144
Migraon in Maurius A COUNTRY PROFILE 2013 Migraon in Maurius A COUNTRY PROFILE 2013

MMigration in Mauritius igration in Mauritius · Migration in Mauritius A COUNTRY PROFILE 2013 Migration in Mauritius M igration in Mauritius A COUNTRY PROFILE 2013 17 route des Morillons,

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    33

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

  • Migration in MauritiusA COUNTRY PROFILE 2013

    Migration in MauritiusA COUNTRY PROFILE 2013

    Migration in M

    auritius A CO

    UN

    TRY PROFILE 2013

    17 route des Morillons, P.O. Box 17, 1211 Geneva 19, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 717 9111 • Fax: +41 22 798 6150

    E-mail: [email protected] • Website: http://www.iom.int

  • The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries

    IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in the meeting of operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

    This publication was made possible through the financial support provided by the IOM Development Fund (IDF).

    Publisher: International Organization for Migration (IOM) 17 route des Morillons P.O. Box 17 1211 Geneva 19 Switzerland Tel: +41 22 717 91 11 Fax: +41 22 798 61 50 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.iom.int

    _____________________________________________________

    © 2014 International Organization for Migration (IOM)

    _____________________________________________________

    All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

    36_14

  • Migration in Mauritius:

    A COUNTRY PROFILE 2013

  • 3Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Contents

    List of tables ........................................................................................4List of figures .......................................................................................6Members of the technical working group .............................................7Acronym list ........................................................................................9Acknowledgments .............................................................................11Foreword ...........................................................................................13Map of Mauritius ...............................................................................15Key information for Mauritius ............................................................16Executive summary ............................................................................17

    Part A: Overview of population and migration trends in Mauritius ....21A.1 InternationalmigrationdatasourcesinMauritius .................................. 21

    A.1.1Censusesassourcesofmigrationdata ...................................... 21A.1.2CensusdatainMauritius ............................................................ 23A.1.3Samplesurveys ........................................................................... 25A.1.4Borderdatacollectionsystem .................................................... 26A.1.5Residencepermits ...................................................................... 27A.1.6Internationaldatabases .............................................................. 28

    A.2.ThepopulationofMauritius:Factsandtrends ........................................ 31A.2.1Historicaloverviewontheevolutionof thepopulationofMauritius ........................................................ 31A.2.2Recentpopulationtrends:Fertility, mortalityandpopulationgrowth .............................................. 33A.2.3Populationageandsexcomposition .......................................... 38A.2.4Labourforce ................................................................................ 41A.2.5Internalmigration ....................................................................... 45

    A.3 Populationwithforeignbackgroundandinternationalmigrations ......... 48A.3.1Foreignresidentpopulationovertime ....................................... 48A.3.2Legislationpertainingtointernationalmigration ...................... 51A.3.3Characteristicsofnon-Mauritians ............................................... 66A.3.4Foreignworkersandothercategories offoreignersinMauritius ........................................................... 71A.3.5Internationalmigration ............................................................... 77

    A.4Mauritianslivingabroad .......................................................................... 87

    Part B: Effects of migration in Mauritius .............................................97B.1Mauritiusasacountryofdestination ..................................................... 97B.2Mauritiusasacountryoforiginandthevalueadded byitsdiasporatoday .............................................................................. 100B.3 Internalmigration:AfocusonRodrigues............................................... 101B.4Borderdatacollectionsystem ................................................................ 102

  • 4 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    B.5Migrationandhealth .............................................................................. 104B.6Migrationandenvironmentalchange .................................................... 105

    Part C: Recommendations ...............................................................107C.1 Improvingmigrationstatistics ................................................................ 107C.2 Mainstreamingmigrationintonationaldevelopmentplanning ............ 111C.3 Establishingtheinstitutionalframeworkallowingcontinuity inthemigrationprofileexerciseandpolicydevelopment ..................... 115

    Annexes ...........................................................................................117Annex1:Conceptsandinternationallyrecommended definitionsintheareaofinternationalmigrationstatistics .......... 117Annex2:Statisticaltables ............................................................................. 122Annex3:InstitutionalframeworkinMauritiuspertainingtomigration ....... 133

    Bibliography ....................................................................................135

    List of tabLes

    Table1: PopulationsizeofMauritius,1767–2011 .............................................. 32Table2: PopulationchangeinMauritiusbasedon2000–2013 mid-yearestimates,withnumbersofbirthsanddeaths andestimatednetmigration ................................................................. 35Table3: Births,deathsandnaturalpopulationgrowth,2000–2012 .................. 36Table4: Lifeexpectancyatbirth,1950–2010 ..................................................... 37Table5: Populationagegroupstructurebasedonthe1990,2000 and2011censusesandselectedmid-yearestimates ........................... 38Table6: Populationagestructureindicators ...................................................... 41Table7: Populationaged16andover,bysexandactivitystatus ....................... 42Table8: Labourforceparticipationrates,byagegroupandsex,2012CMPHS . 43Table9: Unemploymentrate,byageandsex..................................................... 44Table10: Unemploymentrate,byeducationandsex .......................................... 45Table11: District-to-districtmigrationflowsofthepopulation aged5yearsandover,2006and2011 .................................................. 47Table12: Population,bynationality,2000and2011censuses ............................ 50Table13: Naturalization,bysex,2008–2012 ........................................................ 51Table14: RelevantinternationalconventionsratifiedbyMauritius ..................... 65Table15: Numberofnon-Mauritiansbycountryofcitizenship accordingtothe2011censusandvalidresidence permitsinMauritiuson1January2013 ............................................... 68

  • 5Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table16: Numberofholdersofvalidworkpermitsbycountryof origininDecember2010and2013 ....................................................... 73Table17: Foreignworkersbybranchofindustry,2005,2009and2013 .............. 74Table18: Numberofoccupationpermitsissuedbetween 2October2006and30June2013 ........................................................ 75Table19: Enrolmentofforeignstudentsintertiaryeducation inMauritiusbycountryoforigin .......................................................... 76Table20: Numberofarrivalsanddeparturesonmain borderpoints,inthousands,2000and2010–2012 .............................. 78Table21: DepartureofMauritianresidents*travelling abroadbycountryofdisembarkation ................................................... 79Table22: DifferencebetweenarrivalsanddeparturesofMauritians andnon-Mauritians,byagegroup,2010–2012 .................................... 80Table23: Totalnumberofforeignnationalsdeported, arrestedandrepatriated,bynationality,2000–2014 ............................ 81Table24: ResidentMauritiansandnon-Mauritiansaged5years andoverwholivedabroadin2006,disaggregated bysexandcountryofresidencein2006 ............................................... 82Table25: Residentpopulationaged5yearsandoverwhowere abroadfiveyearspriortothe2000and2011censuses, disaggregatedbyage,sexandnationalitystatus ................................. 83Table26: Estimationofnetinternationalmigrationbetweencensuses 2000and2011forthepopulationbornbefore2000 ........................... 85Table27: Mauritian-bornpopulationaged15yearsandolder enumeratedinthe2000census,byvariouscountries ofresidence(includingMauritius) ........................................................ 88Table28: Mauritian-bornpopulationandMauritiannationals livinginselectedEuropeanUnionMemberStates ............................... 90Table29: FirstpermitsissuedbyEUMemberStatesto Mauritiancitizensvalidforatleast12months, byreasonforapplying,2008–2010 ....................................................... 90Table30: Newadmissionsofstudentsabroad,bycountry,2000–2011 .............. 91Table31: Estimatedtotaloverseasenrollment,bycountry,2000–2011 .............. 92Table32: Estimatedremittanceflows,2003–2010 ............................................... 93Table33: NumberofrepatriatedanddeportedMauritians,2000–2014 ............. 94Table34: Maleandfemale,byagegroup,andsexratio, 2000and2011censuses ..................................................................... 122Table35: Foreignersbycitizenshipandsex,andsexratio,

    2000and2011censuses .................................................................... 123Table36: Non-Mauritiansbysexandsexratiobyagegroup ............................. 124Table37: Mauritiannationalsandforeignersintheworkforce,1990–2012 ...... 125Table38: Mauritianresidentsaged5yearsandoverlivingabroad in2006,disaggregatedbycountryofresidencein2006 ..................... 126Table39: ForeignersenumeratedinMauritiusinthe2011census,

    disaggreagatedbyplaceofresidencein2006.................................... 127

  • 6 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table40: Numberofpermitsissuedbetween2October2006 and30June2013,bynationality ........................................................ 128Table41: Numberofoccupationpermitholdersper sector,2013and2014 ......................................................................... 129Table42: Residentpopulationaged5yearsandover, byselectedcharacteristics,2011 ....................................................... 130Table43: Activeinternationalstudentsasof5May2014 .................................. 131

    List of figures

    Figure1: Extractfromthe2011censusquestionnaire showingquestionsfortheidentification ofpopulationsinvolvedinmigration .................................................. 24Figure2: Disembarkationcardfilledoutatarrivalby everynon-residenttraveller ................................................................ 27Figure3: PopulationgrowthinMauritius,1767–2011 ...................................... 33Figure4: Totalfertilityrate,1950–2010 ............................................................. 37Figure5: Ageandgendercompositionofthepopulation ................................. 39Figure6: Childrenandolderpersonsasproportionsofthe totalpopulation,2000and2011 ........................................................ 40Figure7: Growthoftheforeignpopulation,1983to2011 ................................ 50Figure8: Foreignersbysexandcountryofcitizenship,2000and2011 ............. 67Figure9: Ageandsexcompositionofforeigners,2000and2011 ..................... 69Figure10: Ageandsexcompositionofnon-Mauritiansholding validresidencepermitsinMauritiuson1January2013 ..................... 70Figure11: Changeinnumberofforeigncitizensbetween the2000and2011censuses ............................................................... 71Figure12: GrowthofthenumberofMauritian andforeignworkers,1990–2013 ........................................................ 72Figure13: Growthofthenumberofforeignerswithvalid workpermitsatyear-end,2004–2013 ............................................... 73Figure14: RelativechangeofthenumberofMauritiansby yearofbirthasapercentageofthe 2000censuscount,2000to2011 ...................................................... 87Figure15: Mauritian-bornlivinginothercountries,2000 ................................... 88Figure16: EstimatednumberofMauritianstudentspursuing tertiaryeducationabroad,atDecember ofeachyear,2000–2011 .................................................................... 92

  • 7Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    MeMbers of the teChniCaL Working group

    • MrsKanOyeFongWeng-Poorun,SeniorChiefExecutive,PrimeMinister’sOffice(HomeAffairs)

    • Mr Veersingh Boodhna, Deputy Permanent Secretary, PrimeMinister’sOffice(HomeAffairs)

    • Mr Ashish Kumar Jhoerreea, Assistant Permanent Secretary, PrimeMinister’sOffice(HomeAffairs)

    • Mr Vikraj Ramkelawon, Analyst, Ministry of Finance and EconomicDevelopment

    • MrKannenKathapermall,InternalCommunications,MinistryofFinanceandEconomicDevelopment

    • MsA.Roopchund,MinistryofFinanceandEconomicDevelopment• Mr Rajesh Humath, Assistant Permanent Secretary, Ministry of

