Methodology

The rules we hold the data to

01Accidents are not fatalities

Accidents, fatal accidents, fatalities, injuries and casualties are distinct measures. They are never summed, substituted or compared as if interchangeable.

02Definitions are kept

Every indicator keeps the publisher's wording and definition. When a definition changes, the series is marked with a break rather than silently joined.

03Annual and partial-year data stay separate

A half-year is stored and labelled as such, never shown as a full year, and compared only with the same half-year of another year.

04Police districts are not administrative districts

Reporting geographies are typed and never joined by name. No official boundaries exist for the seven police districts, so no map colours them.

05Missing stays missing

Missing, suppressed and not-applicable values stay that way. They are never replaced with zero, interpolated or dropped silently.

Definitions, as published

Definition changes and series breaks

Charts that cross these dates mark them. A year-on-year change across a definition change attached to a series is not computed.

• definition changeFrom 2002

  Fatal accident and fatality: death within 30 days of the accident. Before 2002 the limit was 7 days.

  Applies to: Fatalities, Fatality index, Fatality rate per 1,000 registered motor vehicles, Fatality rate per 100,000 population. Stated in: Statistics Mauritius, historical series Explanations sheet; digest Concepts and Definitions.

• definition changeFrom 2013

  Serious injury redefined from January 2013: admitted to hospital as an in-patient for more than 24 hours. Before: detained as an in-patient, or fractures, concussions, internal injuries, severe cuts and lacerations, crushings, severe general shock requiring medical treatment.

  Applies to: Seriously injured casualties. Stated in: Statistics Mauritius, historical series Explanations sheet; digest Concepts and Definitions.

• definition changeFrom 2013

  Slight injury redefined from January 2013: medical care without admission to hospital for more than 24 hours. Before: an injury of minor character such as a sprain, bruise and cut not judged to be severe.

  Applies to: Slightly injured casualties. Stated in: Statistics Mauritius, historical series Explanations sheet; digest Concepts and Definitions.

• definition changeFrom 2013

  Double cab pickup is a separate vehicle category from 2013 (Road Traffic Act as amended by Act No. 27 of 2012); before 2013 it was counted within dual purpose vehicles.

  Applies to: Vehicles registered. Stated in: Statistics Mauritius, historical series Table 2 footnote; portal metadata for vehicles registered.

• definition changeFrom 2024

  From 2024 the road traffic contraventions include contraventions established under fixed penalty notices; totals are not comparable with earlier years unless that category is excluded.

  Applies to: Road traffic contraventions. Stated in: Statistics Mauritius, Crime, Justice and Security ESI 2024 Table A1.3 note.

Known gaps and discrepancies

Where two official publications disagree, we record the difference instead of choosing a side silently; where a table leaves a cell blank, the value stays missing.

• coverageFrom 1980

  The historical-series workbook displays every accident rate as a whole number. For 26 years between 1980 and 2013 it also stores decimals it does not display; MorisLens shows the rates as displayed and does not recompute them from the mixed-scope population series.

  Applies to: Accident rate per 100,000 population. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T4-Rates, accident rate per 100000 population row.

• coverageFrom 2002

  Fatal accidents (severity breakdown): a fatal accident is one with a death within 30 days of the accident from 2002; before 2002 the limit was 7 days. The total number of accidents is unaffected.

  Applies to: Road traffic accidents. Stated in: Statistics Mauritius, historical series Explanations sheet; digest Concepts and Definitions.

• coverageFrom 2004

  As from August 2004 most non-injury road traffic accidents are reported only to insurance companies, not to the police; no breakdown of non-injury accidents by age group or sex exists.

  Applies to: Accident rate per 1,000 registered motor vehicles, Accident rate per 100,000 population, Road traffic accidents. Stated in: Mauritius OpenData portal metadata, 'Number of drivers and riders involved in accident'.

• discrepancy2012

  Fatal accidents 2012 are 144 in the historical series (2026) but 114 in the 2018-19 digest (Table 19) and in the portal copy.

  Applies to: Road traffic accidents. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3; Digest_Transport_Yr18-19.xls, Table 19; Mauritius OpenData portal, 'Number of Accidents by Severity of Accident'.

• coverageFrom 2013 to 2018

  The portal copies of the circumstance tables leave cells blank where the source prints '-' (nil); blanks are stored as not available.

  Applies to: Casualties, Accidents causing casualties, Road traffic accidents. Stated in: The Mauritius OpenData portal copies of the weather, light, junction, collision and police-district tables.

• discrepancy2013

  The vehicle types printed for 2013 add up to 443,455, 40 below the printed total of 443,495, in the historical series as in the portal copy.

  Applies to: Vehicles registered. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T2; Mauritius OpenData portal, 'Vehicles registered by type as at end of year - Island of Mauritius'.

