee (MUR)

Exchange rates:
Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002), 29.129 (2001)