1. According to the World Bank, the total life expectancy at birth in Mauritius stood at 74.5 years in 2017. Males live up to 71.3 years whereas females have a higher life expectancy, living up to almost 79 years. 
2. As one of the top 10 free economies of the world, Mauritius has the second-highest GDP in the African continent and economists estimate the GDP per capita will reach $11,200 by the end of 2020. With a 3.8 percent growth rate, the island nation shows a great promise in improving the quality of life for its residents. Mauritius spent about 4.8 percent of the total GDP on health care in 2014.
3. Ischemic heart disease and diabetes rank among the top two causes of death in Mauritius, although the number of deaths from diabetes has surged by 37 percent from 2007 to 2017. The Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, Mauritius Institute of Health and World Health Organisation (WHO) have suggested several dietary guidelines to regulate diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
4. Several islands like the island of Rodrigues suffer from extreme poverty and lack of access to basic amenities, which decreases life expectancy, even though Mauritius has one of the fastest-growing African economies. However, the economic inequality growing in the nation has been the primary target for The Marshall Plan Against Poverty which tackles several of these hindrances and plans to better the lives of communities falling under the poverty line. The plan allows the people living in absolute poverty to be on the receiving end of cash transfers and the support of social workers to help them battle the challenges faced because of their economic conditions.
5. As a welfare state, the government of Mauritius provides free health care to its citizens, making it highly accessible. Medical care standards are very high with qualified health professionals attending 98 percent of childbirths, reducing the risk of infant mortality. Additionally, Mauritius had 1.06 physicians per 1,000 people in 2004. 
6. Physical activity and way of life play a major role in life expectancy. With a surge in its non-communicable diseases, researchers found that only 23 percent of the adult Mauritius population engages in WHO’s recommended physical activity level, which is 150 minutes per week. According to Dr. Anwar Husnoo, the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, the number stooped to 19 percent in the case of young adults. He stated this at a December 2018 workshop in Quatre Bornes, to raise awareness of the importance of the physical activity.
7. Many parts of the world still heavily stigmatize mental health and Mauritius is no exception. With only 1.6 psychiatrists available for 100,000 people in a country where 28.4 out of 1,000 citizens suffer from severe mental or substance abuse disorders, the nation still has a long way to increase its life expectancy. An upside to this is that the care and treatment of major health disorders receive complete coverage in the country’s health care schemes, making it easier for its citizens to approach treatments more openly.
8. The infant mortality rate in Mauritius has been on a steady decline since 1969 from 62.8 deaths per 1,000 live births to 13.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2018. This was due to the increase in medical standards and supervised childbirths. Access to vaccines has also played a key role. According to UNICEF, 99 percent of the children received doses of a measles-containing vaccine, as administered in the national schedule.
9. The life expectancy of Mauritius’ male population tends to be less than that of the female population. Research that NCBI carried out analyzed the patterns in the influence of cause-of-death structure on age and found out that the infectious diseases were a major cause of death in younger Mauritian males, while circulatory causes like heart diseases resulted in major deaths among the older male population. Type 2 diabetes is still a major cause of death in Mauritian females, as it affects 21.3 percent of the female population of the country.
10. The percentage of the urban population of a nation often contributes to its life expectancy. A higher urban population often means easier access to basic amenities and health care which reduces the mortality rate due to preventable causes. By 2018, 40.79 percent of the Mauritius population lived in urban areas. The current percentage has certainly contributed to the steady increase of the life expectancy in Mauritius even though it is nearly 4 percent less than the highest percentage of the urban population that Mauritius ever recorded (which was 44.1 percent).

Taking all these factors into consideration, there is no doubt that Mauritius is moving steadily forward in increasing its life expectancy and making better living conditions more accessible and possible for all sections of its population.

– Reshma Beesetty
Photo: Flickr