• coverageFrom 2016 to 2017

  The portal copies of the circumstance tables lack six police-district rows for 2016 and one for 2017; those rows come from the 2017 and 2018-19 digests.

  Applies to: Casualties, Accidents causing casualties, Road traffic accidents. Stated in: The Mauritius OpenData portal copies of the police-district tables; Digest_Transport_Yr17.xls and Digest_Transport_Yr18-19.xls.

• coverageFrom 2016 to 2020

  Accidents causing casualties change sharply in some police districts between 2016 and 2017 and between 2019 and 2020: Upper Plaines Wilhems goes from 197 to 133 in 2017 and from 123 to 206 in 2020, and Port Louis (North) from 397 to 134 in 2020. These are the figures the digests print; they give no reason for the changes.

  Applies to: Accidents causing casualties. Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr17.xls, Table 2.4; Digest_Transport_Yr18-19.xls, Digest_Transport_Yr19-20_280222.xls and Digest_Transport_Yr20-21_230823.xls, Table 16.

• coverage2018

  The 2018 casualty accidents by weather and severity are printed as fractional numbers (e.g. 455.84) in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 digests; a count is never rounded, so those cells are stored as not available.

  Applies to: Road traffic accidents. Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr18-19.xls and Digest_Transport_Yr19-20_280222.xls, Table 22.

• revision2019

  2019 is provisional: the 2019–2020 digest's Introduction says 'Figures on road accident statistics for 2019 are provisional', although its fatality tables print 2019 without a mark.

  Applies to: Fatalities. Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr19-20_280222.xls, Introduction and Tables 36 and 37.

• discrepancyFrom 2019 to 2022

  The published fatality index does not reproduce from the published counts for 2019 (4.1 vs 144/3,559 = 4.05) and 2022 (4 vs 108/3,252 = 3.32).

  Applies to: Fatality index. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3 and T4.

• coverage2019

  The series ends in 2019. From 2020 the digests print the Republic's population under the island's label: the 2020 and 2021 values (1,265,740 and 1,266,060) match the Republic male-plus-female totals of the official population file, and the 2023 and 2024 values (1,248,317 and 1,245,449) equal the Republic totals of the demography historical series. The 2022 value (1,262,249) is not reconciled; the same digest's Table 33 prints 1,251,135, the Republic total. MorisLens does not serve these years as the island's population.

  Applies to: Population (mid-year). Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Tables 13 and 33; Mauritius OpenData portal, 'Mid Year Population by Sex for the Republic of Mauritius', 2020-2021; HS_Demography_Rep_of_Mtius_Yr24_091225.xls, Table 1.

• revision2019

  Serious and slight injury accidents 2019 were revised in the historical series to 498 and 2,111 (491 and 2,118 in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 digests and the portal copy).

  Applies to: Road traffic accidents. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3; Digest_Transport_Yr19-20_280222.xls and Digest_Transport_Yr20-21_230823.xls, Table 19; Mauritius OpenData portal, 'Number of Accidents by Severity of Accident'.

• discrepancy2020

  For 2020 the historical series Table 3 prints 2,802 casualty accidents, which is that year's casualties figure; its own fatal, serious and slight accident rows sum to 2,086. Digest 2022-2024 Table 13 and digest 2020-2021 Table 14 print 2,086 casualty accidents and 2,802 casualties, and the 2020 police-district rows also add up to 2,086. MorisLens serves 2,086 from digest 2022-2024 Table 13.

  Applies to: Accidents causing casualties. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3 rows 7-10; Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Table 13; Digest_Transport_Yr20-21_230823.xls, Table 14.

• discrepancy2020

  Main roads 2020 are 1,145 km in the portal copy and 1,140 km in the historical series.

  Applies to: Length of roads. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T1; Mauritius OpenData portal, 'Length and density of road network for the Island of Mauritius'.

• discrepancyFrom 2020 to 2022

  In the historical series Table 3, the vehicle-type rows sum to 3,024, 3,765 and 4,611 in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively, against printed totals of 3,578, 3,020 and 3,250. Digest 2022-2024 Table 26 prints different 2022 values (private car 1,404; motor/auto cycle 1,162). MorisLens serves the historical series' published values. These years must not be interpreted as a verified partition or an unexplained peak.

  Applies to: Vehicles involved in accidents causing casualties. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3 rows 14-24; Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Table 26.

• coverageFrom 2022 to 2024

  Road-user class requires context: Digest 2022-2024 Table 30 prints driver casualties of 1048, 942 and 585, and passenger casualties of 631, 631 and 866. The served 2022 driver value is 1053 from another publication. The reason for the pattern is not established; do not interpret it as a confirmed behavioural change. Published observations are retained.

  Applies to: Casualties. Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Table 30.

