Mauritius Economy - 2005

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 - $15.68 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.7% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $12,800 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 30%
services: 62.4% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
560,000 (2004 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:
10.8% (2004 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):
4.5% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
22.5% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.231 billion
expenditures: $1.582 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:
29.2% of GDP (2004 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:
1.836 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
1.707 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
21,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Current account balance:
$284.1 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$2.012 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
UK 30.6%, France 22.7%, US 13.7%, Madagascar 7.7% (2004)

Imports:
$2.245 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
France 13.1%, South Africa 10.8%, India 7.6%, China 5.9%, Germany 4.5%, Singapore 4% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.676 billion (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$1.78 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$42 million (1997)

Currency (code):
Mauritian rupee (MUR)

Exchange rates:
Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002), 29.129 (2001), 26.25 (2000)