ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population: 1.2m

Population growth: 1.07%

Population density (people per sq. km): 603

UN Human Development Index ranking: 64/177

Gross national income (current US$): $5.0bn (2003)

Gross national income per capita: $4,090

PPP Gross national income: $13.8bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $11,260

GDP growth: 2.1% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 6.0%, Industry: 30.87%, Services: 63.11%

Inflation (12-month average): 5.54 (2003)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 22.43%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 74.8% (3.6%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 59.4%

Top 3 export markets: UK, France, US

Local industries: Food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, non-electrical machinery, tourism

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking * : 49/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking **: 53/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: 54/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 54/145

Languages : English and French (official), Creole

Business environment information not available

FDI INFORMATION

Region: Sub-Saharan Africa

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 8

Market-share of projects in the region:2.6%

Value of projects relative to GDP : 16.0%

Top 3 destination sectors: Energy, hotels tourism & leisure, IT & software

Top 3 business functions: Retail, R&D, testing

Top 3 source countries: India, France, South Africa

Top 3 investors: Infosys Technologies, Indian Oil, HDFC

IPA

Name: Mauritius Board of Investment

Web address: www.boimauritius.com

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations