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Mauritius

MU

East Africa

Mauritius is home to 4 documented ethnic groups in East Africa — led by Indo Mauritian (~68%), Creole Mauritian (~27%), Sino Mauritian (~3%), Franco Mauritian (~2%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
Indo MauritianIndo Mauritian68.0%Statistics Mauritius 2022 demographic estimates; Indo-Mauritian (~68%, ~860,000+ of ~1.27M total). Descendants of Indian indentured laborers brought to Mauritius 1834-1910 to work the sugar plantations following the abolition of slavery. Predominantly Hindu (~52% of total population) plus Indian-Mauritian Muslim (~17%)
Creole MauritianCreole Mauritian27.0%Statistics Mauritius 2022 estimates; Creole-Mauritian (~27%); descendants of African and Malagasy enslaved populations brought to Mauritius during French and British colonial rule, plus subsequent Afro-European admixture. Predominantly Catholic
Sino MauritianSino Mauritian3.0%Statistics Mauritius 2022 estimates; Sino-Mauritian (~3%); predominantly Hakka Chinese descended populations
Franco MauritianFranco Mauritian2.0%Statistics Mauritius 2022 estimates; Franco-Mauritian (~2%); the historic French colonial settler descendant community

Mauritius Phenotype Profile

Mauritius has a remarkably distinctive demographic structure for an African country — Indo-Mauritian (~68%) majority plus Creole (~27%), Sino-Mauritian (~3%), and Franco-Mauritian (~2%) communities. The country's demographic profile reflects the post-abolition Indian-indentured-labor migration plus French and British colonial period populations.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Mauritius population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from Statistics Mauritius 2022 estimates. Caveat: Mauritius has not collected ethnic-disaggregated census data since 1972 given political sensitivities; estimates are based on broader demographic studies.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Statistics Mauritius. Population and Vital Statistics 2022. Port Louis: SM; 2023.
  2. 2.Allen RB. Slaves, Freedmen, and Indentured Laborers in Colonial Mauritius. Cambridge University Press; 1999.
  3. 3.Eriksen TH. Common Denominators: Ethnicity, Nation-Building and Compromise in Mauritius. Berg; 1998.
  4. 4.Carter M. Servants, Sirdars and Settlers: Indians in Mauritius, 1834-1874. Oxford University Press; 1995.
  5. 5.Vaughan M. Creating the Creole Island: Slavery in Eighteenth-Century Mauritius. Duke University Press; 2005.

Other countries in East Africa

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring East Africa nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all East Africaethnic groups & countries →