A large majority of Mauritians perceive India's and China's economic and political influence on the country as positive, a recent Afrobarometer survey indicates.
Only about half of Mauritians see the influence of France, the United States, and Japan as positive.
Most Mauritians say that China's economic activities in the country have "some" or "a lot" of influence on the economy.
But relatively few citizens are aware that their country receives loans and development assistance from Japan.
Key findings
- More than two-thirds (68%) of Mauritians say that China's economic activities have "some" or "a lot" of influence on the Mauritian economy. This perception has decreased by 7 percentage points since 2020 (Figure 1).
- Most citizens say India's (76%) and China's (70%) economic and political influence on Mauritius are "somewhat" or "very" positive. The perception that France has a positive influence on Mauritius (55%) has declined by 12 percentage points since 2020, while the United States' perceived positive influence (51%) has held steady, matching Japan's. (Figure 2).
- Almost three in 10 citizens (28%) say they are aware of Japanese loans and development assistance to the Mauritian government (Figure 3).
- Among those who are aware of loans and development assistance from Japan, a plurality (43%) say Japan attaches about the same number of requirements to its assistance as other donor countries (Figure 4).
