Economy of Mauritius

Sugarcane.

Working in the salt marshes.

In 1961, Professor James Meade painted a bleak picture of the economic prospects of Mauritius, which then had a population of 650,000. All the disadvantages associated with smallness of island states weighed heavily in his conviction that Mauritius was caught in a Malthusian trap and, therefore, if economic progress could at all be achieved, it would be to a very limited extent. Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a high-income[17] diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, ICT and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been roughly 4%. This compares very favourably with other sub-Saharan African countries and is largely due to sustained progress in economic conditions; between 1977 and 2008, growth averaged 4.6% compared with a 2.9% average in sub-Saharan Africa.[18] Also important is that it has achieved what few fast growing economies achieve, a more equitable income distribution and inequality (as measured by the Gini coefficient) fell from 45.7 to 38.9 between 1980 and 2006.[18] This remarkable achievement has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Mauritius has attracted US$10.98 billion in Foreign direct investment inflows. Top sectors attracting FDI inflows from Mauritius (from January 2000 to December, 2005) are electrical equipment, telecommunications, fuels, cement and gypsum products and services sector (financial and non-financial).

With a well-developed legal and commercial infrastructure and a tradition of entrepreneurship and representative government, Mauritius is one of the developing world’s most successful democracies. The economy has shown a considerable degree of resilience, and an environment already conducive to dynamic entrepreneurial activity has moved further toward economic freedom. The island’s institutional advantages are noticeable. A transparent and well-defined investment code and legal system have made the foreign investment climate in Mauritius one of the best in the region. Taxation is competitive and efficient. The economy is increasingly diversified, with significant private-sector activity in sugar, tourism, economic processing zones, and financial services, particularly in offshore enterprises. The government is trying to modernize the sugar and textile industries, which in the past were overly dependent on trade preferences, while promoting diversification into such areas as information and communications technology, financial and business services, seafood processing and exports, and free trade zones. Agriculture and industry have become less important to the economy, and services, especially tourism, accounted for over 72 percent of GDP. The government still owns utilities and controls imports of rice, flour, petroleum products, and cement.

Recent reports on progress on the Millennium Development Goals by the Overseas Development Institute indicated four key reasons for economic success.[18]

1. Heterodox liberalisation and diversification
2. Concerted strategy of nation building
3. Strong and inclusive institutions
4. High levels of equitable public investment

Heterodox liberalisation and diversification

Graphical depiction of Mauritius's product exports in 28 color-coded categories.

Mauritius has followed a pragmatic development strategy in which liberalisation process was sequenced and tailored to its competitive advantages and weaknesses.[18] The export-orientated approach has encouraged liberalisation supported by strong state involvement as a facilitator (of the enabling environment for the private sector); as operator (to encourage competition); and as regulator (to protect the economy as well as vulnerable groups and sectors from shocks).[18] Strategies were evidence-based and adapted according to results.[18] There has been consistency and stability, regardless of which political party is in power.[18]

Liberalisation occurred in phases that were initiated to build on advantages the economy enjoyed on the international market.[18]

• 1970s: Mauritius profited from sugar rents, established an export processing zone EPZ and successfully attracted capital and foreign investment in manufacturing.
• 1980s–1990s: EPZ expanded and led to a significant increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) and tourism. Preferential access to sugar and clothing markets amounted to 7% of GDP in the 1980s and 4.5% in the 1990s, capital and current accounts were liberalised, contributing to an investment and employment boom and the high inflow of FDI brought with it managerial skills.
• 1990s–2010: Further diversification, liberalisation and investment.

Mauritius provides an environment for banks, insurance and reinsurance companies, captive insurance managers, trading companies, ship owners or managers, fund managers and professionals to conduct their international business. The economic success achieved in the 1980s engendered the rapid growth of the financial services sector in Mauritius. The following types of offshore activities can be conducted in Mauritius:

• Offshore Banking
• Offshore Insurance
• Offshore Funds Management
• International Financial Services
• Operational Headquarters
• International Consultancy Services
• Shipping and Ship Management
• Aircraft Financing and Leasing
• International Licensing and Franchising
• International Data Processing and Information Technology Services
• Offshore Pension Funds
• International Trading
• International Assets Management

Since 2002, Mauritius has invested heavily into the development of an hub in information and communication technology (ICT). The contribution of the ICT sector accounts for 5.7% of the GDP.[20] The ICT Sector employs 15,390 people.[21] In 2016, two students from Mauritius became finalists in Google Code-in.[22] In 2017, Mauritius got its first grand prize winner.[23] In 2012, Mauritius participated for the first time in Google Summer of Code.[24] In 2018, the cyberstorm.mu team from Mauritius led three tracks during the Internet Engineering Task Force Hackathon in Bangkok.[25][26]

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

Distribution of family income – Gini index: 39 (2006 estimate)

Agriculture – products: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish

Industrial production growth rate: 8% (2000 estimate)

Electricity – production: 1,836 GWh (2002)

Electricity – consumption: 1,707 GWh (2002)

Oil – consumption: 21,000 bbl/d (3,300 m³/d) (2003 estimate)
21,000 bbl/d (3,300 m³/d) (2001 estimate)

Current account balance: $1,339 million (2011 estimate)
$799.4 million (2010 estimate)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2,797 billion (2012 estimate)
$2,601 billion (2010 estimate)

2013 Index of Economic Freedom rank = 8th

Exchange rates: Mauritian rupees per US dollar – 30.12 (26 March 2014), 30.99 (1 February 2010), 32.86 (2006), 29.14 (2005), 27.50 (2004), 27.90 (2003), 29.96 (2002), 29.13 (2001)

• Board of Investment (Mauritius)
• Bank of Mauritius (central bank)
• Mineral industry of Mauritius
• United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

 This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/.

• Economy of Mauritius at Curlie
• Ministry Of Finance and Economic Development
• Central Statistics Office - Official gatherer and provider of statistics for Mauritius