Demographics of Mauritius - Ancestry

Ancestry

Mauritius is different from other African countries in close proximity because the largest group, and the majority of the population, is Indo-Mauritians (people of Indian descent) who make up 68% of the population, while Creoles (of African descent) are only about a quarter of the population. There are approximately 30,000 Mauritians of Chinese descent, from the Hakka and Cantonese sub-ethnic/linguistic groups. More than 90% of the Sino-Mauritian community are Roman Catholic, the remainder are largely Buddhist.

While there is a small population of British citizens living in Mauritius, most of whom have Mauritian nationality, few identify as being Mauritian. The term Anglo-Mauritian, a term that may include Mauritians living in the UK, is used unofficially.

Though the Franco-Mauritian group is small, it is the largest of the European ancestries on the island. Small groups of foreign students from Europe or the Indian Ocean region are also present. Recent years have seen a steady flow of foreign workers into the textile industry (primarily Chinese women), the construction industry (primarily Indian workers), and harbour-related activities (primarily Taiwanese men). Immigration policy does not provoke much debate in Mauritius, and the relative economic stability of the island serves to attract foreign workers.