Mauritius
Africa · Eastern Africa
Overview
Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, forming part of the Mascarene Islands along with Réunion and Rodrigues. The island was colonized successively by the Dutch, French, and British, and this layered colonial history, combined with the settlement of Indian, Chinese, and African laborers, produced a remarkably diverse, multicultural society. Mauritius was the only known habitat of the dodo, a flightless bird driven to extinction by the late 17th century by Dutch settlers and the animals they introduced, one of the earliest documented cases of human-caused species extinction. The country gained independence from Britain in 1968, and the official language is English, though a French-based Creole dominates everyday communication.
Port Louis, the capital, with its lively market and the Champ de Mars racecourse, the oldest operating horse racing track in the Southern Hemisphere, serves as the island's commercial and cultural center. Le Morne Brabant, a basalt headland on the island's southwestern coast, once a refuge for escaped enslaved people (Maroons) in the 18th and 19th centuries, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008. Aapravasi Ghat, in Port Louis, where Indian indentured laborers began arriving from the 1830s onward following the abolition of slavery, is also a UNESCO World Heritage site and a significant memorial to global labor migration history. Chamarel's Seven Colored Earths, a geological phenomenon where differing mineral composition creates a rippled, multicolored landscape, is one of the island's most photographed natural sights.
Mauritius's coral reefs and clear waters offer excellent diving and snorkeling, with the lagoons around the island relatively sheltered, making them suitable for beginners as well. Black River Gorges National Park, in the southwestern part of the island, with its rainforest landscape and endemic bird species, including the Mauritius kestrel, successfully rescued from the brink of extinction, is the main destination for inland ecotourism. Rodrigues Island, also part of Mauritius, offers a quieter, less developed alternative to the bustling beach resorts of the main island. Local cuisine blends Indian, Chinese, French, and African influences, with dholl puri, a stuffed flatbread made from split pea flour, and spiced curries as signature dishes, reflecting the island's multicultural heritage.
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UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Browse all UNESCO sites →Aapravasi Ghat
In the district of Port Louis, lies the 1,640 m2 site where the modern indentured labour diaspora began. In 1834, the British Government selected the island of Mauritius to be the first site for what it called ‘the great experiment’ in the use of ‘free’ labour to replace slaves. Between 1834 and 1920, almost half a million indentured labourers arrived from India at Aapravasi Ghat to work in the sugar plantations of Mauritius, or to be transferred to Reunion Island, Australia, southern and eastern Africa or the Caribbean. The buildings of Aapravasi Ghat are among the earliest explicit manifestations of what was to become a global economic system and one of the greatest migrations in history.
Le Morne Cultural Landscape
Le Morne Cultural Landscape, a rugged mountain that juts into the Indian Ocean in the southwest of Mauritius was used as a shelter by runaway slaves, maroons, through the 18th and early years of the 19th centuries. Protected by the mountain’s isolated, wooded and almost inaccessible cliffs, the escaped slaves formed small settlements in the caves and on the summit of Le Morne. The oral traditions associated with the maroons, have made Le Morne a symbol of the slaves’ fight for freedom, their suffering, and their sacrifice, all of which have relevance to the countries from which the slaves came - the African mainland, Madagascar, India, and South-east Asia. Indeed, Mauritius, an important stopover in the eastern slave trade, also came to be known as the “Maroon republic” because of the large number of escaped slaves who lived on Le Morne Mountain.
Data: UNESCO WHC · CC BY-SA 4.0
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Mauritius?
The capital of Mauritius is Port Louis.
What is the area of Mauritius?
The area of Mauritius is 2,040 km².
What is the population of Mauritius?
The population of Mauritius is 1,245,779.
What is the currency of Mauritius?
The currency of Mauritius is Mauritian rupee (MUR).
What is the official language of Mauritius?
The official language of Mauritius: English, French, Mauritian Creole.
What side of the road does Mauritius drive on?
Mauritius: Left-hand traffic.
Is Mauritius a member of the United Nations?
Yes, Mauritius is a member of the United Nations.