    EnvironmentandSustainableDevelopment• MrRajaramLuximon,EnvironmentOfficer,MinistryofEnvironmentand

    SustainableDevelopment• MrsPreeyadarshaneeDassaye,AssistantPermanentSecretary,Ministry

    ofLabour,IndustrialRelationsandEmployment• MrYogendranathRamful,PrincipalHealthEconomist,MinistryofHealth

    andQualityofLife• Mr Nasser Jeeanody, Chief Health Statistician, Ministry of Health and

    QualityofLife• MrRajendranathSookloll,InspectorofPolice,PassportandImmigration

    Office• MrAbdoolSariffMungralee,SeniorStatistician,StatisticsMauritius• MrsNaraineeDeviGujadhur,Statistician,StatisticsMauritius• MrYousoufBuxsoo,SeniorStatisticalOfficer,StatisticsMauritius• MrsKoudijahMaudarbocus-Boodoo,DirectorCompetitiveness,Boardof

    Investment,Mauritius• MrKeshwarajsinghRamnauth,Chief,EconomicAnalysisDivision,Bankof

    Mauritius• MrSomkeshBeerbul,ProjectManager,CentralInformaticsBureau• DrAansaBedacee,ResearchOfficer,TertiaryEducationCommission• Mr Arunen Valaydon, Head Research and Planning Division, Tertiary

    EducationCommission• Dr Ashokabose Moorgawa, Research Officer, Tertiary Education

    Commission

  • 8 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    • MrRajcoomarAuckloo,Director,HumanResourceDevelopmentCouncil• Mrs Sangeeta Nundah, Assistant Programme Manager, National

    EmpowermentFoundation• MrRamNookadee,Secretary,MauritiusCouncilofSocialServices• MrsSangeetahSeetulparsad,SeniorProgrammeandProjectCoordinator,

    MauritiusCouncilofSocialServices• Dr Kamlesh Dookayka,Ministry of Tertiary Education, Science, Research

    andTechnology

  • 9Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    aCronYM List

    APEI AcceleratedProgrammeforEconomicIntegration

    CMPHS ContinuousMulti-PurposeHouseholdSurvey

    GDP Grossdomesticproduct

    ILO InternationalLabourOrganization

    IOC IndianOceanCommission

    LFS LabourForceSurvey

    NTFM NationalTaskForceforMigration

    OECD OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment

    PIO PassportandImmigrationOffice

    UN UnitedNations

    UNDP UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgram

    UNHCR UnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees

    UNSD UnitedNationsStatisticalDivision

  • 11Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    aCknoWLedgMents

    ThismigrationprofileforMauritiuswouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthecontributionsofanumberofpeople.Wewouldliketothanktheinternationalconsultant,ProfessorMichelPoulainandAnneHermoftheUniversitécatholiquedeLouvain (UCL,Belgium)and theTallinnUniversity (TLU,Estonia)andSariffMungraleeofStatisticsMauritiusforthedatacollectionandanalysis,preparationofthestatisticalcompendiumandtechnicalrecommendations.

    Special thanks go to: Lalini Veerassamy, IOMMauritius Head of OfficeandProjectManager,forhertechnicalsupportandcontributiontothereportontheeffectsofmigrationandpolicyrecommendations;NikhilTreebhoohun,whoreviewedthereportandprovidedrelevantrecommendations;RudolfAnich(IOMGeneva),forprovidingongoingtechnicalsupport;DavinaGounden(IOMMauritius),forcoordinatingandeditingthereport;AdishMaudho(GeoVision,Ltd),fordesigningthemapofMauritiusandlastbutnotleast,membersoftheTechnicalWorkingGroup,whoprovidedvaluableinputtothereportatdifferentstages.

  • 13Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    foreWord

    The Republic of Mauritius is one of the most prosperous economiesin Africa. It has been consistently ranked as the top performer in terms ofgovernanceaspertheMoIbrahimIndexandhasattainedvarioushighrankings,suchasnineteenthplaceworldwideinthe2013EaseofDoingBusinessIndex;sixthgloballyinthe2010EnvironmentalPerformanceIndexandtwenty-fourthin theDemocracy Index2011. In itsGovernmentProgramme for 2012–2015,entitled “Moving the Nation Forward,” the Government of Mauritius clearlyoutlineditsgoalofswitchingtoanewphaseofeconomicgrowthandfocusingonbecomingahigh-incomenation.

    Asamiddle-incomecountry,Mauritiushasthepossibilitytocapitalizeonmigrationasatoolforsocioeconomicdevelopment.Mobility,inthecontextofamiddle-incomecountry,cannotonlyfacilitatetheintegrationofthedevelopingeconomy into regional and globalmarkets; it can also contribute towards itssocioeconomicdevelopmentatthenationallevel.Demonstratingitsobjectiveofusingmigrationpolicyasapivotaltoolinitsdevelopmentplan,MauritiuswasthefirstcountryinAfricatohosttheGlobalForumonMigrationandDevelopment(GFMD).Organizedin2012,theGFMDoutlinedthekeyinternationalroleplayedbyMauritiusasbotha“sender”and“receiver”countryintheareaofmigration.

    Evidence, indeed, suggests thatmigration can be a powerful driver ofdevelopmentforbothmigrantsandtheirhouseholds.Thedevelopmentimpactsofmigrationatamoreaggregatecommunityornationalleveltendtobemoretangible,bothattheoriginandthedestination,whenmigrationflowsconcernalargeshareofacommunity’sorcountry’spopulation(thelatterbeingthecaseinsomesmallislandStateslikeMauritius,forexample),orwhenimmigrationoremigrationmovementsareveryconcentratedinaparticularregion.

    Afirst situationassessmentandanalysishasbeencarriedoutwith thefinancialandtechnicalsupportoftheInternationalOrganizationforMigration(IOM). This first profile should constitute the basis of discussion for theidentificationofstrategicgoalsandprioritiesandthedevelopmentofanactionplanforMauritius.

  • 14 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Thisnationalmigrationprofileshouldthereforeconstituteafundamentalbasis for the development of the first comprehensive policy document inMauritiuswhichaimstosetoutaroadmapshowinghowthismiddle-incomecountry intends to go about mainstreaming migration into developmentplanning.

    We sincerely thank IOM for its support in the preparation of this keydocument.

    Mrs. K.O. Fong Weng-PoorunSenior Chief Executive, Home Affairs Division,Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)

  • 15Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Map of Mauritius

  • 16 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    key information for Mauritius

    OfficialnamesRepublicofMauritius

    RépubliquedeMaurice(French)

    Totalarea,insqkma 1,969

    Capitalcity,latitudeandlongitude PortLouis,20°16’S57°50’E

    Climate Tropicalmarine

    Independencedate 12March1968

    Politicalsystem Parliamentarydemocraticrepublic

    Parliamenttype Unicameral(NationalAssembly)

    Administrativedivisions 9districtsand3dependencies

    MainbranchofeconomicactivityManufacturing,financialservices,tourism,informationandcommunicationstechnology,andagriculture

    MainlanguagesEnglish,MauritianCreoleandFrench (noofficiallanguage)

    Population,2011(lastcensus) 1,236,817

    Population,2013(estimate)b 1,259,838

    Populationdensity,2011(sqkm) 653

    Lifeexpectancyatbirth,2012c 73.5

    Labourforce,2012estimate 593,100

    Unemploymentrate(%oflabourforce)d 8.1

    Urbanpopulation(%oftotal),2012 41.5

    GDP,total,2012(incurrentUSDmillions)e 10,492

    GDPannualgrowthrate(%),2011–2012) 3.0

    HDIvalueandrankamong186countries,2012d 0.737(highhumandevelopment);rank:80th

    Currency Mauritianrupee(MUR)

    a Source:UnitedNationsStatisticsDivision,“EnvironmentStatistics–CountrySnapshots,”webpage.Availablefromhttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/environment/envpdf/Country_Snapshots_Aug%202013/Mauritius.pdf.

    b EstimatebyStatisticsMauritius.c Source: United Nations Development Programme, “Human Development Indices: A statistical update

    2012,”webpage.Availablefromhttp://data.un.org/Explorer.aspx.d Source: International Labour Organization, 2012 Labour Force Survey. Available fromwww.ilo.org/dyn/

    lfsurvey/lfsurvey.list?p_lang=en.e Source:TheWorldBank,“WorldDevelopmentIndicators,”webpage.Availablefromhttp://data.worldbank.

    org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators.

    http://unstats.un.org/unsd/environment/envpdf/Country_Snapshots_Aug%202013/Mauritius.pdfhttp://data.un.org/Explorer.aspxhttp://www.ilo.org/dyn/lfsurvey/lfsurvey.list?p_lang=enhttp://www.ilo.org/dyn/lfsurvey/lfsurvey.list?p_lang=enhttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicatorshttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators

  • 17Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    exeCutive suMMarY

    Thismigrationprofilegivesadescriptiveanalysisof themainmigrationcharacteristicsandtrendsforMauritiusbasedonavailabledataandinformationprovidedbykeyplayersandinstitutions.ItisexpectedtobecomeatoolfortheGovernment ofMauritius to: (a) enhance the knowledge base onmigration;(b) identify the data gaps; and (c) provide the basis for coherence in thedevelopment of policies, to effectively manage migration in the interest ofnationaldevelopment.

    the context

    Although Mauritius is both a source and destination country forinternational migration, the inadequacy of data with respect to migrationmakesitdifficultfortheGovernmenttoelaborateamigrationpolicytopromotethe country’s socioeconomic development. It is important to strengthen thecapacityofpublicinstitutionstobettermanagemigration-relatedissues,namely,immigration,braindrain,thereturnofmigrantsandtheirreinsertionintothelabour market, remittances, mobilization of the diaspora, and the impact ofmigrationontheenvironment.

    Themainobjectivesofthisdocumentaretoprovideareviewofmigrationtrends in Mauritius and to recommend how best to improve policymakingwith respect tomigration, taking into account the socioeconomic conditionsprevalentinthecountry.Itshouldprovidethebasisforabetterunderstandingofmigrationissuesandthedevelopmentofamigrationprofileasaframeworkfor the collectionandanalysis of data in supportof strategicplanning at thenationallevel.

    Throughout the world, international migration has become a keycomponent of development for the achievement of individual well-being foreverybody.Several internationalbodiesand initiativeshavebeen launchedtomanageinternationalmigrationflowsandcoordinatingthesupportformigrantsallovertheworld.

    Among these initiatives, the preparation of national migration profilesthatgiveacomprehensiveoverviewofthemigration ineachcountry, takesaprominentplace.Thistooliscountry-specific,butthisexercisehasbeencarriedout according to general guidelines provided by IOM in order to enhancecomparabilitybetweencountries(IOM,2011).

  • 18 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Statisticaldataoninternationalmigrationflowsandthecharacteristicsofpopulationstockswithmigrationbackgroundsrepresentthebackboneofthismigrationprofile,whosemainobjectiveistosupportevidence-basedpolicy.Thepresentmigrationpolicybringssuchevidencebyconsideringalldataavailablethus far and extracting from these data a consistent view of the situation inMauritiusasfarasinternationalmigrationisconcerned.

