Mauritius 🇲🇺
Mauritius is a country in Africa with a population of 1,299,469. Its capital is Port Louis. The official currency is MUR, and the main languages are English, French.
Quick facts
- Capital: Port Louis
- Continent: Africa
- Population: 1,299,469
- Area: 2,040 km²
- Density: 637 people per km²
- Currency: MUR
- Languages: English, French
- ISO code: MU
Where Mauritius sits
Mauritius 🇲🇺 is one of 54 countries in Africa, with its capital at Port Louis. It covers 2,040 square kilometres — 171st in the world — and is home to about 1,299,469 people, 156th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Mauritius compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Mauritius sits closest to Estonia and Timor-Leste. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Comoros and Luxembourg.
At 637 people per square kilometre it is about 11 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
English is an official language in 58 countries here, among them Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas and Barbados, and 53 others. The MUR is used by Mauritius and no one else.
To see Mauritius next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Mauritius
Port Louis is named in honour of King Louis XV of France, from the time when the French ruled the island. For the four-stripe flag, remember 'Really Blue Yellow Green' from the top: red, blue, yellow, green.
The flag of Mauritius: red, blue, yellow and green
🇲🇺 The flag is four equal horizontal stripes of red, blue, yellow and green. Red stands for independence, blue for the Indian Ocean, yellow for the bright future of independence and green for farming and the island's lush plants. The flag was adopted at independence on 12 March 1968.
Region and neighbours
Mauritius is an island country in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, made up of the main island of Mauritius plus Rodrigues, Agaléga and the St. Brandon shoals. As an island country it has no land neighbours.
Three facts about Mauritius
- The main island was the only known home of the dodo, a flightless bird that died out soon after people settled there.
- Nobody lived on the island when Portuguese sailors visited it in 1507.
- Aapravasi Ghat in Port Louis, where about half a million workers from India arrived between 1849 and 1923, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Sources: Wikipedia: Mauritius, Wikipedia: Flag of Mauritius, Wikipedia: Port Louis, Wikipedia: Dodo, Wikipedia: Aapravasi Ghat, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Mauritius
- African capitals quiz — match Mauritius to Port Louis
- African flags quiz — spot the Mauritius flag among its neighbours
- Island nations quiz — Mauritius is an island country
Quizzes that include Mauritius
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Mauritius those are:
- Africa map quiz — place it on a blank map
- Africa flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- Africa capitals quiz — match it to Port Louis
- Mauritius capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Mauritius
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Mauritius
- Capital of Mauritius: Port Louis — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 54 countries of Africa
Nearby countries
- Algeria 🇩🇿 — capital Algiers
- Angola 🇦🇴 — capital Luanda
- Benin 🇧🇯 — capital Porto-Novo
- Botswana 🇧🇼 — capital Gaborone
- Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 — capital Ouagadougou
- Burundi 🇧🇮 — capital Gitega
- Cabo Verde 🇨🇻 — capital Praia
- Cameroon 🇨🇲 — capital Yaoundé
- Central African Republic 🇨🇫 — capital Bangui
- Chad 🇹🇩 — capital N'Djamena
- Comoros 🇰🇲 — capital Moroni
- Congo 🇨🇬 — capital Brazzaville
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Mauritius flag?
The flag of Mauritius is four equal horizontal stripes of red, blue, yellow and green. Red stands for independence, blue for the Indian Ocean, yellow for the bright future of independence and green for farming and the island's lush plants. The flag was adopted at independence on 12 March 1968.
Which countries border Mauritius?
None. Mauritius is an island country in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, made up of the main island of Mauritius plus Rodrigues, Agaléga and the St. Brandon shoals, so it has no land borders with other countries.
How can I remember the capital of Mauritius?
Port Louis is named in honour of King Louis XV of France, from the time when the French ruled the island. For the four-stripe flag, remember 'Really Blue Yellow Green' from the top: red, blue, yellow, green.