A view of Mauritius — Photo: Damiano Luchetti · CC0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale

Topic 14 of 18 · Country Index 2026

Mauritius: Poverty & Inequality

How is a country’s income shared, and how many live below a line?

Mauritius is placed 61st of 159 countries on poverty & inequality in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics. Readings behind it: Gini Index 36.76 (2023); Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day 0.09 (2023).

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Poverty & Inequality

61st

of 159 countries placed

Country Index 2026, all topics45th of 183 →

36.76Gini Index, 2023Gini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality)
0.09Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, 2023Poverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%)
17.8Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet, 2025Share of the population unable to afford a healthy diet (%)

01The evidence

The 3 key statistics that decide it

Only these place Mauritius on poverty & inequality — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.

Why these keys

Key 1 of 3
Gini Index
World Bank Group
Why it is a key
Latest reading per country, 2013–2023 · Mauritius’s is from 2017 · CC BY 4.0
36.76
Gini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality)
Lower is better
Mauritius: 36.76. Across the 159 countries at their latest reading, values run from 23 (India) to 59.07 (Namibia); the world median is 33.72.
World median
33.72
Best in Eastern Africa
31.14 Ethiopia
Key 2 of 3
Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day
World Bank Group
Why it is a key
Latest reading per country, 2013–2023 · Mauritius’s is from 2017 · CC BY 4.0
0.09
Poverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%)
Lower is better
Mauritius: 0.09. Across the 159 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0 (Czechia) to 48.69 (DR Congo); the world median is 0.345.
World median
0.345
Best in Eastern Africa
0.09 Mauritius
Key 3 of 3
Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY 4.0
17.8
Share of the population unable to afford a healthy diet (%)
Lower is better
Mauritius: 17.8. Across the 145 countries in this edition, values run from 0.6 (Belarus) to 93.9 (South Sudan); the world median is 26.4.
World median
26.4
Best in Eastern Africa
17.8 Mauritius

02Over time

Which way Mauritius is moving

Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.

Gini Index

Gini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality) · lower is better

MauritiusWorld median

Mauritius rose from 35.65 in 2006 to 36.76 in 2017; the world median went from 35.63 to 34.86.

Every year’s figures

Year	Mauritius	World median
2023	—	33.72
2022	—	33.91
2021	—	34.04
2020	—	34.18
2019	—	33.51
2018	—	35.25
2017	37	34.86
2016	—	34.47
2015	—	35.52
2014	—	34.79
2013	—	36.16
2012	38	35.40
2011	—	33.96
2010	—	33.71
2009	—	34.91
2008	—	34.60
2007	—	34.26
2006	36	35.63
2005	—	36.28
2004	—	34.29
2003	—	35.46
2002	—	37.14

Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day

Poverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%) · lower is better

MauritiusWorld median

Mauritius fell from 0.2 in 2006 to 0.09 in 2017; the world median went from 0.465 to 0.3.

Every year’s figures

Year	Mauritius	World median
2023	—	0.345
2022	—	0.420
2021	—	0.335
2020	—	0.280
2019	—	0.380
2018	—	0.460
2017	0.09	0.300
2016	—	0.440
2015	—	0.500
2014	—	0.635
2013	—	0.515
2012	0.23	0.640
2011	—	0.430
2010	—	0.530
2009	—	0.600
2008	—	0.350
2007	—	0.360
2006	0.20	0.465
2005	—	1.250
2004	—	0.790
2003	—	1.650
2002	—	3.010

Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet
Share of the population unable to afford a healthy diet (%) · lower is better
MauritiusWorld median
Mauritius fell from 18.1 in 2017 to 17.8 in 2025; the world median went from 32.4 to 26.4.
Every year’s figures
Year Mauritius World median
2025 17.8 26.40
2024 19.1 27.10
2023 19.2 27.15
2022 20.7 27.90
2021 21.3 29.65
2020 22.1 31.80
2019 16.0 29.05
2018 16.9 29.85
2017 18.1 32.40

Year	Mauritius	World median
2025	17.8	26.40
2024	19.1	27.10
2023	19.2	27.15
2022	20.7	27.90
2021	21.3	29.65
2020	22.1	31.80
2019	16.0	29.05
2018	16.9	29.85
2017	18.1	32.40

03In context

Mauritius beside its neighbours

A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 159 countries on poverty & inequality, never a place within the region.