    In areas ofmigrationwhere available data is rare, innovativemethodsshouldbedevelopedinordertomakemaximumuseofdatacollectedforvariousstatistical purposes and in the course of administrative activities. The newmethodologiesdevelopedduringthepreparationofthismigrationprofilehavetobeusedtoensurethesustainabilityoftheprocessinthefuture.Moreover,certain data in international migration have important political dimensions,whichshouldbefactoredinwhenanalysingsuch.

    Thismigration profile should not be an end in itself. It has to be seenas a tool and inputwithin the contextof theglobaldevelopment strategyofMauritiusinrelationtoitslabourpolicies.Eventhoughtheexercisehasrevealedgapsinthestatisticalcollection,thereareenoughindicatorstosupportthecasefora coherentmigrationstrategy tobeworkedout toovercome the internalstrainscausedbyanageingpopulation,adecliningfertilityrate,increasingyouthunemployment(particularlygraduateunemployment)andanincreasingnumberofforeignerscomingtoworkontheislandasnewsectorsofeconomicactivityemerge and grow (e.g. financial services, information and communicationstechnology, post-secondary education and the maritime industry). With apopulationofonly1.3million, it is clear thatmoremigrantswill be requiredifMauritiuswishestoemulateDubaiorcity-StateslikeSingapore.Atthesametimeitwillhavetofindjobsfortheincreasingnumberofgraduateschurnedoutbyagrowingtertiaryeducationsector.

    Themajorthemeslinkedtomigrationmanagementwithintheframeworkofdevelopmentpolicyare:(a)institutionalarrangement;(b)datamanagement;(c)humanresourcecapacitymanagement;(d)linkageswiththediaspora;and(e)theprotectionofmigrantsandtheirhouseholds.Thesethemeshavetobecarriedforwardandmonitoredbyadedicatedbodyatthenationallevel.

    It is therefore recommended that a National Task Force forMigration(NTFM)becreated,whichwillensureinter-ministrycoordinationforanoptimalimplementationofthemigrationprofile.TheNTFMwillbeanimportantbodyinchargeoftheaccurateinterpretationofcollecteddataandemergingtrends,whichwould stimulate the discussion on current and futuremigration policy

  • 19Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    in Mauritius. The NTFM will be also responsible to find a consensus wherediscrepanciesappearincollecteddataandtocompileandupdatethemigrationprofile in a structured process that should be built in away that ensures itssustainability. Therefore, the Government should establish or strengthenstructures and mechanisms for regular data collection and reporting onmigration-relatedtrends.

    Foreffectivepolicysupport,demandandsupplyofstatisticaldatashouldbereconciled.Therefore,aclosecooperationisneededbetweendataownersanddatausersfortheidentificationofindicatorsthatdescribetheongoingprocessesinthefieldofmigration.Withinanactionplan,eachoftheseindicatorsshouldbeassignedtoaresponsiblebody,withfixedtimelinesforregularupdates.Usingappropriatemethodsfortheaccurateinterpretationofdataisneeded,keepinginmind that reliability andtimeliness are crucial for theproductionof theseindicators.Moregenerally,comparingthelevelsoftherelevantindicatorsandassessingrelatedtrendsrepresentconcretesupporttopolicydevelopment.ThisistheobjectiveofthisfirstversionofthemigrationprofilebeingastartingpointforthemanagementofthenumeroustopicsrelatedtointernationalmigrationinMauritius.

  • 21Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    part a: overvieW of popuLation and Migration trends in Mauritius

    a.1 international migration data sources in Mauritius

    Whilecensusesarethemaindatasourceforpopulationmigrationissues,other potential data sources exist inmany countries. These include nationalsurveys, including labour force surveys and household or migration surveys;administrativeregisters,suchaspopulationregisters,alienregistersandconsularregisters; and other administrative data collected by authorities responsibleformanagingmigration,suchasrecordsofresidencepermit,workpermitandasylum applications, and by border control, such as passenger surveys, visarecordsandentryandexitcards.

    Theabove-mentionedrecordsandreportswereexploredforthepurposeofthismigrationprofileinordertoidentifyallexistingandpotentialsourcesofmigrationdatainMauritius.Whilecensuseshaveinthepastbeen(andarestilltoday)themostimportantdatasourceforpopulationissuessuchasmigration,administrativedatasourcesshouldbeusedmoreinthefuturefortheproductionofstatisticsoninternationalmigration.

    a.1.1 Censuses as sources of migration data

    Censuses constitute the most important tool for the collection ofpopulation data, including that on international migration. Population andhousing censuses attempt to determine the usual resident population ofa country and, consequently, tend to be good sources of informationon thenumberofmigrants living inacountryatagivenpoint intime (theso-called“migrantstock”).Somecountries,suchasComoros,haveusedtheircensusesinanattempttoestimateandcharacterizetheemigrantstock.However,becauseoftheirrelativelylowfrequency(censusesareusuallycarriedoutevery10years),censuseshavelimiteduseinmeasuringmigrantflows(thenumberofmigrantsenteringorleavingacountryinagiventimeperiod).Censusesarealsolimitedbythenumberofquestionsthattheyask,whichmeansthatobtainingdetailedinformation onmigration processes is usually not feasible. Specificmigrationsurveysarethereforerequiredforthecollectionofmoredetailedinformationonmigrantpopulationsonasamplebasis.

  • 22 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    The benefits and disadvantages of using censuses for the collection ofinternational migration data are varied. In theory, a census counts the totalresident population, thus allowing the retrieval of statistics on all populationgroupsrelevanttointernationalmigration,irrespectiveofcitizenship,countryofbirthorevenlegalstatus.Sinceinternationalmigrantsstillconstituteonlyasmallproportionofthetotalpopulationinsomecountries,acensusisoftentheonlydatacollectioninstrumentthatprovidesadequateinformationoninternationalmigrantsdespitetheriskofunderestimation.

    Acensusprovidesasnapshotofacountry’spopulationatagivenpointintimeandcanthereforebethebestsourceofdataonmigrantpopulationstocks.Censusesmaycollectdataonindividuals’countriesofbirthandofcitizenship,whicharetwopossiblevariablesthathelpidentifypopulationgroupsrelevantto internationalmigration. A census collects data on basic demographic andsocioeconomic characteristics of individuals, thereby allowing for the cross-classification of international migrants by characteristics such as age, sex,employment,educationandhousehold composition,amongothers.Given itsnature, a population census is particularly important for stock figures, sinceinformationoncountryofbirthandcountryofcitizenshipareusuallycollected.Itcanalsoprovidedataonimmigrationinflows,whenquestionsrelatingtopastplace(s)ofresidenceareasked.Giventhatinformationisself-reported,however,thereliabilityofcensusescanbequestionable. Sincecensusesonlytake intoaccount themovements of individualswho are present at the time they aretaken, they do not reflect departures or deaths thatmay occur in between,resultinginanimportantunderestimationofmigrationflows,asmigrantswhoarriveandleavebetweencensusesarenotaccountedfor.

    Acensuscanonlycountimmigrantsstilllivinginthecountryatthetimeitistaken,thusexcludingthosewhohaveemigratedprior.Attemptstocollectdataonemigrantsareoftenunsuccessfuloncethese individualshave leftthecountry, and any information obtained from remaining family or householdmembersmaynotbeveryreliable.Censusesare,consequently,morefocusedonimmigrantpopulationstocksthanonmigrationflows.

    Obtaining reliable statistics on emigration flows is not possible sincethemovementsofpersonswhohave leftthecountryatthetimeofacensuscannotbeadequatelycovered.Byaddressingquestionstoahouseholdmemberonhowmanymembersofthehouseholdhaveleftorarecurrentlyabroad, itmaybepossibletoestimatebothemigrantstockandflow.However,relyingoninformationfromthefamilyandrelativesthatemigrantshaveleftbehindislikelytoresultinanunderestimationoftheirtrue,asthereisnoonetoreportifallhouseholdmembershaveemigrated.

  • 23Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Eventhoughthe2008UNCensusRecommendationsdonotrecommendincludingquestionstoaidinthemeasurementofemigrationflows,itisworthintroducing an emigration module in the census questionnaire. Usually,informationiscollectedonpeoplewhohavebeenabsentformorethanacertainminimumperiod.However,onlya fewdetails canbegathered,andany suchinformationwouldreferonlytoasubsetofemigrants.Moreover,sincethedatacollectionisoftenmeanttocoverpersonswhoareonlytemporarilyabsent,thedatacanbeinterpretedinvariousways.

    a.1.2 Census data in Mauritius

    Thehistory of census-taking inMauritius dates back to the eighteenthcentury. The first censuswas carried out in 1735, under the governorship ofMahé de Labourdonnais (SM 2011 census history). From 1767 to 1817, theFrenchcarriedoutcensusesevery10yearsandtheBritishdidthesamestarting1830.Thepost-WorldWarIIcensuseshavebeencarriedoutregularlybutthedecennialintervalwasnotstrictlymaintained.

    ThelastpopulationcensuswasorganizedasperCensusOrder2011,withenumerationlastingfrom19June2011to1August2011.Defactoenumerationtookplacefrom20Juneto31July2011inrespectofallpersonsaliveonthemidnightbetween3and4July2011.ThecensuscountedallpersonspresentonCensusNightinallprivatehouseholdsandcommunalestablishments(includingcollectivequarters),aswellasusualresidentswhowereabsentonthesaidnight.Dataonwhereaboutsandusualaddressesenabledboththepresentpopulation(defacto)andtheresidentpopulation(dejure)counts.Thepopulationcountsofonlytwoislands,MauritiusandRodrigues,wereincludedinpublishedtables;AgalegaIslandhadlessthan200inhabitants,whileStBrandondidnothaveanypermanentresidents.

    Thecensusquestionnaireincludedagroupofquestionsthatwereusedfortheidentificationofcertaincategoriesofmigrants(Figure1).

  • 24 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Figure 1: Extract from the 2011 census questionnaire showing questions for the identification of populations involved in migration

    Thepreliminaryresultsof thecensuswerepublishedonlineonlya fewmonthsafter itwastaken. Theoverviewofthemainfindingsextractedfromthe2011censuswasbasedonunadjusteddata.StatisticsMauritiuspublishedfouranalyticalreportscoveringthe(a)demographicandfertility,(b)education,(c)disabilityand(d)economiccharacteristicsofthepopulation.Thepost-censusreport(SM,2014)featuredadjusteddata,withtheexhaustiveanalysisofcensusdata is still ongoing. Tabulations of geographic and migration characteristicswere published in October 2012; the corresponding analytical report will bepublishedin2014(SM,2014).

    The2011censusreportsconsideredthreedifferentpopulations:(a)theenumeratedpopulation, (b)thepresentpopulationand(c)theusualresidentpopulation. Following UN recommendations (UN, 2008), the place of usualresidencewasdefinedastheplaceatwhichthepersonlivesatthetimeofthecensusandhasbeentherecontinuouslyforthepast12monthsorintendstolivetherecontinuouslyforatleast12months.

