Mauritius

Republic of Mauritius
Republic of Mauritius
	Flag Coat of arms of Mauritius Coat of arms
	Motto: "Stella Clavisque Maris Indici" (Latin); "Star and Key of the Indian Ocean"
	Anthem: Motherland
Capital and largest city	Port Louis
Official languages	English, Mauritian Creole1
Government	Republic
• President	Anerood Jugnauth
• Prime Minister	Navinchandra Ramgoolam
Independence from the United Kingdom
• Date	March 12 1968
• Republic	March 12 1992
• Water (%)	0.05
Population
• 2006 estimate	1,219,2202 (153rd)
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
• Total	$16.0 billion (119th)
• Per capita	$13,703 (51st)
HDI (2004)	0.800; Error: Invalid HDI value (63rd)
Currency	Mauritian rupee (MUR)
Time zone	UTC+4 (MUT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+4 (not observed)
Calling code	230
ISO 3166 code	MU
Internet TLD	.mu
	English is spoken by less than 1% of the population; Creole is spoken by over 80%.; The population estimate is only for the island of Mauritius. For the whole republic, as at 31 December 2006, it is 1,256,739;

Mauritius (pronounced: IPA: [məˈɹɪʃəs]; French: Maurice /mɔʀis/; Mauritian Creole: Moris), officially the Republic of Mauritius (French: République de Maurice), is an island nation off the coast of Africa in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometers (560 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the republic includes the islands of St. Brandon, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 200 kilometers (125 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570km to the East-northeast.

History

The first record of Mauritius comes from Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century.^[3] The Portuguese sailors first visited it in 1505, and established a visiting base leaving the island uninhabited. 3 ships (out of 8) of Dutch Second Fleet to the Spice Islands were blown off course during a cyclone and landed on the island in 1598 and named it in honour of Prince Maurice of Nassau, the Stadtholder of the Netherlands.^[4] In 1638 the Dutch established the first permanent settlement. Because of tough climatic conditions including cyclones and the deterioration of the settlement, the Dutch abandoned the island some decades later. The French who controlled the neighbouring Bourbon island (now Réunion) moved in to seize Mauritius in 1715 and later named it Ile de France (Isle of France). The French got the economy well underway with a flourishing sugar production industry. One of the great initiator of this economic leap was St-Malo born governor François Mahé de Labourdonnais. The French however harboured the outlawed "corsairs" (mercenary pirates) who regulalry sunk gold, precious stones, silk and spice laiden British vessels on their way to Britain from India. The British set to gain military control of the island. Despite winning the famous Battle of Grand Port, Napoleon's only naval win over the British, the French were defeated by the British in the north of the island, at Cap Malheureux (Hapless Cape) three months later, and thus lost possession to the British in 1810. The latter reverted the island to its former name.

In 1965, the United Kingdom split the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory in order to use the strategic islands for defence purposes in co-operation with the United States. Although the Government of Mauritius agreed to the move at the time,^{[citation needed]} subsequent administrations have laid claim to the islands stating that the divestment was illegal under international law - a claim recognised by the United Nations.^{[citation needed]}

Mauritius attained independence in 1968 and the country became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1992. Mauritius has been a stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record,^[5] and has attracted considerable foreign investment earning one of Africa's highest per capita incomes.^[6]

Mauritius aims to become the business hub of the Indian Ocean. New business opportunities in banking and the technology sector are being actively sought.

Through the celebration of the Bicentenary of the Battle of Grand Port in 2010, Mauritius is aiming at rebuilding its maritime heritage and reclaiming its title of the Star & the Key of the Indian Ocean.

Politics

The head of state of Mauritius is the President, who is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly, the unicameral Mauritian parliament. The National Assembly consists of 62 members elected directly by popular vote, with between four and eight further members appointed from "best losers" election candidates to represent ethnic minorities, if under represented after the elections. The government is headed by the prime minister and a council of ministers.

The Government is elected on a five-year basis. The most recent general elections took place on 3 July 2005 in all the 20 mainland constituencies, as well as the constituency covering the island of Rodrigues.

Historically, elections have always had a tendency to adhere to a system comprising two major coalitions of parties.

