Background The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. The People | Population | 720,934 (July 2000 est.) | | Age structure | 0-14 years: 32% (male 119,291; female 113,741)
15-64 years: 62% (male 220,066; female 227,632)
65 years and over: 6% (male 16,336; female 23,868) (2000 est.) | | Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.68 years
male: 69.28 years
female: 76.24 years (2000 est.) | Population growth rate | 1.63% (2000 est.) | | Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | | Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | | Population below poverty line | NA% | | People living with HIV/AIDS | NA% | | HIV/AIDS - deaths | NA% | | Mobile phones in use | 42,000 (1998) | | Internet users | NA |
Data (Background & The People) provided by The World Factbook |