    Thepost-censusdataevaluationreporthasbeenpartofcensusactivitiessince1952.Theevaluationofcensusdata isbasedondatafromthepreviouscensus(i.e.in2000),thenaturalincreasebasedonthevitalstatisticsoftheinter-censusperiodandnetmigrationestimatedfrominternationalpassengertraffic.Theanalysisofthe2000and2010censuses(SM,2005)notedthatthenumberofenumeratedchildrenbetween0and10yearsofage(i.e.childrenbornbetweencensuses)wasabout5to7percentlessthanthenumberexpectedaccordingto vital registration. There is no such under-enumeration of children abovetheageof10(i.e.those bornbeforethepreviouscensus). In2011thesame

  • 25Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    magnitudeofunder-enumerationwasfoundamongchildrenages10to14whencensusfigureswerecomparedwiththeestimatedpopulationincorrespondinggenerations.

    Even if passenger traffic records are regarded as complete becausepassengers can enter and exit only through two border points, that is, theairportandtheseaport,ithasbeennotedinthecensusevolutionreportthatthenetmigrationestimatedfromthesedataisnotfullyreliable.OnereasonisthatsomeMauritiansmayhavemorethanonecitizenship,andtheseholdersofdoublepassportssometimesuseonepassportwhenenteringandanotherwhenleaving the country, resulting in a discrepancy between visitor and residentcountsinthetwodirectionsoftravel.

    a.1.3 sample surveys

    Until 2004 the Labour Force Sample Survey collected information onlabour force employment and unemployment among the population. Since2004theContinuousMulti-PurposeHouseholdSurvey (CMPHS)hascollecteddataonvariousthemes,includinglabourforceandemploymentindicators.Thissurveyonly coversMauritians and excludes foreignworkers. Fromyear 2007labourforceestimateshavebeenbasedonthesegmentofthepopulationages16yearsandabove,followingtheamendmenttotheLabourActinDecember2006wherebytheminimumlegalworkingageis16years.

    Thepublication“DigestofLabourStatistics2011,”circulatedinJuly2011,notedthatestimatesofthelabourforce,employmentandunemploymentwerebasedon the total residentpopulationages16yearsandover,and that“thelabour force includes foreignworkers,but separatefigures forMauritiansarealso given.” The information on foreign workers was actually obtained fromanother survey, the “Survey of Employment, Earnings and Hours of work inLargeEstablishments,”carriedouteveryyear inMarchamongestablishmentsemploying at least 10 persons on the day of the survey. This survey collectsaggregated data from establishments and employers in Mauritius anddistinguishes betweenMauritians and foreigners workers. The population offoreignworkers is disaggregated by sex andwork category (e.g.manager or“otherworker”);distributionacrossthedifferentbranchesof industryfollowsfromtheidentificationofthesectorof industryofeachrespondentcompany.Thissurveywasfirstorganizedprior to the1990s,andpublisheddataonthetotalnumberofforeignworkersinsuchestablishmentsareavailablefrom1990.Smaller establishments andpeopleworking at homeare not coveredby thissurvey.

  • 26 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    a.1.4 border data collection system

    The Passport and Immigration Office (PIO)maintains a database of alltravellersenteringand leaving the country that servesas themain sourceofdataforthecompilationofpassengertrafficstatistics.Dataiscollectedatbordercontrolpointsthroughdisembarkationcardsfilledoutbynon-residentsenteringthe country. Residents ofMauritius, whetherMauritian nationals or not, donot have to fill out the disembarkation card; returning residents’ passportdata is entered into theborder control databasebyPIO. Thedisembarkationcardfilledbynon-residents (Figure2) includesquestionsoncountryofbirth,country of citizenship, passport number a expiry date, purpose of visit andintendeddurationofstay.Attheendofeachmonth,dataonpassengertrafficforthatparticularmonthisdownloadedfromthebordercontroldatabaseandsuppliedtotheStatisticsUnitoftheMinistryofTourismandLeisure,whichthengeneratesstatisticaltablesandforwardsthesefigurestoStatisticsMauritiusforpublicationanddissemination.AdditionaldataoncruiseshipsissuppliedbytheMauritiusPortsAuthority.Thesedataaremostlyusedforthemanagementoftourismpolicy.Arrivalsanddeparturesarecountedanddata isdisaggregatedbyage,sexandthedistinctionbetweenMauritianandnon-Mauritian.Fornon-Mauritians,theonlydataavailablearethecountryofcitizenshipanddurationofstay(numberofnights).Asfarasmigrationstatisticsareconcerned,theannualdifferencebetweenarrivalsanddeparturesisconsideredasanestimationoftheannualnet internationalmigrationfigure.PIOiscurrently linkingthedifferentbordercrossingsofagivenpersonbasedonpassportnumber,nameanddateofbirth.Suchlinkageallowstheidentificationofinternationalmigrantsbasedontheiractualdurationofstaywithinoroutsidethecountry.

    According to theMinistry ofHealth andQualify of Life, theuseof thehealth declaration form is for the surveillance of vector-borne diseases suchas malaria, dengue and chikungunya, as well as emerging and re-emerginginfectious diseases, among migrants and other mobile populations enteringthroughthemainborderposts.Foractivecasedetection,passengersarrivingfromcountrieswithendemicinfectiousdiseasesareinitiallyscreenedatportsofentry.Attheairport,forexample,athermalcameraisusedtodetectfever.Inaddition,HealthInspectorateDivisionstaffmemberspostedattheportandtheairportscrutinizehealthdeclarationformstocheckfordeclarationsofmedicalsymptomsbyincomingpassengers.Thehealthdeclarationformiscompulsorilycompleted by all incoming passengers, as required by the Public Health Act.Datafromhealthdeclarationformsarecapturedbycomputer,andpassengerswhomayhavebeenexposedtoanydiseaseundersurveillanceareclassifiedbyregion.Thelistsofsuchpassengersaresenttotherespectivehealthoffices,of

  • 27Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    whichthereare14inthemainislandandoneinRodrigues.Thereafter,thelistedpassengersarefollowedupbyhealthsurveillanceofficersattheirresidencesorotherplacesofaccommodation,asindicatedontheirhealthdeclarationforms.

    Figure 2: Disembarkation card filled out at arrival by every non-resident traveller

    a.1.5 residence permits

    ThePIOhasbeendelegatedauthoritybythePrimeMinister’sOffice(PMO)toissueresidencepermitstoforeigners(exceptinrespectofforeignersacquiringresidentialpropertiesundertheRealEstateDevelopmentScheme,permanentresidence for 10 years and residence permits for an indefinite period). ThedatabaseofresidencepermitholdersthatPIOmaintainsisthereforecoordinatedwiththeresidencepermits,whichareonlyissuedbythePMO.Suchadatabaseusuallyprovidesinformationonimmigrationflowsandstocksofforeignersinacountry.Thepopulationconcernedisthelegal,non-nationalpopulationentitledtoliveinthecountrybyvirtueoftheirresidencepermits.

    Statisticspertainingtointernationalmigrationareaproductoftheutilityoftheresidencepermitdatabase.Whenusingdataderivedfromtheresidencepermitregistry,dueattentionshouldbepaidtoexistingregulationsregardingentryandlengthofstayinthecountry,sincethesewouldaffectthestatistics.Discrepanciesbetweenthenumberofissuedpermitsandthenumberofdefactoimmigrationsmayalsoarisebecauseofnon-arrivals,earlydeparturesordoublecountsduetothesimultaneousvaliditiesofmultiplepermits.Nevertheless,evenifonlyafewspecificsubgroupsof immigrantsarecovered,residencepermits

  • 28 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    canstillprovideimportant informationonmigrationflows.Theadministrativedatabases that compile information on permits are thus valuable sources ofvariousstatisticsoninternationalmigration.This importancederivesfromthedatabase’sgoodcoverage,thelimitedcostsentailedandtheavailabilityofdatainelectronicformat.Thisdatasourcecanthereforebeusedinmakingestimatesof several basic indicators of the migration-related population, such as thestocksofforeignersandnewimmigrants,andchangesinstatusamongresidentforeigners.

    At any rate, several conceptual andmethodological issues need to beresolvedbeforeproducingmigrationstatisticsbasedonthisdatasource.Closecooperationbetweennationalstatisticalinstitutesandtheministryoftheinteriorinchargewithadministeringandmaintainingthepermitdatabasesappearstobethemostimportantprerequisitefordevelopingthisdatasource.

    Inlightofthepreparationofthismigrationprofile,theresidencepermitdatabasewasanalysedtodetermineasuitablemethodforproducingstatistics.Previously, from2011to2013, individual residencepermitdata recordswereusedforcharacterizingthestockofforeignerslivinginthecountry.Theresidencepermit database appeared to be a good proxy source for such data, even ifresidence permit holders do not necessarily stay in Mauritius for the entirevalidityperiodoftheirresidencepermits.Whilethedatabasewasapromisingsourceofreliabledataoninternationalmigrantstock,someproblemshadtobesolvedbeforethedatacouldbeusedforaggregations,forexample,cleaningthedatabaseofduplicaterecords,inordertofitwithinternationallyrecommendeddefinitiononinternationalmigration.Therefore,onlyresidencepermitswithacumulativedurationofvalidityexceeding180dayswereselected.

    a.1.6 international databases

    Whereparticularnationaldataweremissingordifficulttocollect,UNandotherinternationaldatabaseswereexploredinordertocollectsuchdataforthismigrationprofile.Thesedataconcernsmainlynationalslivingabroadandsomeindicatorsusedforassessingacountry’slevelofsocioeconomicdevelopment.

    Figures pertaining to international migration available on variousinternational databasesmay differ from their country-produced counterpartsfor reasons that arenotnecessarily identifiable. Thesefigures remainuseful,however,notonlybecausetheyserveasacomparativetool,butalsobecausetheyincludedataonemigrationandthediaspora,whichareusuallydifficulttocollectbyeachnationalstatisticaloffice.Emigrationdatacanonlybeobtained

  • 29Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    ifimmigrationdatainreceivingcountriesarelikewisecollected.However,thisispossibleonlyifthecountryoforigin(orcitizenship)providesenoughdetails.Thediasporacanbecharacterizedthroughstatisticsfromtheircountriesofactual(orcurrent)residence,namely,immigrants’countryofcitizenshiporbirth.Somedetaileddatabasesalsoprovidedataonremittancessentbyemigrantstotheirfamiliesbackhome,andasylum-seekersandrefugeesbycountryoforigin.

    Themaininternationalbodiescompilingstatisticaldatabasesinthefieldofinternationalmigrationareasfollows:

    1. TheUnitedNationsStatisticalDivision(UNSD,NewYork)collectsdataoninternationalmigrationflowsandmigrantstocksforallthecountriesoftheworld.Thesedataareorganizedinauniquedatabaseandareaccessibleonthe Internet at http://data.un.org.Inordertoprovideaglobalperspectiveoninternationalmigration,UNSDpreparesanannualreportthatfeaturesestimatesofmigrantstocks,eitherbyconsideringdataproducedbythecountriesthemselvesor,ifsuchisnotavailable,byusingadhocmodels.

