Country profile
Mauritius
Best : For holdings facing Africa and India, and a stable, French-speaking island life.
An Indian Ocean island (about 1.3 million people), English official and French widely spoken, Mauritian rupee. Tax treaty network facing Africa and India, GBC licences supervised by the FSC, 15% corporate tax with possible partial exemptions. Residence permits open to investors and retirees.
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International rankings
The main public indices scoring business climate, economic freedom, corruption, peace and domestic safety. Figures copied from the official editions; a weak rank shows where to look closer.
| Index | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Doing Business 2020Banque mondiale / World BankScore 0–100, rank out of 190 economies (1 = best). | 81.5 | #13 / 190 |
| B-READY 2025Banque mondiale / World BankThree pillars scored 0–100 (regulatory framework, public services, operational efficiency). No overall rank: the World Bank publishes a quintile per pillar across 101 economies. |
| |
| Index of Economic Freedom 2026Heritage FoundationScore 0–100, rank out of 184 countries (1 = freest). | 73.0 | #21 / 184 |
| Corruption Perceptions Index 2025Transparency InternationalScore 0–100 (100 = very clean), rank out of 182 countries. | 48 | #61 / 182 |
| Global Peace Index 2026Institute for Economics & PeaceScore 1–5 (lower = more peaceful), rank out of 163 countries. | 1.586 | #18 / 163 |
| GPI 2026 — Societal Safety and SecurityInstitute for Economics & PeaceScore 1–5 (lower = safer), rank out of 163 countries (1 = safest). | 2.096 | #60 / 163 |
- Doing Business 2020 : Last published edition (data as of May 2019). The World Bank discontinued the series in 2021 after data irregularities: read it as a historical benchmark.
- B-READY 2025 : Successor to Doing Business. Sample averages: 66.3 / 54.0 / 60.0. The 2026 edition (over 160 economies) is due by end-2026.
- Index of Economic Freedom 2026 : Hong Kong has not been graded separately since 2021 (folded into China).
- Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 : Published February 2026.
- Global Peace Index 2026 : Overall rank: conflict, domestic safety and militarisation. Day-to-day safety is the next row. Malta and Hong Kong are not covered.
- GPI 2026 — Societal Safety and Security : Appendix C of the 2026 GPI: homicide, violent crime, terrorism and instability. Excludes armed conflict and militarisation. Malta and Hong Kong are not covered.
Geopolitical risk
Tax by profile
Tax and contributions actually paid on a reference case, for a newcomer who is tax resident in 2026. Where a special regime is open to them, it is applied and flagged. The score out of 10 follows from the effective rate.
Rentier
8/10
Effective rate ≈ 9%
- Foreign income taxed only when remitted
- €60,000 of remitted dividends and interest at the 0, 10 and 20% scale; gains not taxed
Without remitting income, the tax drops close to 0.
Employee
6.5/10
Effective rate ≈ 18%
- Scale 0% up to MUR 500,000, then 10% and 20%
- Employee CSG 3% and capped NSF 1%
Entrepreneur
7/10
Effective rate ≈ 15%
- Corporate tax 15%
- Dividends from a Mauritian company exempt
Reference cases and scoring
- Rentier: €100,000 a year from a foreign portfolio (€40,000 dividends, €20,000 interest, €40,000 gains on listed shares), no other activity.
- Employee: €60,000 gross a year paid by a local employer, single with no children. Employee contributions included, employer share excluded.
- Entrepreneur: €100,000 profit from a small local business, fully paid to the owner through the most common route (company and dividends, or sole trader).
Score = 10 minus 0.2 per point of effective rate (0% gives 10, 25% gives 5, 50% or more gives 0), rounded to the half point. Foreign withholding taxes and employer contributions are not counted.
Indicative figures as of October 2026 · Main source : mra.mu. Not tax advice.
Business: incorporating
Mauritius draws regional holdings: 15% headline corporate tax, often ~3% effective via credits and GBC exemptions, and Africa-India positioning. The price is the GBC licence, local substance, and cautious banking for foreign structures.
15% (≈3% effectif)
Corporate tax
$2,500–$8,000
Setup
USD, indicative
$2,500–$8,000
Per year
USD, indicative
7/10
Ease
Ranking
6/10
Banking
Ranking
6.5/10
CFC
CFC limitées
A GBC means an FSC licence (~$1,950/year) plus a management company and resident director/substance. Government fees alone set a high floor before private fees. Attractive for holdings/treaties; expensive if you only wanted a cheap shell. Do not compare it to a Wyoming LLC.
Who it fits
- Holding or fund with documented Africa, India, or Indian Ocean flows
- Founders accepting GBC licence and FSC economic substance
- Intermediate structure in a treaty stack with planned dividend exit
The real drawbacks
- Solo freelancer without regional flows. GBC is oversized
- Expecting premium banking without local network or KYC time
- Shell without post-2019 FSC substance
Real estate: investing
5.0 %
Net yield
indicative
≈ 90 k€
30 m² studio
Port-Louis
~7%
Purchase costs
+45%
10-year prices
+25%
5-year prices
- Rental income tax : 15%
- Capital gains (personal holding) : 0%
- Capital gains (via company) : 0% / régime sociétés (indicatif)
- Public debt / GDP : 83%
- Currency : MUR
Reference listings portal : Lexpress Property
Moving there: living and residence
5.6/10
Liberty score
equal weights
0–15%
Income tax
0%
Inheritance
Residence routes
- Occupation Permit, professional: 3-year renewable permit
- Occupation Permit, investor: Renewable investor permit
- Permanent residence (after 3 years OP): Mauritius PR
Reference cities
- Port-Louis (cost mid)
A business capital, hot and jammed during the day, very quiet at night. Foreigners work there but tend to live in Grand Baie, Tamarin or Moka. - Curepipe (cost mid)
On the central plateau, cooler and very rainy, an ageing town. Handy for schools and shops, rarely chosen by newcomers.
Go deeper on Mauritius
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Indicative Liberty Stack data · Methodology · Rankings : Doing Business 2020, B-READY 2025, Index of Economic Freedom 2026, Corruption Perceptions Index 2025, Global Peace Index 2026, GPI 2026 — Societal Safety and Security.