Republic of Mauritius

Republik Moris République de Maurice Republic of Mauritius


Motto Stella Clavisque Maris Indici Star and Key of the Indian Ocean
Anthem Motherland
Location of Mauritius

Capital	Port Louis

Government	Republic and parliamentary
President
- From 2003	Sir Anerood Jugnauth
Prime Minister
- From 2005	Navin Ramgoolam

Legislature	Parliament
- Upper house	Senate
- Lower house	National Assembly

History
- March 12, 1992	Established

Commonwealth accession	March 12, 1968

Area	2,040 km²

Population
- 2008	1,288,000
Density	631.3/km²

GDP	2008 (PPP)
- Total	US$ 18.1 billion
- Per capita	US$ 14,097

Currency	Mauritian rupee

Mauritius
v

The Republic of Mauritius is a parliamentary republic in the Indian Ocean (₳|₩), by the coast of Eastern Africa.

Background

Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch - who named it in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU - in the 17th century. The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane. The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base, and later an air station, playing an important role during World War II for anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as the collection of signals intelligence. Independence from the UK was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.^[1]

Economy

Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors. Mauritius has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China. Investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Mauritius' sound economic policies and prudent banking practices helped to mitigate negative effects from the global financial crisis in 2008-09. GDP grew 3.6% in 2010 and the country continues to expand its trade and investment outreach around the globe.^[2]