    2. TheUnitedNationsPopulationDivisioninNewYorkpublishesanannualtable entitled “International Migration Wall Chart,” the most recentupdate is available on the Internet, at http://esa.un.org/unmigration/wallchart2013.htm, and in CD-ROM. A number of reports onmigration(e.g. International Migration Policies, World Migration Figures and International Migration) are available from www.un.org/development/desa/population.

    3. TheUnitedNations Development Program (UNDP,New York) publishestheHumanDevelopmentReporteveryyear.Thereport includesa largenumber of statistics on various aspects of human development and isavailableathttp://hdr.undp.org.

    4. TheInternationalLabourOrganization(ILO,Geneva)collectsandanalysesalargenumberofstatisticsonlabourmigrationonallcountrieswhichareaccessiblefromhttp://laborsta.ilo.org.

    5. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR,Geneva)collectsandanalysesdataconcerningasylum,refugeesand displaced persons around the world. These are accessible from http://popstats.unhcr.org.

    6. TheWorldBank(Washington,D.C.)proposesdataonremittancessentbyemigrantstotheircountryoforigin,aswellasvariousindicatorsrelatedtodevelopment.TheGlobalBilateralMigrationDatabaseincludesdataonstocksofmigrantsbycountryoforiginanddestinationcountriesofmigrants

    http://data.un.orghttp://esa.un.org/unmigration/wallchart2013.htmhttp://esa.un.org/unmigration/wallchart2013.htmhttp://www.un.org/development/desa/populationhttp://www.un.org/development/desa/populationhttp://hdr.undp.orghttp://laborsta.ilo.orghttp://popstats.unhcr.org

  • 30 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    and is accessible from http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/global-bilateral-migration-database.Somebasicinformationonremittancesanddevelopment indicatorscanbe found in theMigration and Remittances Factbook 2011,fromhttp://econ.worldbank.org/.

    7. Eurostat (Statistical Office of the European Communities, Luxembourg)collects data on international migration from Member States of theEuropeanEconomicAreaandEuropeanUnioncandidatecountries.Thedatabase is accessible from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/data/database.

    More precisely, the Eurostat database includes data on the followingthemes:

    (a) Dataonmigrationandcitizenshipincludingdataonpopulationstockdisaggragatedby(a)countryofcitizenshipand(b)countryofbirth;anddataonmigrationflowsdisaggregatedby(a)countryofcitizenship,(b)countryofbirthand(c)countryofpreviousornextresidence,aswellasdataonacquisition;

    (b) Data on residence permits issued to citizens of non-EU countries,disaggregated by either country of citizenship, duration of permitvalidityormotiveforapplying;

    (c) Dataonasylum-seekers,includingdecisiontakenatthefirststageoftheasylumprocedureandfinaldecision;

    (d) Statisticsonnationalimmigrationlegislation,includingdataonnon-EUcitizenswhoareillegallypresentonEUterritoryorwhoseentrywasrefused,andontherepatriationofnon-EUcitizenswhosepresenceisnotauthorized.

    8. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, Paris)alsomakes a database on immigrants available to itsMember States at www.oecd.org/migration/mig/oecdmigrationdatabases.htm.Thedatabase,namedDatabaseonImmigrantsinOECDCountries(DIOC-E),alsoincludesdataon68non-MemberStates,includingMauritius.

    http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/global-bilateral-migration-databasehttp://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/global-bilateral-migration-databasehttp://econ.worldbank.org/.http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/data/databasehttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/population/data/databasehttp://www.oecd.org/migration/mig/oecdmigrationdatabases.htm

  • 31Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    a.2 the population of Mauritius: facts and trends

    a.2.1 historical overview on the evolution of the population of Mauritius

    TheislandofMauritius,situated800kmeastofMadagascarandwithalandsurfaceofabout1,860sqkm,wasuninhabiteduntiltheDutchEastIndiaCompanystartedtosettlethere in1638, leaving in1710. In1721,theFrenchtookovertheisland,andthepopulationquicklyincreasedtoabout3,000bythemiddleoftheeighteenthcentury.TheFrenchengagedinsugarcanecultivationandimportedslavesfromMadagascarandcontinentalAfrica.Theisland’sfirstpopulationcensusdatesbackto1767,whenmorethan18,000personswereenumerated(Table1).

    WhentheBritishconqueredMauritiusin1810,thepopulationwasalmost100,000;however,morethan80percentwereslaves.Theabolitionofslaveryaquarterofacenturylater–in1830–reducedthesizeofthepopulation(asseeninTable1),probablybecausemostslavesreturnedtoMadagascarortheAfrican continent.More than 100,000 Indians were recruited to replace theslaves,whichisthemainreasonwhyMauritiansofIndianoriginstillmakeupthelargestsegmentofthepopulationtoday.WhileimmigrationflowswerethemaindriverofMauritius’population increase inthenineteenthcentury, theirimpactwas largely reduced from1860onwards; natural increase constitutedthemainreasonoftheslowevolutionofthepopulationuntilWorldWarII.Theeradicationofmalariainthelate1940sandtheoverall improvementof livingconditionsthroughoutthegloberesulted inasharpdecreaseinthemortalityrate.Asthetotalfertilityratewasstillashighassixchildrenperfamilyuntil1965,populationgrowthwassteady,doublingfrom419,000to829,000between1944and1973.Inthe1960s,familyplanningstartedbeingpromotedinMauritius.Itisconsideredasthedriveroftheworld’smostrapidfertilitydecline,bringingthetotalfertilityrateinthecountrytolessthanthreechildrenperwomanwithinadecade.Accordingly,thegrowthofthepopulationstillcontinuestobepositive,butatalowerrate:thepopulationpassedthemillionmilestonejustbefore1990andreached1.2millionin2010(seeFigure3).

  • 32 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table 1: Population size of Mauritius, 1767–2011

    Census year Population size Annual growth rate for the intercensal period (%)

    1767 18,777 -

    1777 29,761 4.7

    1787 40,439 3.1

    1797 59,020 3.9

    1807 77,768 2.8

    1817 97,847 2.3

    1830 96,945 -0.1

    1840 124,335 2.5

    1851 181,318 3.5

    1861 310,743 5.5

    1871 317,150 0.2

    1881 361,305 1.3

    1891 372,656 0.3

    1901 374,185 0.0

    1911 373,620 0.0

    1921 383,069 0.3

    1931 401,440 0.5

    1944 431,070 0.5

    1952 514,748 2.2

    1962 699,954 3.1

    1972 850,968 2.0

    1983 999,945 1.5

    1990 1,056,660 0.8

    2000 1,178,848 1.1

    2011 1,236,817 0.4

    Source:StatisticsMauritius.

  • 33Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Figure 3: Population growth in Mauritius, 1767–2011

    Source:StatisticsMauritius;DigestofDemography(from1851).

    a.2.2 recent population trends: fertility, mortality and population growth

    Betweenthe last twocensuses (i.e. from2000to2011) thepopulationgrewby58,000persons–a4.9percentincreasewithin11years.However,thepopulationgrowthrateiscontinuouslydeclining,withoutsignsofstabilization.Thisdemographic trend isexclusivelyduetodecreasingnaturalgrowthrates.Theestimatednetmigration is considered slightlynegativeand stableduringthesaidperiod.

    The residentpopulation is thecountofallusual residentsofacountryat thetimeof the census. For census purposes, “usual residence” is definedastheplacewherethepersonislivingatthetimeofthecensusandhasbeentherecontinuouslyforthepast12monthsorintendstolivetherecontinuouslyforatleast12months.The1990censusenumerated1,056,660residents;inahistoricaldataseries,itisconsideredtobethedejurepopulation.Theestimatedmid-year figure for 1990 was adjusted for the under-enumeration of 2,115childrenages0to5years.

  • 34 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    The 2000 census counted among the country’s resident population1,143,069personslivingonthemainislandofMauritius;35,779personsontheislandofRodrigues;and289ontwosmallerislands,givingatotalof1,179,137.Another2000censusfigureexists–1,178,848–whichrepresentsthecombinedpopulation count for the twobigger islands ofMauritius andRodrigues. Likein 1990, the 2000 census under-enumeratedminor children. 8,025 childrenwereaddedex-posttocensusdata,resultinginanadjustedtotalpopulationof1,186,873persons.

    The post-census evaluation of the 2011 census showed that 15,587childrenages0to14yearsweremissing.Accordingly,theadjustedcensusfigurewouldbe1,252,404.

    AscanbegleanedfromthedatapresentedinTable2,naturalchangeisthemostimportantfactorexplainingthegrowthofMauritius’population.Thecountry’sbirthratedecreasedfrom17.0to11.2per1,000inhabitantsbetween2000and2011,while thedeathrate increased from6.7 to7.2 (Table3).Thesizeofnaturalchangewasreducedbyafactoroftwoduringthisperiod.Astheestimatedinternationalmigrationbalancehasaminoreffectonthetotalchangeinpopulationsize,theamplitudeofthatchangewasdividedbymorethantwoduringtheperiod.

  • 35Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Tabl

    e 2:

    Pop

    ulati

    on c

    hang

    e in

    Mau

    ritius

    bas

    ed o

    n 20

    00–2

    013

    mid

    -yea

    r esti

    mat

    es, w

    ith n

    umbe

    rs o

    f birt

    hs a

    nd d

    eath

    s and

    esti

    mat

    ed n

    et m

    igra

    tion

    Year

    Star

    t of y

    ear

    popu

    latio

    nM

    id-y

    ear

    popu

    latio

    nCe

    nsus

    po

    pula

    tion

    Adju

    sted

    cen

    sus

    popu

    latio

    nEn

    d-of

    -yea

    r po

    pula

    tion

    Num

    ber

    of b

    irths

    Num

    ber o

    f de

    aths

    Nat

    ural

    ch

    ange

    Estim

    ated

    net

    m

    igra

    tion

    Tota

    l ch

    ange

    2000

    1,18

    0,36

    11,18

    6,87

    31,17

    8,84

    81,18

    6,87

    3**

    1,19

    1,58

    120

    ,205

    7,98

    212

    ,223

    2001

    1,19

    1,58

    11,19

    6,28

    7

    1,20

    0,45

    419

    ,696

    7,98

    311

    ,713

    500

    12,213

    2002

    1,20

    0,45

    41,20

    4,62

    1

    1,20

    8,99

    619

    ,983

    8,31

    011

    ,673

    -569

    11,104

    2003

    1,20

    8,99

    61,21

    3,37

    0

    1,21

    7,18

    719

    ,343

    8,52

    010

    ,823

    524

    11,347

    2004

    1,21

    7,18

    71,22

    1,00

    3

    1,22

    4,62

    919

    ,230

    8,47

    510

    ,755

    -822

    9,93

    3

    2005

    1,22

    4,62

    91,22

    8,25

    4

    1,23

    1,12

    518

    ,820

    8,64

    610

    ,174

    350

    10,524

    2006

    1,23

    1,12

    51,23

    3,99

    6

    1,23

    6,81

    317

    ,604

    9,16

    28,44

    2-300

    8,14

    2

    2007

    1,23

    6,81

    31,23

    9,63

    0

    1,24

    1,87

    617

    ,034

    8,49

    88,53

    6-400

    8,13

    6

    2008

    1,24

    1,87

    61,24

    4,12

    1

    1,24

    5,77

    516

    ,372

    9,00

    47,36

    8-200

    7,16

    8

    2009

    1,24

    5,77

    51,24

    7,42

    9

    1,24

    8,91

    515

    ,344

    9,22

    46,12

    0-300

    5,82

    0

    2010

    1,24

    8,91

    51,25

    0,40

    0

    1,25

    1,40

    215

    ,005

    9,13

    15,87

    4-21

    5,85

    3

    2011

    1,25

    1,40

    21,25

    2,40

    41,23

    6,81

    7*1,25

    2,40

    4**

    1,25

    3,86

    514

    ,701

    9,17

    05,53

    1-262

    5,26

    9

    2012

    1,25

    3,86

    51,25

    5,88

    2

    1,25

    7,21

    614

    ,494

    9,34

    35,15

    1-293

    4,85

    8

    2013

    1,25

    7,21

    61,25

    8,65

    3

    1,25

    9,56

    413

    ,688

    9,44

    04,24

    8-1900

    2,34

    8

    Sour

    ce:Statistic

    sMau

    ritiu

    s(Dem

    ograph

    yUnit)and

    autho

    rs’calculatio

    ns.

