50 Fun Facts About Mauritius

Mauritius lies roughly how far off the southeastern coast of Africa?

It sits east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

What is the capital and largest city of Mauritius?

French governor Mahé de La Bourdonnais built it up as a naval base in the 1730s.

The main island, together with French Réunion, belongs to which island group?

They were named for Pedro Mascarenhas, a Portuguese viceroy who visited in 1512.

Mauritius was named in 1598 in honour of whom?

The Dutch admiral Wybrand van Warwyck landed at what is now Grand Port.

Under French rule from 1715 the island was known by what name?

The Portuguese had earlier called it Ilha do Cisne, 'Island of the Swan'.

Which Dutch navigator sailed from Mauritius seeking the Great Southern Land and mapped Tasmania and New Zealand?

The Dutch finally abandoned the island in 1710, reportedly overrun by monkeys.

Which colonial power seized Mauritius in 1810?

The French surrendered on 3 December 1810 but kept their language, laws and property.

Which British explorer was detained on the island by Governor Decaen from 1803 to 1810?

The detention defied an order from Napoleon himself.

Which 1788 novel by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre made the colony famous across the French-speaking world?

The author lived on the island from 1768 to 1771.

Which crop dominated Mauritius's economy from the 18th century until independence?

The island was the British Empire's main producer of it.

After abolition, planters brought around half a million indentured labourers from which country?

Aapravasi Ghat, their reception depot in the capital, is now a UNESCO site.

Mauritius became independent in which year?

Independence was proclaimed on 12 March, six weeks after deadly riots in the capital.

Who was the first prime minister of independent Mauritius?

Queen Elizabeth II remained head of state until the republic of 1992.

Mauritius became a republic in which year?

It kept the UK Privy Council as its highest court of appeal.

Which island group did the UK split from Mauritius in 1965 to form its Indian Ocean Territory?

The islanders were expelled and the largest island was leased to the United States.

Under the May 2025 agreement, which island stays under British administration on a 99-year lease?

It hosts the joint UK-US military base Camp Justice.

Mauritius disputes sovereignty over the island of Tromelin with which country?

The 1814 Treaty of Paris failed to mention the tiny island specifically.

Which autonomous island lies about 560 km east of the main island?

It gained autonomy in 2002 and elects its own representatives.

What is the highest peak in Mauritius?

It rises to 828 metres in the south-west, near the Black River Gorges.

Mauritius Island was formed by volcanic activity roughly how long ago?

Less than 2 percent of its native forest survives today.

Which flightless bird, extinct soon after human settlement, lived only on Mauritius?

It appears as a supporter on the national coat of arms.

What is the closest living relative of the dodo?

The dodo's nearest relative of all was an also-extinct solitaire from a neighbouring island.

The last widely accepted sighting of a dodo was in which year?

The bird owes much of its fame to a cameo in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Which of these endemic Mauritian birds has survived thanks to intensive conservation?

The Mauritius kestrel and echo parakeet have also been pulled back from the brink.

Mauritius is the only country in Africa where which religion is the most practised?

Public holidays include Maha Shivaratri, Diwali, Christmas and Eid al-Fitr.

What is the mother tongue of most Mauritians?

Most people are also fluent in English and French and switch between them freely.

Which is true of Mauritius's official language?

Only the National Assembly has one, English, though members may speak French.

Which Indian language, once widely spoken in Mauritius, was used by only about five percent at the 2022 census?

It is one of eight ancestral languages given official recognition by parliament.

The traditional music of Mauritius, rooted in the songs of slaves, is called what?

Its fusion offshoot with reggae is known as seggae.

Which drum is the traditional percussion instrument of sega?

Protest sega sung against injustice is known as santé engagé.

Which popular Mauritian street-food wrap is sold by hawkers alongside roti?

Gâteau piment, a local take on the pakora, is another favourite.

Le Morne Brabant became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 as a symbol of what?

Legend says escaped slaves hiding on the mountain leapt to their deaths rather than be recaptured.

Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO site in the capital's bay, was historically what?

It was the first such centre in any British colony.

The Mauritius flag, known as the Four Bands, has stripes of which colours?

Retired teacher Gurudutt Moher designed it for independence in 1968.

The Mauritius 'Post Office' issues are prized by philatelists because they were what?

They are widely called the greatest item in all philately.

The Champ de Mars Racecourse in the capital opened in which year?

The Mauritius Turf Club is the oldest racing club in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mauritius won its first Olympic medal, a 2008 bronze, in which sport?

Bruno Julie won it in Beijing.

The MV Wakashio, which ran aground off Mauritius in July 2020, leaked up to how much heavy oil?

An environmental state of emergency was declared.

Which Mauritian-born writer won the Nobel Prize in Literature?

Virahsawmy writes mostly in the local Creole.

In the EIU's 2023 Democracy Index, Mauritius was rated as what?

The Global Peace Index has also repeatedly ranked it the most peaceful country in Africa.

Mauritius provides which of these free to its citizens?

Health care and public transport for students and pensioners are free too.

Who founded the opposition Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) in 1969?

He was jailed in 1971 and eventually became prime minister in 2003.

Which prime minister handed the office to his son Pravind in January 2017?

Pravind Jugnauth won a full term of his own in 2019.

Which regional internet registry for all of Africa is based in Ebene, Mauritius?

Ebene is the island's cyber-city business hub.

Which country is by far Mauritius's largest continental trading partner?

Mauritian investors are also moving into Madagascar, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and the country pitches itself as a hub for investment into Africa.

The Mauritian capital's port is named in honour of which French king?

It became the administrative centre in 1736, a reprovisioning halt for French ships rounding the Cape between Europe and Asia.

Which animal is the only remaining mammal endemic to Mauritius?

Government-sanctioned culls began in November 2015 over fears the fruit bats were damaging plantations.

Which twin islands belonging to Mauritius lie some 930 km to the north of the main island?

Their combined area is just 26 square kilometres; St. Brandon, by contrast, lies about 400 km to the northeast.

From 1606 Dutch settlers called the site of the future capital the harbour of which creatures?

Under the French, the harbour grew into a major stopover for ships sailing between Asia and Europe around the Cape of Good Hope.

On the smuggled 1502 Cantino planisphere, the island of Mauritius appears under which name?

The name is linked to Arab sailors thought to have found the uninhabited island around 975; the Portuguese later called it Ilha do Cirne.