Eastern Africa

1st159thNot placed · 65 countries with too few key statisticsNo data

The whole world on poverty & inequality

Mauritius and Eastern Africa

Mauritius has no land border, so the table compares it with its sub-region. Standing among all 159; the key columns are the publishers’ own values.

Country	Standing	Gini IndexGini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality)	Poverty Gap at $3.00 a DayPoverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%)	Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy DietShare of the population unable to afford a healthy diet (%)
Mauritius	61st	36.76	0.09	17.8
Seychelles	64th	32.13	0.23	43.3
Comoros	98th	34.18	1.69	48.6
Ethiopia	107th	31.14	10.75	67.9
Djibouti	135th	41.59	9.08	49.8
Rwanda	140th	39.36	10.2	69.7
Kenya	141st	38.53	13.58	76.3
Madagascar	142nd	36.82	27.58	85.3
Uganda	144th	38.15	19.95	73.6
Burundi	146th	37.46	32.44	90.9
Tanzania	148th	40.49	16.74	73
Malawi	150th	38.54	33.78	92.7
Zimbabwe	155th	50.26	19.02	—
South Sudan	156th	44.05	40.83	93.9
Zambia	158th	51.48	39.76	86.2
Mozambique	159th	49.56	44.72	91.3
Eritrea	not placed	—	—	—
Somalia	not placed	—	—	—
Somaliland	not placed	—	—	—

“—”: no published reading in that edition. What a standing is

Across Eastern Africa

Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 159.

Placed either side on poverty & inequality

The countries immediately above and below Mauritius in the topic’s list.

04Context, no vote

Where Mauritius is ahead of the world, and behind

16 more statistics filed under poverty & inequality, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.

Every country

Ahead of the world median10

Statistics on which Mauritius does better than the middle country measured.

Intergenerational Persistence in EducationWorld Bank Group · 2017 · world median 0.4460.1780.446No earlier reading
Mauritius: 0.178 · world median 0.446 · Correlation between own and parents' years of schooling, born 1980–89 (0–1). World Bank Group, 2017 edition, data for 2017.
Published values in that edition run from 0.123 to 0.66; lower is better.
Position 150th of 153 · derived, 1st = worst.
Chart and every country The 2017 dataset
Adequacy of Social Protection and Labour BenefitsWorld Bank Group · 2023 · world median 18.6543.4518.65No earlier reading
Mauritius: 43.45 · world median 18.65 · Benefits received as a share of beneficiaries' total income or consumption (%). World Bank Group, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.455 to 90.86; higher is better.
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Working Poverty RateILO · 2025 · world median 4.8850.14.885▼ Worsened since 2015
Mauritius: 0.1 · world median 4.885 · Employed people living in extreme poverty (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0.007 to 86.02; lower is better.
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Multidimensional Poverty MeasureWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 4.2520.7354.252No earlier reading
Mauritius: 0.735 · world median 4.252 · Multidimensional poverty headcount ratio (%). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 87.96; lower is better.
Position 127th of 157 · derived, 1st = worst.
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Poverty Headcount at $3.00 a Day, Line-up EstimatesWorld Bank Group · 2024 · world median 2.10.482.1No real change since 2014
Mauritius: 0.48 · world median 2.1 · Population below $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP, World Bank line-up estimate (%). World Bank Group, 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 89.54; lower is better.
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Actual Individual Consumption per Capita (PPP)World Bank Group · 2021 · world median 12,80017,52312,800▼ Worsened since 2017
Mauritius: 17,523 · world median 12,800 · Actual individual consumption per capita (PPP, current international $). World Bank Group, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 688.7 to 52,654; higher is better.
Position 66th of 173 · derived.
Chart and every country The 2021 dataset
Low Pay RateILO · 2024 · world median 17.8916.7617.89▲ Improved since 2014
Mauritius: 16.76 · world median 17.89 · Employees paid less than two-thirds of the median hourly earnings (%). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 3.395 to 41.69; lower is better.
Position 44th of 71 · derived, 1st = worst.
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Inequality-adjusted Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.6090.6690.609No real change since 2013
Mauritius: 0.669 · world median 0.609 · IHDI (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.226 to 0.923; higher is better.
Position 69th of 169 · derived.
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Exclusion by Socio-Economic GroupV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 2023 · world median 0.4130.350.413▼ Worsened since 2013
Mauritius: 0.35 · world median 0.413 · Exclusion by socio-economic group index (0–1; higher = more exclusion). V-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.014 to 0.969; lower is better.
Position 96th of 174 · derived, 1st = worst.
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset
Coefficient of Human InequalityUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 17.0516.2317.05No real change since 2013
Mauritius: 16.23 · world median 17.05 · Coefficient of Human Inequality (%). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 4.865 to 43.08; lower is better.
Position 93rd of 169 · derived, 1st = worst.
Chart and every country The 2023 dataset

