Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PEOPLE STATS
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Population: 1.322 million
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Population growth rate: 0.7%
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Proportion of the population under 15 years old: 21.3%
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Average age: 33.1
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Population density: 617 people per sq km (which is higher than the Netherlands and one of the world's highest)
rising to a staggering 3000 per sq km in urban areas. Worst are Port Louis and the Central Plateau towns
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Proportion of the population living in urban areas: 42%
INDO-MAURITIANS
The Indian population (the majority of which is Hindu) is descended from the labourers
who were brought to the island to work the cane fields. Nowadays, Indians form the back-
bone of the labouring and agricultural community and own many of the island's small-
and medium-sized businesses, typically in manufacturing and the retail trade. Central Plat-
eau towns such as Rose Hill have a strong Indian flavour.
Indians also tend to be prominent in civic life. Local elections are always racially
aligned, and since the Indians are in the majority, Hindus always win at the polls. The
prime minister between 2003 and 2005, Franco-Mauritian Paul Bérenger, was the first
non-Indian at the helm in the country's history, and he only managed that through a deal
struck with his predecessor, Indian Anerood Jugnauth.
CREOLES
After the Indo-Mauritians, the next largest group is the Creoles, descendants of African
slaves, with varying amounts of European ancestry. Creoles as a whole form the most dis-
advantaged sector of society. Despite the fact that all forms of discrimination are illegal
under the Mauritian constitution, it is widely recognised that the Creole minority has been
socially, economically and politically marginalised.
The majority work in low-paid jobs or eke out a living from fishing or subsistence
farming. and it's a vicious circle. Creoles find it harder to get work, partly because of low
levels of literacy, but few Creole children complete secondary school because they're
needed to help support the family. Expectations are also lower - and so it goes on.
Rodrigues is the epicentre of Mauritian Creole culture, with Creoles making up 98% of
the population.
