Part 483

Unemployment rate: 2.4% (1991 est.)

Budget: revenues: $653 million expenditures: $567 million, including capital expenditures of $143 million (FY92/93 est.)

Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, wearing apparel, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 5.8% (1992)

Electricity: capacity: 340,000 kW production: 920 million kWh consumption per capita: 777 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the international drug trade; heroin consumption and transshipment are growing problems

Exports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: textiles 44%, sugar 40%, light manufactures 10% partners: EU and US have preferential treatment, EU 77%, US 15%

Imports: $1.9 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: manufactured goods 50%, capital equipment 17%, foodstuffs 13%, petroleum products 8%, chemicals 7% partners: EU, US, South Africa, Japan

External debt: $996.8 million (1993 est.)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 Mauritian rupee (MauR) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Mauritian rupees (MauRs) per US$1 - 17.842 (January 1996), 17.386 (1995), 17.960 (1994), 17.648 (1993), 15.563 (1992), 15.652 (1991)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Transportation --------------

Railways: 0 km

Highways: total: 1,831 km paved: 1,703 km (including 29 km of expressways) unpaved: 128 km (1991 est.)

Ports: Port Louis

Merchant marine: total: 17 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 221,446 GRT/308,478 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 9, container 4, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 1, passenger-cargo 1 (1995 est.)

Airports: total: 4 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 1 with paved runways under 914 m: 2 (1995 est.)

Communications --------------

Telephones: 65,000 (1985 est.)

Telephone system: small system with good service domestic: primarily microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 395,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 4 (1987 est.)

Televisions: 151,096 (1991 est.)

Defense -------