Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island, as well as Rodrigues, Agaléga and St. Brandon. The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, along with nearby Réunion, are part of the Mascarene Islands. The capital and largest city, Port Louis, is located in Mauritius, where most of the population is concentrated. The country spans 2,040 square kilometres (790 sq mi) and has an exclusive economic zone covering 2.3 million square kilometres.
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Mauritius, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Creole people are ethnic groups which originated during the colonial era from racial mixing mainly involving West Africans as well as some other people born in colonies, such as French, Spanish, and Indigenous American peoples; this process is known as creolization. Creole peoples vary widely in ethnic background and mixture and many have since developed distinct ethnic identities. The development of creole languages is sometimes mistakenly attributed to the emergence of creole ethnic identities; however, the two developments occur independently.
Rodrigues is a 108 km2 (42 sq mi) autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about 560 km (350 mi) east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodrigues is of volcanic origin and is surrounded by coral reef, and some tiny uninhabited islands lie just off its coast. The island used to be the tenth District of Mauritius; it gained autonomous status on 10 December 2002, and it is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.
Sega is one of the major music genres of Mauritius and Réunion. The other genres common in Mauritius are its fusion genre Seggae and Bhojpuri songs while in Réunion there is also seggae and maloya. It has origins in the music of slaves as well as their descendants Mauritian Creole people and is usually sung in Mauritian Creole or Réunionese Creole. Sega is also popular on the islands of Agaléga and Rodrigues as well as Seychelles, though the music and dances differ and it is sung in these islands' respective creole languages. In the past, the Sega music was made only with traditional instruments like ravanne and triangle, it was sung to protest against injustices in the Mauritian society, this particular version of the Sega is known as Santé engagé. Other types of Sega have been included in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage lists.
A French creole, or French-based creole language, is a creole language for which French is the lexifier. Most often this lexifier is not modern French but rather a 17th-century koiné of French from Paris, the French Atlantic harbors, and the nascent French colonies. French-based creole languages are spoken natively by millions of people worldwide, primarily in the Americas and on archipelagos throughout the Indian Ocean. This article also contains information on French pidgin languages, contact languages that lack native speakers.
Mauritian Creoles are the people on the island of Mauritius and in the wider overseas Mauritian diaspora who trace their roots to continental Black Africans who came to Mauritius as slaves. It also refers to members of the island's mixed race or Métis community who are often referred to as Creoles regardless of ancestry. In government records, they all form part of the group known as Population Générale.
The island of Mauritius is home to many languages, and Mauritian literature exists in French, English, Creole and Indian languages. Major themes in Mauritian literature include exoticism, multiracialism and miscegenation, racial and social conflicts, indianocéanisme, and—more recently—post-modernism and post-structuralism currents, such as coolitude.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mauritius:
Chagossian creole is a French-based creole that was still spoken in 1994 by the 1,800 or so Chagossians, the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago evicted in the early 1970s. It is currently spoken mainly in Mauritius and the Seychelles. There is also a small minority community speaking the language in the United Kingdom.
Agalega creole is a creole language influenced by French spoken in Agalega. It has been heavily influenced by both Mauritian Creole and Seychellois Creole, as well as Malagasy. The population of speakers number just under 1,000.
Christianity is the religion adhered to by 32.7 per cent of the population of Mauritius. Of these, 80.3 per cent are Roman Catholics. The Mauritian Creole and Franco-Mauritian ethnic groups are mostly Christian and significant parts of the Sino-Mauritian ethnic group are also mainly Christian. Mauritius got independence in 1968 and there was no state religion in Mauritius defined in the constitution. The religious organizations present at the time of independence, namely, Roman Catholic Church, Church of England, Presbyterian Church, Seventh-day Adventist, Hindus and Muslims are recognized by parliamentary decree.
Mauritius was a British Crown Colony off the Southeast coast of Africa. Formerly part of the French colonial empire, British rule in Mauritius was established de facto with the Invasion of Isle de France in November 1810, and de jure by the subsequent Treaty of Paris. British rule ended on 12 March 1968, when Mauritius became independent. British rule in Mauritius was established de facto with the Invasion of Isle de France in November 1810, and de jure by the subsequent Treaty of Paris.
Nowadays, no one could still claim his pure race status. Ethnic, social and linguistic differences become each day more and more present and marked all over the world. Time, history and continuous population intermingling across boundaries led to create cosmopolitan beings, that is to say world citizens who, in spite of their singularity, manage to bring themselves together in order to create a unique and single nation. Among the nations most affected by this cross-fertilization is notably found Mauritius. The social and linguistic diversity of this country makes it unique and contribute to its wealth. It arouses curiosity, urges us to deepen our knowledge on the subject and is, to this extent, worth being studied.
The Constitution of Mauritius mentions no official language. It only contains a statement in Article 49 that "The official language of the Assembly shall be English but any member may address the chair in French," implying that English and French are official languages of the National Assembly (parliament). However, the majority language and lingua franca of the country is the French-based Mauritian Creole, spoken at home by 86.5% of the population. Bhojpuri is the second most spoken language in Mauritius, used by 5.3%. The usage of this language is decreasing day by day. English is used as the prime medium of instruction in public schools while French is also a common language in education and the dominant language of media. According to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, 72.7% of the Mauritians were French speakers in 2005. Mauritius shares this distinction of being both English- and French-speaking with Burundi, Canada, Cameroon, Dominica, Rwanda, Seychelles and Vanuatu.
Mauritian Australians are Australians of Mauritian descent, or who were born in Mauritius.
Mauritian Creole or Morisien is a French-based creole language spoken in Mauritius. English words are included in the standardized version of the language. In addition, the slaves and indentured servants from cultures in Africa and Asia left a diverse legacy of language in the country. The words spoken by these groups are also incorporated into contemporary Morisien.
