Mauritius Geography - 2021

Location

Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, about 800 km (500 mi) east of Madagascar

Geographic coordinates

20 17 S, 57 33 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 2,040 sq km

land: 2,030 sq km

water: 10 sq km

note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues

Area - comparative

almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries

total: 0 km

Coastline

177 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines

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

Elevation

highest point: Mont Piton 828 m

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

Natural resources

arable land, fish

Land use

agricultural land: 43.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 38.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 2% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 3.4% (2018 est.)

forest: 17.3% (2018 est.)

other: 38.9% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

190 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

2.751 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Population distribution

population density is one of the highest in the world; urban cluster are found throught the main island, with a greater density in and around Port Luis; population on Rodrigues Island is spread across the island with a slightly denser cluster on the north coast as shown in this population distribution map

Natural hazards

cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards

Environment - international agreements

party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note

the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs; former home of the dodo, a large flightless bird related to pigeons, driven to extinction by the end of the 17th century through a combination of hunting and the introduction of predatory species