IMF Warns Mauritius Must Deepen Debt Transparency as Public Liabilities Approach Risk Levels

The IMF finds that Mauritius’ public sector debt statistics are timely, broadly accurate, and transparent by regional standards, but increasingly strained by rising debt levels and gaps in legal clarity, institutional capacity, and coverage of key liabilities. It urges reforms to expand debt coverage, strengthen legal and methodological alignment with international standards, and improve transparency on the drivers of debt changes.

The International Monetary Fund’s Statistics Department, working alongside the Ministry of Finance of Mauritius and with financial support from the Government of Japan, carried out a detailed assessment of Mauritius’ public sector debt statistics in September 2025. Conducted by IMF experts Steffi Schuster and David Bailey, the exercise formed part of a broader capacity development initiative aimed at strengthening debt transparency across selected African countries. The resulting High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report evaluates how Mauritius’ debt data measure up against the IMF’s Data Quality Assessment Framework and places the findings within a context of rising fiscal pressure and heightened scrutiny.

Mauritius’ public debt has expanded rapidly over the past five years, reaching an estimated 86 percent of GDP by the end of the 2024/25 fiscal year, up sharply from 64 percent of GDP in late 2019. This surge, driven largely by pandemic-related spending and subsequent fiscal pressures, has increased the country’s exposure to sovereign stress, according to the IMF’s latest debt sustainability analysis. At the same time, Mauritius stands out for its relatively strong transparency credentials, subscribing to the IMF’s Special Data Dissemination Standard, reporting quarterly to the joint IMF–World Bank public sector debt database, and publishing detailed debt tables through the Ministry of Finance.

Strong Foundations, But Legal Gaps Remain

The IMF assessment finds that Mauritius benefits from a solid legal framework for public debt reporting, anchored in the Public Debt Management Act of 2008. This legislation clearly assigns responsibility for compiling and disseminating debt statistics to the Ministry of Finance and obliges public entities to report their liabilities quarterly. However, the report argues that the framework stops short of fully integrating public sector debt statistics into the national statistical system. Because these statistics are not explicitly designated as “official statistics” under the Statistics Act, they are not subject to the full range of oversight and safeguards typically applied to core macroeconomic data. The IMF also highlights ambiguity in the legal definition of public debt, warning that insufficient alignment with international statistical standards could lead to incomplete or inconsistent reporting.

Capacity Constraints and Institutional Risks

Institutionally, the Ministry of Finance demonstrates a clear commitment to professionalism and international best practice, particularly in meeting SDDS requirements. Yet the assessment identifies capacity as a critical constraint. The Public Debt Management Unit operates with a small staff responsible for both debt management and statistical reporting, creating risks to continuity and limiting the scope for expanding analytical work. The IMF recommends formalizing cooperation with key agencies such as the Bank of Mauritius and Statistics Mauritius through structured data-sharing agreements. It also notes that the current scope of reporting is shaped by a narrow group of stakeholders, underscoring the need for regular user consultations to ensure that debt statistics remain relevant to policy makers, analysts, and the public.

Methodology Sound, Coverage Incomplete

From a methodological standpoint, Mauritius’ public sector debt statistics largely follow internationally recognized concepts, including classifications by residency, currency, and maturity. Sector coverage is relatively broad by regional standards and is guided by a published list of public sector entities classified according to international principles. However, the IMF finds that important liabilities remain outside the statistical perimeter. Other accounts payable, pension-related obligations, and a wider range of contingent liabilities are not comprehensively reported, limiting the ability of users to assess the full scale of public sector exposure. Valuation practices also require refinement, with the IMF recommending a shift toward nominal valuation in line with international standards, supplemented by market-value information for traded debt instruments.

Transparency, Revisions, and User Access

The report acknowledges the timeliness and internal consistency of Mauritius’ debt statistics, which are published within a month of the end of each quarter. However, it points to weaknesses in transparency and analytical depth. The absence of published stock–flow reconciliations makes it difficult for users to understand what is driving changes in public debt over time. Differences between debt figures published by the Ministry of Finance and Statistics Mauritius since 2019 further highlight the need for systematic consistency checks. Despite publishing a large volume of data, accessibility remains uneven, particularly for non-technical users. The IMF recommends clearer metadata, analytical commentary, visual presentations, and the creation of a publicly accessible archive of past publications. Overall, the assessment portrays Mauritius as having built a strong base for debt reporting, but facing an urgent need to deepen coverage and transparency as public debt continues to rise