• discrepancy2022

  2022 casualties are 3,252 in the historical series and the January–June 2026 release (534 seriously and 2,610 slightly injured), but 3,262 in the Year 2024 and Year 2025 releases, digest 2022-24 Tables 30 and 31 and the portal copy (546 and 2,608). The injuries by class of road user are served from Table 31, so they add up to 546 and 2,608, not to the served totals.

  Applies to: Casualties, Seriously injured casualties, Slightly injured casualties. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3 rows 25-29; RT_RTA_Jan-Jun26_280826.xls, Tab 2.2; RT_RTA_Yr24_270325.xlsx and RT_RTA_Yr25_270326.xlsx, Table 2.2; Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Tables 30-31.

• discrepancy2022

  Road traffic accidents 2022 are 35,513 in the historical series and digest 2022-24 Table 18, but 35,509 in digest Table 12, the Year 2024 and Year 2025 releases and the portal copy. For accidents causing casualties, the served historical-series total is 2,279, while the 2022-2024 digest Table 13 and the weather-by-severity rows give 2,275. These publications are not a single reconciled partition.

  Applies to: Accidents causing casualties, Road traffic accidents. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3; Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Tables 12, 13, 18 and 21; RT_RTA_Yr24_270325.xlsx and RT_RTA_Yr25_270326.xlsx, Table 2.2; Mauritius OpenData portal, 'Road traffic accidents and casualties'.

• discrepancyFrom 2022 to 2024

  In digest 2022-24, fatalities by class of road user differ between Table 31, which gives the island figures, and the Total row of Table 36, by police district: 2022 passengers 22 and 23, riders 44 and 43; 2024 drivers 20 and 19, riders 57 and 58 (2023 agrees). The police-district figures do not add up to the island's for those classes.

  Applies to: Fatalities. Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Table 31 and Table 36 row 14.

• discrepancy2022

  Serious and slight injury accidents 2022 are 400 and 1,780 in digest 2022-24 Table 18 and in the historical series, but 440 and 1,736 in the digest's Tables 20, 21, 22 and 24.

  Applies to: Road traffic accidents. Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Tables 18, 20, 21, 22 and 24; HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3 rows 9-10.

• discrepancy2023

  Fatal accidents 2023 are 150 in digest 2022-24 Table 18 but 130 in its Table 20, in the historical series and in the Year 2024 release.

  Applies to: Road traffic accidents. Stated in: Digest_Transport_Yr22-24_251125.xls, Tables 18 and 20; HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T3; RT_RTA_Yr24_270325.xlsx.

• revisionFrom 2024 to 2025

  The January–June releases print two totals for the previous year's January–June casualties. Table 2.1 repeats the figure first published (2025: 1,397; 2024: 1,488); Table 2.4 of the same release gives the revised figure, which its road-user rows add up to and the Year release confirms (2025: 1,610; 2024: 1,535). MorisLens serves Table 2.4's figure.

  Applies to: Casualties. Stated in: RT_RTA_Jan-Jun26_280826.xls and RT_RTA_Jan-Jun25_290825.xls, Tables 2.1 and 2.4; RT_RTA_Yr25_270326.xlsx.

• discrepancyFrom 2024 to 2025

  January–June 2024 and 2025: the split by injury is the first-published one, repeated unchanged in the next January–June release (2025: 63 killed, 221 seriously and 1,113 slightly injured, adding up to 1,397; 2024: 69, 252 and 1,167, adding up to 1,488), while the revised totals are 1,610 and 1,535 (see the note on the January–June casualty totals). The revised split is not published, so the overview does not compare the seriously and slightly injured with those half-years; fatalities are compared with the first-published figure, 63 for January–June 2025.

  Applies to: Fatalities, Seriously injured casualties, Slightly injured casualties. Stated in: RT_RTA_Jan-Jun26_280826.xls and RT_RTA_Jan-Jun25_290825.xls, Table 2.1.

• discrepancy2024

  Vehicles registered 2024 by type differ between the portal copy (car 327,989, dual purpose 49,652, double cab pickup 12,216) and the historical series (335,398, 47,620, 14,248); the totals agree (710,605).

  Applies to: Vehicles registered. Stated in: HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T2; Mauritius OpenData portal, 'Vehicles registered by type as at end of year - Island of Mauritius'.

• revisionFrom 2024 to 2025

  Taxi cars registered at the end of 2024 and 2025 were revised to 6,966 and 6,523 in the January–June 2026 release (Table 1.2, marked revised), as the historical series prints; the Year 2024 and Year 2025 releases printed 7,409 and 7,927.

  Applies to: Vehicles registered. Stated in: RT_RTA_Jan-Jun26_280826.xls, Table 1.2; HS_RT_RTA _Yr25 _160926.xls, T2; RT_RTA_Yr24_270325.xlsx and RT_RTA_Yr25_270326.xlsx, Table 1.2.

What we do not show, and why