GDP of Mauritius

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a basic measure of a country's economic performance. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a nation in a year. GDP can be defined in three ways, all of which are conceptually identical. First, it is equal to the total expenditures for all final goods and services produced within the country in a stipulated period of time (usually a 365-day year). Second, it is equal to the sum of the value added at every stage of production (the intermediate stages) by all the industries within a country, plus taxes less subsidies on products, in the period. Third, it is equal to the sum of the income generated by production in the country in the period—that is, compensation of employees, taxes on production and imports less subsidies, and gross operating surplus (or profits).

The most common approach to measuring and quantifying GDP is the expenditure method:

 

GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports − imports), or,

GDP = C + I + G + (X − M).

 

In Mauritius the share of agriculture in real GDP has declined, from around 12% in 1990 to some 6% at present. The services sector, dominated by tourism and financial services, is the most important in the economy, accounting for around 74% of real GDP. Services exports are more than one third of total foreign exchange earnings, with tourism contributing the largest and increasing share. Manufacturing is the source for some 75% of merchandise exports; it contributes around one fifth of real GDP, with textiles and clothing accounting for more than 40% of manufacturing output.