    *Th

    e20

    11cen

    susad

    optedtheUN-recom

    men

    dedde

    finition

    ofu

    sualre

    side

    nce.Con

    sequ

    ently,the

    201

    1censusfigu

    reisnotstrictly

    com

    parablewith

    thecorrespo

    ndingmid-yea

    restim

    ate.Statistic

    sMau

    ritiu

    sestim

    ated

    thatth

    eap

    plicati

    onofthe

    new

    defi

    nitio

    nredu

    cedthecensusfigu

    reby1.3pe

    rcent(o

    r15

    ,300

    persons).

    **Thisad

    justed

    figu

    recon

    side

    rsth

    e20

    11cen

    susfig

    urean

    dad

    optsth

    ene

    wdefi

    nitio

    nof“usua

    lresiden

    ce.“The

    adjustedfig

    uresfo

    rbo

    th200

    0an

    d20

    11cen

    susesinclud

    eun

    der-en

    umerated

    childrenan

    dare

    backda

    tedtoth

    e1sto

    fJuly.The

    mid-yea

    rpo

    pulatio

    nfig

    uresin

    200

    0an

    d20

    11havebe

    enestimated

    byusingthead

    justed

    cen

    susfig

    ures.

  • 36 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table 3: Births, deaths and natural population growth, 2000–2012

    2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2011 2012

    Birthrates(annualnumberofbirthsdividedbythemid-yearpopulation,in%)

    17.0 16.6 15.7 14.3 13.2 12.0 11.7 11.5

    Deathrates(annualnumberofdeathsdividedbythemid-yearpopulation,in%)

    6.7 6.9 6.9 7.4 7.2 7.3 7.3 7.4

    Naturalgrowthrate(differencebetweenbirthanddeathrates,in‰)

    10.3 9.7 8.8 6.9 6.0 4.7 4.4 4.1

    Source:StatisticsMauritius;DigestofDemography(forcrudebirthandcrudedeathrates).

    Aspreviouslymentioned,thereductioninthefertilityratestartedinthe1960s;thefertilityratefellfrom6.2childrenperwomanin1960–1964to2.2in1980–1984.Thesteadydecreaseinthenumberofbirthsobservedduringthelast intercensalperiodshouldnotbemistakenasaresultof thecontinuationofthistrend(thecurrent levelofthefertility isestimatedbytheUNtobeaslowas1.6childrenperwoman)(Figure4).Themainfactorresponsibleforsuchadecrease inthenumberofbirths isthedecliningnumberofyoungwomen,whichcouldbeexplainedbyeitheragenerationeffect(specifically,adecreasein thesizeofwomenbirthcohorts)oremigration (a relativelybignumberofwomenleftthecountry).Thesizeofthebirthcohortsstartedtodecreaseonlyinmid-1990s,andthisimpactisexpectedtocontributetothedecreaseinthenumber of births only in the coming years. Accordingly, the decrease of thenumberofbirthsduringthelastdecadeisastrongindicationoftheemigrationofwomenofreproductiveage.

  • 37Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Figure 4: Total fertility rate, 1950–2010

    Source:UnitedNations,DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,PopulationDivision(2013).WorldPopulationProspects:The2012Revision,DVDEdition.

    TheincreaseinlifeexpectancysincethemiddleofthetwentiethcenturyisevidentinUNdata(Table4).Lifeexpectancyforbothsexesrosefrom50tomorethan72yearswithinhalfacentury.ItmovedMauritiusfromasituationstilllargelyobservedinAfricatoalevelsimilartothoseindevelopedcountries.

    Table 4: Life expectancy at birth, 1950–2010

    Both sexes Male Female Gender gap1950–1955 50.2 49.0 51.5 2.5

    1955–1960 55.8 54.0 57.6 3.7

    1960–1965 61.2 59.4 63.0 3.6

    1965–1970 63.0 60.8 65.0 4.3

    1970–1975 63.5 60.7 66.3 5.6

    1975–1980 65.7 61.5 70.0 8.5

    1980–1985 68.1 64.5 71.8 7.3

    1985–1990 68.5 64.7 72.5 7.8

    1990–1995 70.3 66.6 74.1 7.4

    1995–2000 70.4 66.8 74.2 7.5

    2000–2005 72.1 68.9 75.5 6.6

    2005–2010 72.8 69.4 76.3 6.9

    Source:UnitedNations,DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,PopulationDivision(2013).WorldPopulationProspects:The2012Revision,DVDEdition.

  • 38 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    a.2.3 population age and sex composition

    Theageand sexdistributionof theMauritianpopulation,presented inTable5andFigure5,clearlyshowsanincreasinglyageingpopulationinMauritiussince1990.Thisreflectsthestrongeffectofthedeclineinfertilityinthe1960sand1970s.Thepopulationpyramidfeaturedatraditionalshapeinthe30-and-oversegmentin1990,inthe40-and-oversegmentin2000,andinthe50-and-oversegment in2011.Belowtheseages,theagegroupsweremoresimilar insizeasa resultof thebalancingeffectof thedecreasing fertility rateand thedecreasingnumberofyoungwomen.In2011,asFigure5shows,thissituationisnolongerobserved,andtheshrinkingofyounggenerations(i.e.0to14yearsofage)isobviousinthecensus.TheageingofthepopulationissummarizedinFigure6,whichshowsasharpdecreaseinthepopulationshareofthe0–14agegroup,asopposedtothestronggainsmadebythoseaged40to64.

    Table 5: Population age group structure based on the 1990, 2000 and 2011 censuses and selected mid-year estimates

    1990 census

    2000 census

    2004 mid-year

    2006 mid-year

    2008 mid-year

    2011 census

    2012 mid-year

    TOTAL 1,056,660 1,178,848 1,233,386 1,252,698 1,268,565 1,236,817 1,291,167

    0–4 96,719 94,303 97,648 94,526 88,963 73,078 76,111

    5–9 103,482 105,189 99,797 98,351 97,839 89,015 91,948

    10–14 113,273 97,740 108,949 106,917 101,621 93,639 97,700

    15–19 97,202 102,088 94,963 101,339 107,965 101,008 104,064

    20–24 102,664 110,892 107,584 97,341 93,335 92,671 104,638

    25–29 105,582 93,797 106,753 113,237 110,489 90,937 93,103

    30–34 93,589 99,515 92,847 94,834 102,743 103,429 112,269

    35–39 81,209 101,946 99,909 95,178 90,411 87,797 96,599

    40–44 60,435 90,406 98,979 103,091 101,672 89,386 92,208

    45–49 44,710 77,931 85,477 89,635 93,938 99,341 99,858

    50–54 38,039 56,939 74,229 76,123 80,590 86,337 88,627

    55–59 32,163 40,491 50,550 60,356 67,856 73,054 75,595

    60–64 30,846 33,097 35,201 38,627 44,761 57,342 59,644

    65–69 24,253 25,768 28,565 29,101 29,283 35,439 36,882

    70–74 14,749 21,694 20,769 22,200 24,133 25,375 24,887

    75andabove

    17,674 26,933 31,166 31,842 32,966 38,350 37,034

    Unknown 72 119 619

    Source:StatisticsMauritius;DigestofDemography.

  • 39Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Figure 5: Age and gender composition of the population

    Source:StatisticsMauritius(1990,2000and2011censuses).

  • 40 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Figure 6: Age groups as proportions of the total population, 1990, 2000 and 2011

    30%

    45%

    20%5%

    25%

    43%

    26%

    6%

    21%

    38%

    33%

    8%Age group

    1990

    2000

    2011

    0–14

    15–39

    40–64

    65andover

    Source:CalculationsbasedonStatisticsMauritiusdata.

    Thedependencyratio–thatis,theratioofthenumberofpersonsinthedependent age groups (0 to 14, and 65 and over) to that in theworking-agepopulation(i.e.15to64)–hasdecreasedduringthetwolastdecades(Table6).Thisisduetoasimultaneousdecreaseinthenumberofchildrenandanincreaseinthepopulationaged15to64and65andover.However,theincreaseinthesizeofthe65-and-oversegmentcannotcompensateforthelargedecreaseobservedamongyounggenerations.Theso-called“seniorsupportindex,”whichmeasuresthedegreeofsupportfortheelderlythatthegenerationoftheirchildrenmaypotentiallygiveisverylowandfurtherdecreasing,albeitslightly.Theagestructureindexfortheworking-agepopulationshowsthattheshareofolderadultshasalmostdoubledsince1990; thisgroupcomprised40percentof theworking-agepopulationin2012.Therapiddeclineinthenumberofpeoplebelongingtoyounggenerationsismostlyresponsibleforthelargedropinthedemographiclabourpressureindex(theratiobetweenthenumberofpeoplebelowworkingage(thoseaged5to14),whowilleventuallyenterthelabourmarket,andthosewhoabouttoleavethelabourmarket(i.e.thoseaged55to64).

    Inconclusion,therecentdemographicchangesinMauritiusandtheoverallageingofthepopulationarestillfavourableintermsofsupporttodependentpersonsand,morespecifically,theretiredpopulation.Neverthelesstherelativeageingoftheworking-agepopulationmayreducethedynamismofthelabourforceintheforthcomingyears.

