- Government and society
- Cultural life
R.J. Harrison Church et al., Africa and the Islands, 4th ed. (1977), is a geographical study that includes Mauritius. Written by the American consul on Mauritius for five years, Nicolas Pike, Sub-Tropical Rambles in the Land of the Aphanapteryx (1873, reprinted 1972), although old, is perhaps the finest book ever on Mauritius, with great detail on both human and natural history. Robert Scott, Limuria: The Lesser Dependencies of Mauritius (1961, reprinted 1976), recounts the history, natural and otherwise, of St. Brandon (Cargados Carajos Shoals), Agalega, and the Chagos Archipelago. Carol Wright, Mauritius (1974), is a general study. Gerald Durrell, Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons (1977, reissued 2003), is a fine story of the natural history of Mauritius by an esteemed naturalist. Rosabelle Boswell, Le Malaise Créole: Ethnic Identity in Mauritius (2006); and William F.S. Miles, “The Mauritius Enigma,” Journal of Democracy, 10(2):91–104 (April 1999), and “The Creole Malaise in Mauritius,” African Affairs, 98(391):211–228 (April 1999), examine the state of society and politics. Economist Intelligence Unit, Country Profile: Mauritius (annual), provides up-to-date information on the economy, resources, and industry. A travel guide that provides a general overview of Mauritius is Tom Masters, Jan Dodd, and Jean-Bernard Carillet, Mauritius, Réunion & Seychelles, 6th ed. (2007), a Lonely Planet guidebook.
Megan Vaughan, Creating the Creole Island: Slavery in Eighteenth-Century Mauritius (2005), details the development of the slave trade in Mauritius and the subsequent formation of a Creole society. Vijaya Teelock, Bitter Sugar: Sugar and Slavery in 19th Century Mauritius (1998), is a powerful study by a Mauritian historian on the final decades of slavery there. Larry W. Bowman, Mauritius: Democracy and Development in the Indian Ocean (1991), gives an overview of Mauritian history, society and culture, politics and government, economy, and international relations. Adele Smith Simmons, Modern Mauritius: The Politics of Decolonization (1982), is the best general political history of Mauritius up to independence.
1Includes 7 appointed members.
2French is not official but may be used to address the speaker of the National Assembly.
|Official name||Republic of Mauritius|
|Form of government||republic with one legislative house (National Assembly )|
|Head of state||President: Rajkeswur Purryag|
|Head of government||Prime Minister: Sir Anerood Jugnauth|
|Monetary unit||Mauritian rupee (Mau Re; plural Mau Rs)|
|Population||(2013 est.) 1,248,000|
|Total area (sq mi)||788|
|Total area (sq km)||2,040|
|Urban-rural population||Urban: (2011) 40.4%|
Rural: (2011) 59.6%
|Life expectancy at birth||Male: (2011) 69.7 years|
Female: (2011) 76.9 years
|Literacy: percentage of population age 15 and over literate||Male: (2009) 90.6%|
Female: (2009) 85.3%
|GNI per capita (U.S.$)||(2012) 8,570|