The latest report on vital statics was published this week. It shows that the ageing of population phenomenon is continuing. The population of the Republic of Mauritius was estimated at 1,260,379 as at 31 December 2023, with a net decrease of 817 from previous year’s figure. Once again, the female population was higher than the male population, this time by 15,085. Since the late nineties, females outnumber males in the population.
However, one of the important conclusions is that the proportion of the population aged 0-14 years declined from 16.3% as at mid-2022 to 16.0%, one year later. The proportion aged 15-64 years declined from 70.6% in 2022 to 70.4% in 2023 while for those aged 65 years and above, the proportion increased from 13.1% to 13.6% for the same period.
Another important conclusion is that the number of marriages is declining. 8,654 marriages were registered in 2023. This is 9.5% lower than in 2022. However, the number of live births registered during year 2023 was 12,872, representing an increase of 6.4% over the figure for 2022.
On the other side, the number of deaths registered in 2023 was 11,839, that is, 8.5% lower than in 2022. The number of infant deaths decreased by 2.3%, from 172 in 2022 to 168 in 2023 whereas the number of still births declined by 6.3%, from 111 in 2022 to 104 in 2023.
Figures show that the dependency ratio is slowly rising in recent years as a result of increasing old age dependency. The dependency ratio (the child population under 15 years of age and the elderly population aged 65 years and above per 1,000 population aged 15 to 64 years) was 416.1 for 2022 and 420.9 for 2023.
Over time, the population age structure depicted by a population pyramid has shifted from wide base to shrinking base and thickening body, showing an ageing population.
Life expectancy is increasing over time.