  • 41Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table 6: Population age structure indicators

    1990 census

    2000 census

    2011 census

    2012 mid-year

    Populationbelowworkingage(0to14years) 315,610 297,232 255,732e 265,759

    Working-agepopulation(15to64years)a 686,485 807,102 881,302 926,605

    Populationaged65yearsandover 56,680 74,395 99,164 98,803

    Demographicdependencyratio:

    (0–14)+(65+)/(15–64)54.2 46.0 40.3 39.3

    Childdependencyratio:(0–14)/(15–64) 46.0 36.8 29.0 28.7

    Elderlydependencyratio:(65+)/(15–64) 8,3 9.2 11.3 10.7

    Seniors’supportindex:(65+)/(40–64) 27.5 24.9 24.5 23.8

    Populationinworkingages15to39years 480,279 508,238 475,842 510,673

    Populationinworkingages40to64years 206,206 298,864 405,460 415,932

    Agestructureindexfortheworking-agepopulationb 0.43 0.59 0.85 0.81

    Populationaged5to14years 217,132 202 929 182,654 189,648

    Populationaged55to64years 63,013 73,588 130,396 135,239

    Demographiclabourpressureindexc 3.45 2.76 1.40 1.40

    Working-agefemales,15to39years 235,914 253,125 236,244 254,765

    Working-agefemales,40to64years 105,258 151,614 204,658 211,798

    Femininityratio,15–39agegroupd 97 99 99 100

    Femininityratio,40–64agegroupd 104 103 102 104

    Source:StatisticsMauritius(1990,2000and2011censusesand2012mid-yearestimates)andauthor’scalculations.

    NOTES:

    aTheworking-agepopulationincludesallpersonsaged15to64years,accordingtotheUNdefinition.

    bRatioofthenumberofpersonsaged40to64yearstothenumberofpersonsaged15to39years.

    cRatioofthenumberofpersonsaged5to14yearstothenumberofpersonsaged55to64years.

    dRatioofthenumberoffemalesaged15to39years,orthoseaged40to64years,tothenumberofmalesinthesameagegroup.

    The15,587childrenaged0to14yearsaddedtothepopulationastheresultoftheadjustmentdoneinthepost-censusevaluationreportarenotincluded.

    a.2.4 Labour force

    Labour forcedatahavebeencollectedsince2004 through theCMPHS,whichisconductedonaquarterlybasis.TheestimatesbasedonthesedatareferonlytotheMauritianpopulationaged16yearsandaboveandexcludeforeignworkers.Asthesampleofthesurveyincludesalladultswithoutanyupperagelimit,wehavetoconsiderthatapartoftheincreaseintheinactiveproportionofthepopulationislinkedwiththeglobalageingpopulation.

    AccordingtodataonactivitystatuspublishedbyStatisticsMauritius,thelabourmarkethasbeenverystableinrecentyears,withonlyasmallincrease

  • 42 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    in theeconomically activepopulation since2000 (seeTable7).However, thelabourforceparticipation(i.e.theshareoftheeconomicallyactivepopulationofthetotalpopulationaged16andabove)isverylow–justabovehalf.Thisisactuallyduemainlytotheyoungestagegroup(thoselessthan20)andelderly(65andabove)havingverylowparticipationrates(accordingto2012data;seeTable9). Inotheragegroups, the labour forceparticipationrate ishigh (80%forthoseaged25to29forbothsexestogether;95%forthoseaged30to49formen).Asfarassexisconcerned,women’slabourparticipationrateisonlyabouttwothirdsthatofmen’s,andthissituationisroughlythesameinallages.Nevertheless, the changes in women’s labour force participation rates from2000to2011reflectan increase intheir levelofactivity.This isconfirmedbymorerecent(specifically,2012)CMPHSdata.

    Table 7: Population aged 16 and over, by sex and activity status

    Total population aged 16 years and above

    2000 census 2011 census 2012 CMPHS

    Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

    424,154 438,828 862,982 472,261 489,578 961,839 486,600 506,900 993,500

    Economicallyactivepopulation

    338,029 171,917 509,946 356,213 208,147 564,360 368,400 224,700 593,100

    Labourforceparticipationrate(%)

    80.0 39.3 59.1 76.0 42.7 58.7 75.7 44.3 59.7

    amongtheemployed

    309,441 155,059 464,500 337,070 185,128 522,198 348,700 196 100 544,800

    amongunemployedjob-seekers

    28,588 16,858 45,446 19,143 23,019 42,162 197,00 28,600 48,300

    Unemploymentrate(%)

    8.5 9.8 8.9 5.4 11.1 7.5 5.3 12.7 8.1

    Inactive 84,698 265,793 350,491 112,586 279,363 391,949 118,200 282,200 400,400

    Notreported 1,427 1,118 2,545 3,462 2,068 5,530 0 0 0

    Source:StatisticsMauritius(2000and2011censusesand2012CMPHSdata).

  • 43Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table 8: Labour force participation rates, by age group and sex, 2012 CMPHS

    AgeLabour force participation rate (%)

    Male Female Total

    16–19 23.0 15.6 19.3

    20–24 72.9 55.2 64.3

    25–29 92.2 67.2 80.0

    30–34 95.8 61.1 78.5

    35–39 95.6 61.8 78.4

    40–44 94.6 63.9 79.0

    45–49 95.0 55.5 75.1

    50–54 92.4 42.8 67.2

    55–59 83.9 37.6 60.2

    60–64 47.6 16.1 31.0

    65andover 16.1 4.5 9.3

    TOTAL 75.7 44.3 59.7Source:StatisticsMauritius.

    TheunemploymentrateisrelativelylowamongmencomparedtowomeninMauritius– justabove5percentofeconomicallyactivemen,accordingtoStatisticsMauritius(Table9).Theemploymentsituationofyounggenerations,particularlyamongwomenismoreproblematic.AsTable9shows,morethanonethirdofpeopleinthelabourmarketagedbelowareunemployed;amongyoungwomen,unemploymentreaches45percent.Asthelabourforceparticipationintheseagesislow,thehighlevelofunemploymentmaybearesultoftoo-lowqualifications, asmostof inactive individuals are students trying toacquireahighereducation.Nevertheless,inthe20–29agebracket,inwhichnearlytwothirdsofwomenareactive,theunemploymentisremarkablyhighaswell,witheveryfifthactivewomanbeinganunemployedjob-seeker.

  • 44 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table 9: Unemployment rate, by age and sex

    Unemployment rate (%) by age group:

    2000 census 2011 census 2012 CMPHS

    Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

    8.5 9.8 8.9 5.4 11.1 7.5 5.3 12.7 8.1

    Below20 41.2 38.8 40.4 38.1 49.1 42.2 29.4 45.2 35.7

    20–29 14.9 14.9 14.9 11.1 16.5 13.4 12.6 21.8 16.4

    30–39 4.1 6.6 4.9 3.0 9.6 5.5 3.0 11.2 6.3

    40–49 2.7 3.9 3.1 2.1 7.0 3.9 2.3 8.0 4.5

    50andabove 2.0 2.6 2.1 1.6 3.6 2.2 1.9 4.2 2.6

    Source:StatisticsMauritius(2000and2011censusesand2012CMPHS).

    Accordingtocensusdata,unemploymentamongpeoplewithatertiaryeducation(obtainedeither locallyand/orabroad)has increased,from1.7percentuptonearly5percentin2011(Table10).ThereasonwhytheCMPHSshowsfourtimeshigherlevelsofunemploymentamongthetertiary-educatedisnotyetclearandmaybeduetodifferentclassificationsofeducationalattainmentusedbycensusesandsurveys.Infact,inmakingunemploymentestimates,theCMPHSdefinesthetertiary-educatedpopulationascomprisingholdersofcertificates,diplomas,degreesandhigherqualifications,whilecensusesincludeonlyholdersofdegreesandhigherqualifications.WithhigheraspirationsfromtheMauritianpopulation, therehasbeena growingdemand forhigher educationover theyears,anditshouldbenotedthataboutonethirdofMauritianstudentsenrolledinhighereducationstillstudyoverseas.OutofthefivepublictertiaryeducationalinstitutionsinMauritius,fourimposefullfeesandothercharges.TheUniversityofMauritiusistheonlypublicinstitutionwhichdoesnotimposetuitionfees–basedona1976governmentdecisiontograntfreeeducationattheprimary,secondaryandtertiarylevels.TheUniversityofMauritius,whichcurrentlyhasthe largest student population among tertiary educational institutions in thecountry,however,enforcesadministrativeandothercharges.Privateuniversitiesandtertiaryeducationalinstitutionsestablishedlocallyhaverelativelyhighfees,rangingfromMUR45,000toMUR240,000annually.Areliableestimateoftheunemployment ratewouldbe required toassess this current trend, as it is akeyindicatorgenerallylinkedtotheemigrationofhighskilledpersons–atopicconsideredinthenextsection.

  • 45Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Table 10: Unemployment rate, by education and sex

    2000 census 2011 census 2012 CMPHS**

    Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

    Primary 12,409 5,219 17,628 4,937 5,744 10,681 4.900 6,800 11,700

    Secondary 15,191 10,820 26,011 13,342 16,142 29,484 11,000 16,000 27,000

    Tertiary* 402 347 749 813 1,105 1,918 3,800 5,800 9,600

    Total 28,002 16,386 44 388 19,092 22,991 42,083 19,700 28,600 48,300

    Shareamongunemployed(%)

    Primary 44.3 31.9 39.7 25.9 25.0 25.4 24.9 23.8 24.2

    Secondary 54.2 66.0 58.6 69.9 70.2 70.1 55.8 55.9 55.9

    Tertiary* 1.4 2.1 1.7 4.3 4.8 4.6 19.3 20.3 19.9

    Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

    Source:StatisticsMauritius(2000and2011censusesand2012CMPHS).

    NOTES:

    * Includespeoplepursuinghigher-levelpostgraduatedegreesandprofessionaldevelopmentcourses.

    ** Estimatesofunemploymentbasedonthe2012CMPHSdefinition,wherebytertiary-educatedpopulationcompriseholdersofcertificates,diplomas,degreesandhigherqualifications;unemploymentfiguresinthecensusesincludeonlyholdersofdegreesataminimum.

    a.2.5 internal migration

    The analysis of internal migration is based on data collected throughthe 2011 census question on place of current usual residence and place ofusualresidencefiveyearsprior(Figure1,questionP11B).Ittakesintoaccountmovementsbetweenmunicipalwardsandvillagecouncilareas(VCAs)butdoesnotconsidermovementswithin theseareas.Also,0.6percentof thecensuspopulationdidnotstatetheirusualaddressin2006.Thesepeoplehavebeenexcludedfromthisanalysis;therefore,themigrationnumbersmayundercount,eveniftoalittleextent,theactualnumberofmigrantsbetween2006and2011.

    Between2006and2011,94,218(8.1%ofthetotalpopulationagedfiveyears and over) people changed their place of residence to a different areawithinthecountry.Amongallpersonswhomigratedwithintherepublic:

    (a) 89,808(95.3%)changedresidencewithintheislandofMauritius.

    (b) 2,232(2.2%)changedtheirresidencewithintheislandofRodrigues.

    (c) 2,178(2.3%)changedtheirplaceofresidence,movingbetweentheislands of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Of these inter-island migrants,1,116(51.2%)leftRodriguestosettleinMauritius,while1,062(48.8%)movedfromMauritiustoRodrigues.

    (d) Youngadultsagedbetween16and29yearswerethemostmobileagegroup.

  • 46 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Themovementofpeoplehasanumberofpotentialimpactsonexpandingeconomicopportunityandontheactivitiesofdailylife–forexample,commutingtoandfromtheplaceofwork,shopping,visiting,amongothers.Thesetypesofactivitiesareofinteresttocertainusers.

    inter-district mobility

    Table 11 shows how inter-district migrants impacted the size of thepopulation of each district and their share of the 2011 population. It alsoshows the population share of inter-district emigrants in 2006. Black Riverand Moka Districts attracted the highest number of immigrants (7.8% and4.8%,respectively),whilePortLouisDistrict registeredthehighestnumberofemigrants(5.5%).PortLouisremainsthemainloserandBlackRiverDistrictthelargestbeneficiaryintermsofnetinter-districtmovementofpeople.