Behind the world median3

Statistics on which Mauritius does worse than the middle country measured.

Gini Index of Monthly EarningsILO · 2024 · world median 0.3370.3440.337▲ Improved since 2014
Mauritius: 0.344 · world median 0.337 · Gini index of employees’ monthly earnings (0 = all paid the same, 1 = maximum inequality). International Labour Organization (ILO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.182 to 0.643; lower is better.
Position 31st of 75 · derived, 1st = worst.
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food InsecurityFAO · 2024 · world median 20.928.220.9▼ Worsened since 2015
Mauritius: 28.2 · world median 20.9 · Population in moderate or severe food insecurity (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1 to 88.8; lower is better.
Position 55th of 135 · derived, 1st = worst.
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset
Coefficient of Variation of Habitual Caloric ConsumptionFAO · 2024 · world median 0.250.30.25▼ Worsened since 2014
Mauritius: 0.3 · world median 0.25 · Coefficient of variation of habitual calorie consumption across the population (standard deviation ÷ mean). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0.17 to 0.4; lower is better.
Chart and every country The 2024 dataset

No better end3

These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.

Cost of a Healthy DietFAO · 2025 · world median 4.554.844.55Moved since 2017
Mauritius: 4.84 · world median 4.55 · Cost of the cheapest locally available healthy diet, PPP dollars per person per day. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 2.66 to 8.27.
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset
Catastrophic Out-of-Pocket Health SpendingWorld Bank Group · 2019 · world median 6.885.5916.88No earlier reading
Mauritius: 5.591 · world median 6.88 · Population in households spending more than 10% of their budget on health out of pocket (%). World Bank Group, 2019 edition, data for 2019.
Published values in that edition run from 0.133 to 31.21.
Chart and every country The 2019 dataset
Poverty Headcount at National Poverty LinesWorld Bank Group · 2025 · world median 21.88.421.8No earlier reading
Mauritius: 8.4 · world median 21.8 · Population below the national poverty line (%). World Bank Group, 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 82.3.
Chart and every country The 2025 dataset

No current reading for Mauritius

Gini Index (last 2017), Gini Index of Disposable Income (SWIID) (last 2017), Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Income Growth of the Poorest 40% (last 2022), Income Share Held by Lowest 20% (last 2017), Income Share Held by Richest 10% (last 2017), Median Daily Income or Consumption per Person (last 2017), Palma Ratio (last 2017), Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day (last 2017), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day (last 2017), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $4.20 a Day (last 2017), Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day (last 2017), Poverty Severity (Squared Poverty Gap) at $3.00 a Day (last 2017), Prosperity Gap (last 2017), Severe Child Food Poverty, Children Aged 6–23 Months, Societal Poverty Rate (last 2017) and Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.

“Position · derived” is this site’s ordering of the published values, 1st = best unless the row says otherwise; the publisher ranks no country on it. Rank, position and standing

05Country Index 2026

Poverty & Inequality among Mauritius’s 16 topics

Poverty & Inequality is Mauritius’s 9th best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first, each marker at its share of that topic’s field.

On the profile

06The top of the list

Who leads on poverty & inequality

The three countries placed highest of 159, and the leaders Mauritius can most readily be measured against.

