Facts about Mauritius
The cuisine of Mauritius is a blend of Indian cuisine, Creole, Chinese, and European.
Immigration policy does not provoke much debate in Mauritius, and the relative economic stability of the island is attracting more foreign workers.
The 1,400-member Special Mobile Force (SMF) and the 688-member National Coast Guard are the only two paramilitary units in Mauritius.
Mauritius also has large immigrant populations from continental Africa, Madagascar, France, Great Britain, and China, among other places.
Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Rйunion 200 km (125 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km to the east-northeast.
The World Bank 2007 Doing Business Survey ranks Mauritius 32nd in the world and second in Africa for ease of doing business.
Mauritius is a parliamentary democracy based on the British model.
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation off the coast of Africa in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 560 miles (900 km) east of Madagascar.
The French, who controlled the neighboring islands of Rodrigues and Rйunion), seized Mauritius in 1715 and in 1722 established a settlement they named Ile de France (Isle of France).
In 2006, Mauritius asked to be an observing member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) in order to achieve closer ties to those countries.
Mauritius has a mature economy with a great deal of wealth distribution among its citizens.
Mauritius, which has the second highest GDP per capita in Africa, aims to become the business hub of the Indian Ocean.
The historical evolution of the rum industry in Mauritius is no less enriching than that of the Caribbean or that of South America.
Mauritius attained independence in 1968 and the country became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1992.
The island of Mauritius itself consists of a broken ring of mountain ranges around a central plateau, with its highest peak in the southwest: Piton de la Petite Riviиre Noire at 2,717 ft(828 m).
Mauritius coordinates much of its foreign policy with the Southern Africa Development Community and the African Union.
Mauritius has been a stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, and has attracted considerable foreign investment.
The government that took office in July 2005 embarked on a bold economic reform program aimed at moving Mauritius from reliance on trade preferences to global competitiveness.
Mauritius has a long tradition of private entrepreneurship, which has led to a strong and dynamic private sector with a well-developed legal and commercial infrastructure.
Mauritius became Britain's main sugar-producing colony, growing almost 10 percent of the world's sugarcane by the mid nineteenth century, though that role declined as other countries increased their production.
Mauritius has attracted more than nine thousand offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa.
One price would be to split the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, so Britain could use the strategic islands for defense purposes in cooperation with the United States.
In 1847, Mauritius became the fifth country in the world to issue postage stamps.
The first record of Mauritius comes from Arab and Malay sailors as early as the tenth century.
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.
Mauritius has the second highest GDP per capita ($5,214) in Africa, only exceeded by Equatorial Guinea, which derives most of its revenue from oil exports.
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.
Mauritius also has large immigrant populations from continental Africa, Madagascar, France, Great Britain, and China, among other places.