| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius etymology: island named after Prince Maurice VAN NASSAU, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, in 1598 note: pronounced mah-rish-us |
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | name: Port Louis geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: named after Louis XV, who was king of France in 1736 when the port became the administrative center of Mauritius and a major reprovisioning stop for French ships traveling between Europe and Asia |
| Administrative divisions | 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne |
| Independence | 12 March 1968 (from the UK) |
| National holiday | Independence and Republic Day, 12 March (1968 & 1992); note - became independent and a republic on the same date in 1968 and 1992 respectively |
| Constitution | history: several previous; latest adopted 12 March 1968 amendments: proposed by the National Assembly; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles, including the sovereignty of the state, fundamental rights and freedoms, citizenship, or the branches of government, requires approval in a referendum by at least three-fourths majority of voters followed by a unanimous vote by the Assembly; passage of other amendments requires only two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; amended many times, last in 2016 |
| Legal system | civil legal system based on French civil law with some elements of English common law |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent only: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 out of the previous 7 years including the last 12 months |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Pritivirajsing ROOPUN (since December 2019); Vice President Marie Cyril Eddy Boissézon (2 December 2019) note - President Ameenah GURIB-FAKIM (since 5 June 2015) resigned on 23 March 2018 amid a credit card scandal head of government: Prime Minister Pravind JUGNAUTH (since 23 January 2017, remains PM after parliamentary election 7 Nov 2019); note - Prime Minister Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 17 December 2014) stepped down on 23 January 2017 in favor of his son, Pravind Kumar JUGNAUTH, who was then appointed prime minister; 7 Nov 2019 Pravind Jugnauth remains prime minister and home affairs minister and also becomes defense minister (2019) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers (Council of Ministers) appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections/appointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by the National Assembly for 5-year renewable terms; election last held on 7 Nov 2019 (next to be held in 2024); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly (2019) election results: seats by party as of 7/11/2019- (MSM) 38, (PTR) 14, (MMM) 8, (OPR) 2; note - GURIB-FAKIM, Mauritius'- first female president, resigned on 23 March 2018 (2018) |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (70 seats maximum; 62 members directly elected multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and up to 8 seats allocated to non-elected party candidates by the Office of Electoral Commissioner; members serve a 5-year term) elections: last held on 7 November 2019 (next to be held by late 2024) election results: percent of vote by party - MSM 61%, Labour Party 23%, MMM 13%, OPR 3%; elected seats by party as of - the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) wins 38 seats, the Labour Party (PTR) or (MLP) 14, Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) 8 and the Rodrigues People's Organization (OPR) 2; composition - men 49, women 13; percent of women 20% (2019) |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court of Mauritius (consists of the chief justice, a senior puisne judge, and 18 puisne judges); note - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) serves as the final court of appeal judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister; senior puisne judge appointed by the president with the advice of the chief justice; other puisne judges appointed by the president with the advice of the Judicial and Legal Commission, a 4-member body of judicial officials including the chief justice; all judges serve until retirement at age 67 subordinate courts: lower regional courts known as District Courts, Court of Civil Appeal; Court of Criminal Appeal; Public Bodies Appeal Tribunal |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance Lepep (Alliance of the People) [Pravind JUGNAUTH] (coalition includes MSM and ML) Labor Party (Parti Travailliste) or PTR or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM] Mauritian Militant Movement (Mouvement Militant Mauricien) or MMM [Paul BERENGER] Mauritian Social Democratic Party (Parti Mauricien Social Democrate) or PMSD [Xavier Luc DUVAL] Mauritian Solidarity Front (Front Solidarite Mauricienne) or FSM [Cehl FAKEERMEEAH, aka Cehl MEEAH] Militant Socialist Movement (Mouvement Socialist Mauricien) or MSM [Pravind JUGNAUTH] Muvman Liberater or ML [Ivan COLLENDAVELLOO] Patriotic Movement (Mouvement Patriotic) [Alan GANOO] Rodrigues Peoples Organization (Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais) or OPR [Serge CLAIR] |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AOSIS, AU, C, CD, COMESA, CPLP (associate), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SAARC (observer), SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Purmanund JHUGROO (since 7 July 2021) chancery: 1709 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; administrative offices at 3201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491; [1] (202) 244-1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983 email address and website: mauritius.embassy@verizon.net; washingtonemb@govmu.org https://mauritius-washington.govmu.org/Pages/index.aspx |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Judes E. DEBAERE (since June 2019); note - also accredited to Seychelles embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Avenue, Port Louis mailing address: 2450 Port Louis Place, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534 email address and website: PTLConsular@state.gov https://mu.usembassy.gov/ |
| Flag description | four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green; red represents self-determination and independence, blue the Indian Ocean surrounding the island, yellow has been interpreted as the new light of independence, golden sunshine, or the bright future, and green can symbolize either agriculture or the lush vegetation of the island note: while many national flags consist of three - and in some cases five - horizontal bands of color, the flag of Mauritius is the world's only national flag to consist of four horizontal color bands |
| National anthem | name: Motherland lyrics/music: Jean Georges PROSPER/Philippe GENTIL note: adopted 1968 |
| National symbol(s) | dodo bird, Trochetia Boutoniana flower; national colors: red, blue, yellow, green |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