All 159 countries

1
Belarus
Eastern Europe
1st of 159 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
Slovenia
Southern Europe
2nd of 159 · 3 of 3 keys
Photo: Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 3.0, greyscale
=3
Ukraine
Eastern Europe
Joint 3rd of 159 · 2 of 3 keys
Photo: uploaded by Chern038 · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale

Placed highest nearby

Highest in Africa
Tunisia43rd3/3 keys
Highest in Eastern Africa
Mauritius61st3/3 keys

Positions out of 159 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.

07Questions

Mauritius on poverty & inequality: questions answered

Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.

How does Mauritius rank on poverty & inequality?

Mauritius is placed 61st of 159 countries on Poverty & Inequality in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 3 key statistics (Gini Index, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day and Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.

What is the latest Gini Index figure for Mauritius?

36.76 in 2023 (gini index (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 33.72.

What is the latest Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day figure for Mauritius?

0.09 in 2023 (poverty gap at $3.00 a day, 2021 PPP (%)), according to World Bank Group. The world median in the same edition was 0.345.

How have Mauritius’s poverty & inequality figures changed?

Gini Index rose from 35.65 in 2006 to 36.76 in 2017; Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day fell from 0.2 in 2006 to 0.09 in 2017; Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet fell from 18.1 in 2017 to 17.8 in 2025.

Which poverty & inequality statistics are missing for Mauritius?

No current reading is published for Mauritius on Gini Index, Gini Index of Disposable Income (SWIID), Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Income Growth of the Poorest 40%, Income Share Held by Lowest 20%, Income Share Held by Richest 10%, Median Daily Income or Consumption per Person, Palma Ratio, Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $3.00 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $4.20 a Day, Poverty Headcount Ratio at $8.30 a Day, Poverty Severity (Squared Poverty Gap) at $3.00 a Day, Prosperity Gap, Severe Child Food Poverty, Children Aged 6–23 Months, Societal Poverty Rate and Wealth Parity Index, Lower Secondary Completion. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.

08Method

Method, sources and how to cite

What this topic does not measure

These figures come from household surveys, which most countries run every few years rather than every year. So the subject's standing is read from each country's most recent survey of the last decade, with the year of every reading shown, rather than from one year in which only a minority of countries were surveyed. Two readings decide it — how unequally income is shared and how deep extreme poverty runs — because the other poverty and inequality measures here largely repeat one of those two or repeat average income, which already counts under Economy and Development. Countries with no survey in the last decade have no standing here. What work pays is under Work & Labour; wealth, as opposed to income, has no global source this site is permitted to republish.

About poverty & inequality, in full

How the Poverty & Inequality standing is decided

A standing is this site’s ordering, named with its edition — never a publisher’s rank. 3 key statistics vote, one vote each; every country’s published value becomes a place within that key’s own field, the places are averaged, and the average is never published. A country needs 2 of the 3 keys to be placed.

The poverty & inequality method, step by step How every standing on this site is built

The key statistics and their licences

Gini Index — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day — World Bank Group, CC BY 4.0
Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0

The other 16 statistics on this page come from 5 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.

The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Photographs

Mauritius’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Mauritius (banner) — Damiano Luchetti, CC0
Belarus — zedlik , cropped by Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Slovenia — Z.K. derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 3.0
Ukraine — uploaded by Chern038, CC BY-SA 3.0

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Mauritius: Poverty & Inequality — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/mauritius/poverty

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The numbers

Reading the data

Mauritius: Poverty & Inequality

The 3 key statistics that decide it

Gini Index

Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day

Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet

Which way Mauritius is moving

Gini Index

Poverty Gap at $3.00 a Day

Share of Population Unable to Afford a Healthy Diet

Mauritius beside its neighbours

Mauritius and Eastern Africa

Across Eastern Africa

Placed either side on poverty & inequality

Where Mauritius is ahead of the world, and behind

Ahead of the world median10

Behind the world median3

No better end3

Poverty & Inequality among Mauritius’s 16 topics

Who leads on poverty & inequality

Placed highest nearby

Mauritius on poverty & inequality: questions answered

Method, sources and how to cite

The key statistics and their licences

Photographs

Cite this page

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