Mauritius Population: 1.24 Million at End-2025 and What It Means for Housing

Mauritius had 1,241,856 residents on 31 December 2025 (Mauritius island, Rodrigues, Agalega and St Brandon), 7,614 fewer than at the end of 2022. The country has stopped growing. It is getting older, and its population is moving west. For housing, that changes the question: the issue is no longer how many extra people need homes, but where they live and in what kind of home.

The figures below come from Statistics Mauritius, in its October 2026 demographic digest and the 2022 census, not from third-party estimates.

How many people live in Mauritius?

At the end of 2025, Mauritius island (the main island and its surrounding islets) had 1,196,729 residents, Rodrigues 44,797, and Agalega and St Brandon 330. Density stands at 641 people per km² on Mauritius island and 407 in Rodrigues.

Two other figures are in circulation, and they do not contradict each other. The census counted 1,233,097 people on the night of 3 July 2022. From that count, Statistics Mauritius estimates a resident population of 1,243,411 on 1 July 2025 (excluding Agalega and St Brandon). It starts from the census, adds 18,038 young children who were missed, then adds births and deaths and subtracts net resident departures. The reference date (1 July or 31 December) and the territory covered explain the gap.

A population that has stopped growing

The census had already shown growth coming to a halt: 1,236,817 people in 2011 and 1,233,097 in 2022, a fall of 0.03% a year. Between 1990 and 2000, the population grew by 1.1% a year.

Why it is falling: more people leaving than being born

In 2025 there were 13,250 births and 12,685 deaths, a natural increase of 565. Net migration is estimated at −3,186, which leaves the population 2,621 lower over the year. Natural change was negative in 2022 (−842) and has been slightly positive since (+1,033 in 2023, +346 in 2024).

Statistics Mauritius publishes the same net migration figure, −3,186, for 2023, 2024 and 2025. Read it as an order of magnitude, not as a year-by-year count.

An older country

On 1 July 2025, 183,635 people were aged 65 or over, or 14.8% of the population, against 163,790 and 13.1% in 2022. Children under 15 number 197,130 (15.9%), against 16.5% in 2022. The median age rose from 37.9 to 38.8 years in three years.

Rodrigues is the exception. Its median age is 30.3, against 39.1 on Mauritius island, and its population grew by 2.4% between the end of 2022 and the end of 2025.

Where people are moving: the west gains, the central plateau loses

Black River is the only district on the main island that is clearly gaining residents. It takes in Tamarin, Flic en Flac, Albion, Bambous, Cascavelle and Le Morne. The census confirms the longer trend: between 2011 and 2022 the district grew from 76,604 to 87,701 residents (1.24% a year), while Plaines Wilhems lost 21,512 and Port Louis 12,099.

Among the towns of the plateau, Beau Bassin–Rose Hill lost 10,949 residents between 2011 and 2022 and Curepipe 7,463, while Vacoas-Phoenix gained 1,874. The share of the population living in the five towns fell from 40.4% to 39%. Do not compare these census figures with the estimates in the table above: they are built on a different basis.

The housing stock in 2022

The 2022 census counted 410,221 housing units. Just under 85% are main residences.

That makes 56,892 vacant units, or 13.9% of the stock. Two thirds fall under “other”, which the table does not break down. Only 12,482 are listed for rent and 2,188 for sale. The census treats a home kept for seasonal use by its owner, friends or family as a second home, even if it was empty when the enumerator called.

The country has 367,870 households and 348,252 occupied housing units. One household lives in 330,858 of those units, two in 15,603 and three or more in 1,791. That means 37,012 households, or 10.1%, share their housing unit with another household.

Home ownership is overwhelmingly the norm: 332,812 households (90.5%) own their home, against 24,033 tenants or sub-tenants (6.5%) and 10,341 living rent-free. In 2022, the median monthly rent paid by renting households was Rs 5,850 (Rs 5,625 in towns, Rs 6,325 in rural areas). That is what tenants were paying then, not the rents advertised today.

What this means for buying, renting or investing

These figures do not say that demand for property is falling. They say that local demand no longer rests on a growing number of residents. Here is what we take from them.

• Location matters more than volume. The population gain is concentrated in the west: see Tamarin real estate, Flic en Flac and Black River, and our guides to living in Albion and living in Cascavelle and Médine.
• The central plateau is emptying slowly, but it has not lost its appeal: Quatre Bornes and Rose Hill and Curepipe and Floréal remain markets in their own right. A head count says nothing about price: for that, see the official price index and our property prices page.
• Ageing is under way: 14.8% of residents are 65 or over. For a home you plan to keep, step-free access and nearby services weigh more. Our guide to retiring in Mauritius covers the practical side.
• The rental market is narrow: only 6.5% of households rent. For landlords and tenants alike, the choice comes down to a small number of properties; see long-term rentals.
• The resident population does not measure demand from non-resident buyers. For them, see the profile of foreign buyers and new developments.

Sources and verifications

• Statistics Mauritius, Digest of Demographic Statistics 2025 (October 2026): population, districts, ages, births, deaths and migration.
• Statistics Mauritius, 2022 Census, Volume I: Housing and Living Conditions: housing units, households, tenure, median rent.
• Statistics Mauritius, 2022 Census page: dates of the operations.
• Statistics Mauritius, Population and Vital Statistics: demographic publications.