PART I 1. GENERAL INFORMATION A. DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MAURITIUS 1. The Republic of Mauritius, is located in the south-west of the Indian Ocean, some 890 km to the east of Madagascar. It consists of the islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, Agalega, Tromelin, Cargados Carajos and the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia and any other island comprised in the State of Mauritius. 2. The maritime zones of the Republic of Mauritius stretch over an area of 2.6 million km2, of which 2.3 million km2 represents the Exclusive Economic Zone. The Republic of Mauritius manages jointly with the Republic of Seychelles 396,000 km2 of continental shelf in the Mascarene Plateau Region. The Republic of Mauritius has made a submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) on 26 March 2019, for an Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) of an approximate area of 175,000 km2 in the Southern Chagos Archipelago Region. The submission has been made following the Advisory Opinion delivered by the International Court of Justice on 25 February 2019 whereby the Court made it clear that the Chagos Archipelago is and has always been an integral part of the territory of the Republic of Mauritius and that the United Kingdom’s continued administration of the Chagos Archipelago is an unlawful act of continuing character. 3. The Republic of Mauritius has a population of about 1.3 million with an estimated resident population of 1,222,208 in Mauritius (1,865 sq km), 43,155 in Rodrigues (104 sq km) and 274 in Agalega and other islands, as at December 2018. Mauritius does not have an indigenous population. It comprises of 626,261 males and 639,376 females. 18 % are below 15 years and 17% are above 60 years. 4. Mauritius has attained upper middle –income country (MIC) status. The GDP per capita in 2018 was Rs 381,020. The State is aspiring to becoming an inclusive high-income country. Government is investing heavily on modern and strategic infrastructure to transform the country and improve services to the public. 5. Mauritius is continuing its efforts to be among the top countries ranking at regional or international level. 6. In 2017, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Mauritius as the 16th most democratic nation in the world illustrating the commitment of the Government to strengthen the existing democratic and human rights architecture. 7