Mauritius
- Capital:
- Port Louis
- Continent:
- Africa
- Region(s):
- Eastern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
- Largest Cities:
- Port Louis, Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, Vacoas
- Abbreviation:
- MUS
* As of 6/9/2025
1 birth
Every 46.5 minutes
1 death
Every 45.0 minutes
1 emigrant
Every 3.0 hours
1 person
Every 2.7 hours
There is no information available about the ethnicity of Mauritius as questions related to ethnicity were removed from the census. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, however. Most Mauritians are multilingual, speaking English, French, Creole and Asian languages.
Mauritius was discovered by Portuguese explorers in 1507, who found no native inhabitants. The Dutch settled the island in the mid-17th century and abandoned it later at the beginning of the 18th century. The island then became a French colony and was renamed Isle de France before the British took control in the early 19th century. It remained under British rule until 1968. Some inhabitants of Mauritius today are descendants of French and British inhabitants. There are also populations of Indian descent (Indo-Mauritian), Creoles, Sino-Mauritians, Franco-Mauritians and Chinese.
Mauritius is religiously diverse with no majority religion. 49% of the population are Hindus, followed by Christians (32%), Muslims (17%), and Buddhists (0.4%).