Proceedings of 9th International Business and Social Science Research Conference
6 - 8 January, 2014, Novotel World Trade Centre, Dubai, UAE, ISBN: 978-1-922069-41-2
The New Challenge in Mauritius: Management of Population Ageing
Rajen Suntoo
Introduction Nowadays many countries world over are facing the problems of management of population
ageing. Some decades back the ageing issue concerned mostly developed nations but today it has become
a global concern. Mauritius has taken much lesser time than numerous western societies to complete its
demographic transition. The country has been able to control its population growth and at the same time it
has made tremendous progress in the health and welfare sectors such that today its population growth rate is
among the lowest in the world on one side and on the other the life expectancy of its inhabitants has
increased. The combination of the rise in life expectancy and the fall in fertility rate has inevitably led to the
problems of ageing. Now one of the main challenges faced by Mauritius is the management of population
ageing.
Purpose: The main objectives of the study are firstly to: explain the rapid demographic transition undergone
by the society and secondly to take stock of the programmes and policies devised by the state to manage its
ageing population.
Methodology In this paper the use of both primary and secondary data secondary data has been made.
Secondary data come mainly from internet search, scholarly journal articles, government documents and the
Central Statistical Office Primary data have been collected from observation and interviews.
Findings: The main findings show that although government has been doing quite a lot to manage the
ageing population yet further concrete actions are needed to make its policies and programmes more
effective, more particularly for the vulnerable elderly population who are constantly abused by different
stakeholders.
Research Implications of the Study: The outcome of this paper may motivate researchers interested in the
domain of ageing to carry out further in depth studies which may help authorities to take the necessary
actions to better manage the ageing population.
Value/Originality: This study helps to fill in the gap as regards to the scarcity of researches done on the
management of population ageing in small island states like Mauritius
Keywords: Management of Population Ageing, Demographic Transition Theory, Mauritius.
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Rajen Suntoo, University Of Mauritius email: r.suntoo@uom.ac.mu