Mauritius

Mauritius is an island nation off the east African coast with a land mass of 2,040km², a coastline of 330km, a population of 1.3 million and a GDP of US$16.2bn. It has previously been a colony of France and the UK, and to quote a resident, citizens “speak English, write in French and think in Creole”.\r\n\r\nKey sectors in Mauritius are sugar, textiles and clothing, tourism and financial services.\r\nThe nation has developed from a low income, agricultural producer to a diversified, middle-income earner with emerging industrial, financial, business outsourcing and tourism sectors. It has positioned itself as a base for investment in Africa by scrapping exchange controls so that profits can be freely expatriated and has established double taxation treaties with most African countries. The services sector accounts for around 75% of GDP.\r\n\r\nReal GDP growth rose to an estimated 8.7% in 2022, up from 3.4% in 2021, spurred by sustained policy support and the lifting of travel restrictions, and buoyed by recovery in the tourism sector. Monetary policy remained accommodative to support economic activity, taking advantage of low inflation of 4.0% in 2021. However, inflation rose sharply to an estimated 10.8% in 2022, driven largely by surging imported food and energy prices because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Inflation was 7.8% in 2023 and projected to be 6.5% in 2024. \r\n\r\nThe economy grew by 5.1% in 2023 and 4.6% is projected in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025. Growth will be tempered by Europe (a key market) experiencing a downturn because of higher living costs and the effects of the war in Ukraine. Monetary tightening will also weigh on domestic demand. The fiscal deficit is projected to narrow to 5.4% of GDP in 2023 and 4.7% in 2024, financed predominantly through domestic borrowing and, to a lesser extent, external borrowing. Government debt stands at 78.9% of GDP.\r\n

Sources: Who Owns Whom sector reports, CIA Factbook, African Development Bank, World Bank, Trading Economics, African Statistical Yearbook and IMF.