In international affairs, Mauritius is part of the Indian Ocean Commission, the Southern African Development Community and the Commonwealth of Nations and La Francophonie (French speaking countries) amongst others. A more complete list can be found in the main Politics of Mauritius article.

In 2006, Mauritius asked to be an observing member of Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) in order to become closer to those countries.^[7]

Districts and dependencies

The island of Mauritius itself is divided into nine districts:

The effects of AIDS on Mauritius: As an African nation, Mauritius suffers one of the largest concentrations of AIDS in the world. This is in part because Mauritians do not undestand what AIDS is, and in several parts of Mauritius, the natives try to "destroy" AIDS by summoning the demon god Wanghustu, who demands the sacrifice of a thousand "pale faces" every ten weeks. Thanks to this practice, the pale face levels have decreased dramatically.

Dependencies of Mauritius:

Rodrigues, an autonomous populated island which used to be the 10th district of Mauritius.
Agalega, two small islands about 933 kilometers (580 mi) north of Mauritius.
Cargados Carajos Shoals, also known as the Saint Brandon islands, about 402 kilometers (250 mi) north of Mauritius.

Other Mauritian territories:

Soudan Banks (including East Soudan Bank)
Nazareth Bank
Saya de Malha Bank
Hawkins Bank

Mauritius also claims the following islands:

In French possession: Tromelin Island
In British possession: Chagos Archipelago

Geography

Together with Réunion and Rodrigues, Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Islands. This archipelago was formed in a series of undersea volcanic eruptions, as the African plate drifted over the Réunion hotspot. Mauritius and Rodrigues were formed 8-10 million years ago. They are no longer volcanically active, and the hotspot now rests under Réunion. The island of Mauritius itself is formed around a central plateau, with its highest peak in the southwest, Piton de la Petite Rivière Noire at 828 metres (2,717 ft). Around the plateau, the original crater can still be distinguished from several mountains.

The local climate is tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; there is a warm, dry winter from May to November and a hot, wet, and humid summer from November to May. Cyclones affect the country during November-April.

The island's capital and largest city is Port Louis, in the northwest. Other important towns are Curepipe, Vacoas, Phoenix, Quatre Bornes, Rose-Hill and Beau-Bassin.

The island is well known for its exceptional natural beauty; "You gather the idea that Mauritius was made first and then heaven, and that heaven was copied after Mauritius", as Mark Twain noted in Following the Equator.

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 of the order of 5% to 6%. This has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality and a much improved infrastructure.

Estimated at $16.28 billion for 2005, Mauritius has the 2nd highest GDP per capita in Africa. It is only exceeded by Equatorial Guinea, which derives most of its revenue from oil exports. Mauritius has a mature economy with a great deal of wealth distribution among its citizens^{[citation needed]}. The economy is mainly dependent on sugarcane plantations, tourism, textiles, and services, but other sectors are rapidly developing as well.

Sugar cane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. However, a record-setting drought severely damaged the sugar crop in 1999. The government's development strategy centres on foreign investment. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities; many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa while investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Economic performance during the period from 2000 through 2004 combined strong economic growth with unemployment at 7.6% in December 2004. France is the country's biggest trading partner, and has close ties with the country. They also provide technical assistance in various forms.

Mauritius is gearing towards becoming a duty-free island within the coming four years. Duty has been decreased (and for many products completely eliminated) for more than 1850 products including clothing, food, jewelry, photographic equipment, audio visual equipment and lighting equipment.

The main motivations are (1) Attract more tourists going to Singapore and Dubai, and, (2) Give all Mauritians easier access to quality products at affordable prices.

A plan by ADB Networks calls for Mauritius to become the first nation to have coast-to-coast wireless internet access. The wireless hot spot currently covers about 60% of the island and is accessible by about 70% of its population. By the end of 2006, antennas should have provided access to 90% of the island, however, this has not yet happened.

Its biggest trading partners are France and the UK.

Mauritius ranks first in respect of FDI inflows to India amongst all the countries with cumulative inflows amounting to US $ 10.98 billion. Top sectors attracting FDI inflows from Mauritius (from January 2000 to December, 2005) are electrical equipment, telecommunications, fuels, cement & gypsum products and services sector (financial & non-financial).^[8]

As Mauritius opens to the world, aiming to transform itself into a competitive global business platform, the national investment promotion agency, the Board of Investment (BOI) has put at the service of the international business community a range of services, free of charge, to attract international investment and talents in the country.^[9]

Demographics

Mauritian society is highly multi-ethnic. Most of the island residents are the descendants of people from the Indian subcontinent. Mauritius also has large immigrant populations from continental Africa, Madagascar, France, Great Britain, and China, among other places.