    Theanalysisshowedthatnetinternalmigrationrateswerepositiveinonlyfourdistricts:Pamplemousses,Flacq,MokaandBlackRiver.Ofalldistricts,thelargestnetgainwasexperiencedbyBlackRiver(+2,559peopleor+3.9%).Themaindriversof thisnetpopulation increasewereRichelieuandAlbionVCAs,wheretherehavebeennewhousingprojectsduringthe2000–2011intercensalperiod.

    Asmentioned,thelargestnetlosswasexperiencedbyPortLouis(-2,960peopleor-2.6%).Itisworthnotingthatasimilarscenariowasobservedduringthe1995–2000period.Rodrigues,ontheotherhand,registeredthesmallestnetloss,thatis,54people.

  • 47Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Tabl

    e 11

    : Dis

    tric

    t-to-

    dist

    rict m

    igra

    tion

    flow

    s of t

    he p

    opul

    ation

    age

    d 5

    year

    s and

    ove

    r, 20

    06 a

    nd 2

    011

    Imm

    igra

    nts

    Emig

    rant

    sN

    et in

    ter-

    dist

    rict

    mig

    rant

    s

    Popu

    latio

    n 20

    11 (e

    xclu

    ding

    th

    ose

    who

    wer

    e ab

    road

    an

    d un

    know

    n)

    Popu

    latio

    n 20

    11

    by d

    istr

    ict o

    f re

    side

    nce

    in 2

    006

    %

    Imm

    igra

    nts

    %

    Emig

    rant

    sN

    et in

    tern

    al

    mig

    ratio

    n ra

    te

    AB

    C =

    A –

    BD

    EA/

    DB/

    E2C

    /(D+

    E)

    Repu

    blicof

    Mau

    ritiu

    s36

    ,455

    36,455

    01,13

    1,28

    71,13

    1,28

    73.2%

    3.2%

    -

    Port

    Lou

    is3,23

    06,19

    0-2,960

    109,07

    511

    2,03

    53.0%

    5.5%

    -2.68%

    Pamplem

    ousses

    5,41

    14,28

    11,13

    012

    3,58

    912

    2,45

    94.4%

    3.5%

    0.92

    %

    R.duRe

    mpa

    rt2,68

    82,75

    2-64

    97,679

    97,743

    2.8%

    2.8%

    -0.07%

    Flacq

    2,98

    92,79

    419

    512

    5,19

    212

    4,99

    72.4%

    2.2%

    0.16

    %

    Grand

    -Port

    2,63

    02,74

    7-117

    103,28

    010

    3,39

    72.5%

    2.7%

    -0.11%

    Savann

    e1,67

    12,04

    3-372

    62,442

    62,814

    2.7%

    3.3%

    -0.59%

    Plaine

    sWilh

    ems

    7,92

    08,72

    3-803

    331,36

    933

    2,17

    22.4%

    2.6%

    -0.24%

    Moka

    3,63

    83,15

    248

    675

    ,187

    74,701

    4.8%

    4.2%

    0.65

    %

    BlackRiver

    5,21

    62,65

    72,55

    967

    ,093

    64,534

    7.8%

    4.1%

    3.89

    %

    Island

    of

    Rodrigue

    s1,06

    21,11

    6-54

    36,381

    36 4

    352.9%

    3.1%

    -0.15%

    Sour

    ce:Statistic

    sMau

    ritiu

    s.

  • 48 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Commuters from place of residence to place to work

    Oneofthemaingoalsofthenationalphysicalstrategyistheimprovementof inter-urban and intra-urban traffic flows through the formulation of long-termroadschemesandshort-termtrafficmanagementprojects.Roadsleadingto thecityhavereachedtheir traffic-bearingcapacity.Variousmeasureshavebeen implemented by theMauritian Government tomake traffic flowmorefluid incertainregions. Inordertostudythemovementofpeople fromtheirplaceofusual residenceto theirworkplace,aquestiononplaceofworkwasaskedduringthe2011populationcensus.Thecensusshowedthatmorethan201,000employedpersonscommutetoanotherdistrictdaily.PortLouisDistricthadthehighestinfluxofworkers,withatotalof66,798persons(42,857malesand23,941females)enteringthedistrictforworkeveryday.Morethan38percent(27,534)camefromPlainesWilhems,followedbyPamplemousses(21.8%or12,045).

    a.3 population with foreign background and international migrations

    Thereareseveralwaystoidentifythepopulationwithforeignbackgroundlivinginagivencountry.Either:(a)countryofbirthisidentifiedand,withthisinformation, the foreign-born population is considered, or (b) citizenship ornationality is considered and, in the case ofMauritius, a distinction ismadebetween Mauritians and non-Mauritians. In the former group, a furtherthe distinction may be made between Mauritians by birth and naturalizedMauritiansatalaterstage.BasedonUNcensusrecommendations(2008),itisimportanttoincludeintheresidentpopulationbothtemporaryforeignworkersandotherforeignerswhohavelivedinthecountryforatleastoneyearorhavetheintentiontodoso.ThisrulehasbeenappliedbyStatisticsMauritiusinthe2011censusenumeration.Theuseofadministrativedatarecordsonresidencepermitsandbordercrossingsrepresentsanalternativewaytoassessthenumberofforeignersinthecountrybasedonthedurationofthevalidityoftheirpermitsordurationofstayinthecountry.

    a.3.1 foreign resident population over time

    Mauritius did not have an indigenous population, and the populationhas historically been composed of immigrants and their descents. The 1972censuswasthefirstcensusorganizedafterindependenceandtheintroductionofMauritiancitizenship.In19725,524non-Mauritianswereenumerated.The1983 and 1990 censuses included a question on nationality and identified,

  • 49Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    respectively,5,039and7,181non-Mauritians.Thereafter,thisnumberincreasedsteadily,reaching15,556in2000and26,028in2011(Figure7).

    It is importanttonote,however,thatthetwolastcensusesdidnotuseasimilardefinitionfor“resident.”In2011StatisticsMauritiususedarestricteddefinitiontoidentifyaresidentpopulationinordertocomplywithUNguidelines.The new definition (UN, 2008) considers only those personswho have beenlivinginthecountryduringlast12monthsorthosewhoenteredrecentlybutintend to stay in the country as usual residents for at least 12months. Thenationaldefinitionusedinthe2000censusdidnotapplythistimerestriction.StatisticsMauritiusestimated the loss causedby thenewdefinition toabout1.3 per cent of thewhole population. The loss for the number of foreignerscouldbeevenbiggerbecauseforeignersaremobileandalargenumberofthemcannotmeetthistimeconstraint.Asshownfurtherinthismigrationprofile,theestimatednumberofforeignersdiffersbetweencensusresultsandaggregatedbordercrossing,residencepermitandworkpermitdata.Infact,thereisahighprobabilitythatthenumberofforeignersdoubledinMauritiusbetweenthelasttwocensuses.

    WhileMauritiansconstitute98percentofthepopulation,thisshare isslowlydecreasingwith therespectivegrowthof foreignpopulation: the2000census estimated that 1.3 per cent of theMauritian population consisted offoreigners (in the 2011 census, this proportionwas already 2.1% (Table 12)).AssessingtheoriginsofMauritiannationalslivinginMauritius,itisfoundthatmostofthemwereborninMauritius(99.5%).Naturalizationisveryrare,andnaturalized Mauritians represent only 0.2 per cent of all Mauritians; theirabsolute number even decreased between the 2000 and 2011 censuses.Moreover,comparingthenumberofnaturalizationsperyear(Table13)tothenumber of enumerated naturalizedMauritians, it appears that a part of thenaturalizeddonotliveinMauritius.

    To encourage business formation via direct investment and to supporthigh-endrealestatedevelopments,Mauritiusissues“occupationpermits,”viawhichprofessionals,investorsandretirednon-citizenswhotransfertoMauritiusandearnatleastUSD40,000annually,aswellastheself-employed,securesarenewablethree-yearrightofresidenceinthecountrysubjecttotheinvestmentofcapitaland/oranongoingtransferofincome.Thenumberofpermitscurrentlyissuedissmall–approximately4,000professionals,justover2,000investors,600retireesand400self-employedindividuals.Unlikevisasandresidencepermits,“occupationpermits”canbeappliedforafterarrivalinMauritius.

  • 50 Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    Figure 7: Growth of the foreign population, 1983 to 2011

    Source:StatisticsMauritius.

    Table 12: Population, by nationality, at different censuses (1972–2011)

    1972 1983 1990 2000 2011

    Both sexes

    Both sexes

    Both sexes

    Both sexes Male Female

    Both sexes Male Female

    Totalpopulation 826,199 966,863 1,055,482 1,178,848 583,756 595,092 1,236,817 610,848 625,969

    AllMauritians

    ofwhich:820,675 961,892 1,048,167 1,163,292 578,042 585,250 1,210,789 596,667 614,122

    bybirth 815,591 956,898 1,043,151 1,155,516 574,406 581,110 1,204,702 594,074 610,628

    bydescent - - 3,061 1,531 1,530 1,594 812 782

    byregistration 2,105 1,858 2,255 2,047 833 1,214 1,577 601 976

    bynaturalization 2,979 3,136 2,615 2,668 1,272 1,396 2,916 1,180 1,736

    Non-Mauritians 5,524 4,971 7,181 15,543 5 705 9,838 26,028 14,181 11,847

    Proportionsofthetotalpopulation(%)

    AllMauritians 99.3% 99.5 99.3 98.7 99.0 98.3 97.9 97.7 98.1

    bybirth 98.7% 99.0 98.8 98.0 98.4 97.7 97.4 97.3 97.5

    bydescent - - - 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.1

    byregistration 0.3% 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

    bynaturalization 0.4% 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3

    Non-Mauritians 0.7% 0.5 0.7 1.3 1.0 1.7 2.1 2.3 1.9

    Source:StatisticsMauritius.

  • 51Migration in Mauritius: A Country Profile 2013

    The number of persons naturalized from 2008 to 2012 (Table 13)providedbythePIOseemstobe inconsistentwiththenumberofnaturalizedMauritians enumerated in the 2011 census, considering that the numberof recent naturalizations is almost equal to the total number of naturalizedcitizensenumeratedduringthe2011census.ThemostprobablereasonforthisinconsistencycouldbethatmanynaturalizedMauritiansdidnotreportbeingsuchduringthecensus.

    Table 13: Naturalizations, by sex, 2008–2012

    Total Male Female

    2008 899 469 430

    2009 668 320 348

    2010 510 246 264

    2011 493 255 259

    2012 543 234 288

    2008–2012 3113 1524 1589Source:PassportandImmigrationOffice.

    Considering the change of the population composition in terms ofnationality status between 1983 and 2011,we observe a limited increase inthenumberofMauritiancitizenswhowerenotMa