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Statistics Mauritius (under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance & Economic Development)
Statistics Mauritius>Publications>Gender Statistics Year 2015

Gender Statistics Year 2015



(i)     In 2015, the population comprised 637,836 women compared to 624,769 men. Women outnumbered men by 13,067 as they live on average seven years longer than men.
(ii)    Women continue to give birth to fewer children than in the past.
(iii)   Both men and women are getting married at an older age and the age difference between them is narrowing over time.
(iv)   Men are more likely to suffer from overweight, cholesterol and hypertension while women are more prone to obesity and depression.
(v)    Diabetes, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and cancer together accounted for 64.3% of causes of deaths among women against 56.6% of men’s deaths.
(vi)   More women than men are enrolled in tertiary institutions but there are fewer women in research (PhD, MPhil and DBA).
(vii)   Working women are more likely than men to be employees and contributing family workers but less likely to be heading a business.
(viii)  In spite of being fewer in the labour force, women are more numerous among the unemployed.
(ix)   Unemployed women were generally more qualified than their male counterparts. 
(x)   Average income tends to be lower for women than for men across all occupations. 
(xi)  Women are largely under-represented in decision making at higher sphere of society. The number of female parliamentarians is 8 out of a total of 70.
(xii)  More women are occupying high positions in government services. The proportion of women in the most senior positions has increased from 23% in 2000 to 40% in 2015.
(xiii) Domestic violence against women is declining, though women are more likely to be victims.
(xiv) Men are more likely to be victims of homicides and assaults while women are more prone to sexual offences.
(xv) Men are more likely than women to do physical exercise.
(xvi) In 2015, Mauritius held the 120th position out of 145 countries compared to the 106th position the previous year according to the Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) of the World Economic Forum. The GGI seeks to measure gender equality across four key areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment.





Statistics Mauritius

Ministry of Finance and Economic Development