The official language of Mauritius is English. All government administrative documents are therefore drawn up in English. Together with English, French is also used in instruction in the educational system. French, however, predominates in the media, both broadcast and printed as well as with business and in corporate affairs . Mauritian Creole, which is derived from French with influences from the other dialects, is widely spoken on the island and is considered the native tongue of the country. Creole was the language used by the African slaves to communicate with their French masters. Today, Creole is used in everyday life by all Mauritians. Hindi is also widely spoken, though restricted to the Indian community. Several other languages, including Arabic, Urdu, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi and dialects of Chinese, such as Cantonese, Hakka and Mandarin, are also spoken. The Indian languages are spoken by descendants of the labourers brought from British India during the British rule.

The Indo-Mauritians (when the ethnic groups are combined) form approximately 70% of the total population, the remaining 30% being mostly Creoles. The French and Chinese make up the smaller minorities. There are approximately 30,000 Mauritians of Chinese descent, from the Hakka, Mandarin, and Cantonese language groups. More than 90% of the Sino-Mauritian community are Roman Catholic; the remainder are largely Buddhist.

Small groups of foreign students from Europe or the Indian Ocean region are also present. The recent years have seen a steady flow of foreign workers, mostly Chinese women, into the textile industry, Indian workers in the construction industry and Taiwanese men in the harbour-related activities. Immigration policy does not provoke much debate in Mauritius, and the relative economic stability of the island is attracting more foreign workers.

Majority of Mauritians practice Hinduism (52%). Catholic Christianity 28%, Islam (16.6%), Buddhism (2.5%), Adventist Protestants (2%), Sikhism (0.3%) and other religions are also followed.^[10]

Culture

The cuisine of Mauritius is a blend of Indian Cuisine, Creole, Chinese and European. It is not uncommon for a combination of cuisines to form part of the same meal. The "cari poule" or chicken curry, for example, is a very popular dish. The "mine-frit" (Chinese fried noodles) and "niouk nien" (dumplings) are loved by all and readily bought by the Mauritian community either in restaurants or on the sidewalks of main streets. 'Alouda' (a milk-based drink with basil seeds) has become a typical Mauritian drink and the 'dholl puri' can be considered a favourite with all communities.

The sega is the local folklore music. Sega has African roots, and the music is produced using goat-skin percussion instruments called ravane and metallic clicks using metal triangles. The song usually describes the miseries of slavery, and has been adapted nowadays as social satyres to voice out inequalities as felt by the blacks. The rhythm, however, remains very festive and while the men are at the instruments, the Creole women gyrate in large fluid and revealing skirts with bright colours. Shows are regularly hosted in the coastal hotels.

Mauritius was the only known habitat of the extinct Dodo bird

In 1847, Mauritius became the fifth country in the world to issue postage stamps. The two types of stamps issued then, known as the Red Penny and the Blue Penny are probably the most famous stamps in the world, being very rare and therefore also very expensive.

When discovered, the island of Mauritius was home to a previously unknown species of bird, which the Portuguese named the dodo (simpleton), as they appeared not too bright. However, by 1681, all dodos had been killed by settlers or their domesticated animals. Nevertheless, the dodo is prominently featured as a supporter of the national coat-of-arms (see above).

Horse racing (April - December) is undeniably the most popular sport on the island and the electrifying ambiance at Port Louis (Champ de Mars), notably for the Maiden Cup (listed race), is unique in world racing.

Pamplemousses Botanical Garden, north of Port Louis

The island has also given rise to a diversified literature, prominent in French, English, Creole and Hindi languages.

International rankings

Organisation	Survey	Ranking
Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal	2006 Index of Economic Freedom	77 out of 157
Reporters Without Borders	Press Freedom Index (2005)	34 out of 167
Transparency International	Corruption Perceptions Index 2006	42 out of 163
United Nations Development Programme	Human Development Index 2006	63 out of 177