Mauritius is an island nation located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa. It has a population of around 1.3 million people and the official language is English. The majority of the population are Hindu, with some other religious denominations also present.
The military of Mauritius consists of three branches; Army, Navy and Air Force. The total active personnel in the military are around 2,000 people. The Army has around 1,500 personnel with a focus on ground operations and border protection. It also has a small Navy with two patrol boats for maritime security operations as well as four helicopters for air support operations. The Air Force has around 500 personnel operating mainly transport aircraft for reconnaissance missions and logistics purposes.
Mauritius is not a member of any international military or defense organization but does maintain close ties with other countries in the region such as India and South Africa. See naturegnosis to learn more about the country of Mauritius.
Defense
A police force of 2,000 men is armed and partially organized for the defense of the country (2008). The Coast Guard has 21 patrol boats. Defense costs rose from 0.3% to 2.3% of GDP in 1985-96 to decrease again to 0.3% (2006). To see related acronyms about this country, please check ABBREVIATIONFINDER where you can see that MUS stands for Mauritius.
| Land area | 2,040 km² |
| Total population | 1,379,365 |
| Population density (per km²） | 676.2 |
| Capital | Port Louis |
| Official language | English |
| Income per capita | $ 22,300 |
| Currency | Mauritian rupee |
| ISO 3166 code | MU |
| Internet TLD | .mu |
| License plate | MS |
| Telephone code | +230 |
| Time zone UTC | + 4 |
| Geographic coordinates | 20 17 S, 57 33 O |
Mauritius has no standing military forces. The semi-military police force, which is responsible for the defense, has a force of about 2550 personnel, including about 800 personnel in the Coast Guard (2018, IISS).
- COUNTRYAAH: Do you know where is Mauritius on the world map? Come to see the location and all bordering countries of Mauritius.
Materials include two storm armored vehicles and twelve armored personnel vehicles.
The Coast Guard has 17 patrol vessels and four light transport aircraft.
Geopolitical Atlas
The Republic of Mauritius is an island state in East Africa, located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. The long colonial link with the United Kingdom influenced the institutional form adopted after independence. In addition to being, according to Freedom House, the only African country with fully democratic institutions, Mauritius constitutes a parliamentary republic structured according to the Westminster model: the president is the head of state, the prime minister appoints the ministers and can dissolve rooms. Although the country has acquired independence from the United Kingdom since 1968, the long-standing diplomatic dispute with the former colonial power over the sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago, which includes the island of Diego Garcia, remained open. On the basis of an agreement signed in 1965 with the United Kingdom, the archipelago would have been detached from Mauritius to become part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. Later, the residents of the archipelago were deported, largely to Mauritius, to allow the United Kingdom to rent Diego Garcia Island to the United States, which intended to establish a military base there. The issue is still unresolved, however the two countries have close economic and cultural ties. Mauritian populations have European, Asian and African origins. The majority group is that of the Indo-Mauritians of Hindu religion (48% of the population). Minorities include Indo-Mauritians of Muslim religion (17%), Creoles (27%) of European and African origins and mainly Christians, the Franco-Mauritians (2%) and the Sino-Mauritians (3%). Democratic stability, ethnic tolerance, the transparency of the regulatory environment and the progressive improvement of the living conditions of citizens have characterized the history of Mauritius. The island has one of the highest per capita GDPs on the African continent. The economy is based on tourism, the textile and sugar industry and financial services. However, the world economic crisis of 2008-09 slowed the country’s growth (from 5.5% in 2007 to 3.3% in 2014). The country’s economy was particularly affected by the sharp slowdown in the European economy: two thirds of exports go to the EU. Exports account for 47% of GDP and the country depends on foreign investment. The government has launched some regional and global initiatives to diversify the economy and markets. Indeed, Mauritius has strong historical and commercial ties with India, the largest exporter to the island and one of the largest investors. China has also chosen Mauritius as an important investment pole and has launched a plan, which is underway, for the construction of an economic and commercial cooperation area. On a regional level, the country is a member of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the Indian Ocean Regional Cooperation Association (Ior-Arc) and the Indian Ocean Commission (Coi). Furthermore, as a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), the island participates in the negotiations with the EU for an economic partnership agreement. The greatest threats to the stability of the executive in office seem to come from the difficult economic situation. Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, at the head of a Labor Party-Parti Mauricien Sociale Démocrate coalition, has a small majority that does not appear sufficient to carry out the ambitious reform program that the country would need to face the difficulties of the world economy.