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.

History

While Arab and Malay sailors knew of Mauritius as early as the 10th century and Portuguese sailors first visited it in 1505, the island remained uninhabited until 1638 when it was colonized by the Dutch. They named the island in honour of Prince Maurice of Nassau. Because of climate changes, cyclones and the deterioration of the settlement, the Dutch abandoned the island some decades later. The French controlled the island during the 18th century and named it Ile de France (Isle of France). Despite winning the famous Battle of Grand-Port, the French were defeated by the British in the north of the island, at Cap Malheureux (Cape of the Unlucky Ones), a month later, and thus lost possession to the British in 1810 and the latter reverted the island to its former name.

In 1965, the United Kingdom split out the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory, in order to utilise the strategic islands for defence purposes in cooperation with the United States. Although the Government of Mauritius agreed to the move at the time, subsequent administrations have laid claim to the islands stating that the divestment was illegal under international law - claim recognised by the United Nations.

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

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

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 4 and 8 further members appointed from "best losers" election candidates to represent ethnic minorities, depending on the results of the election. The government is headed by the prime minister and a council of ministers.

The most recent general elections took place on the 3 July 2005 in all the 20 mainland constituencies, as well as the constituency covering the island of Rodrigues.

Historically, elections have always adhered to a two-party system in Mauritius and this has also been the case this time, with the outgoing MSM/MMM/PMSD coalition against the PTr-led Alliance Sociale which includes PMXD, Les Verts, MR, MSD and MMSM.

The Alliance Sociale coalition won 38 seats and will form the next government with PTr leader Navinchandra Ramgoolam as Prime Minister. The MSM/MMM/PMSD coalition won 22 seats and will form the opposition. The 2 remaining seats for Rodrigues were won by OPR candidates. According to the Constitution, an additional eight seats were allocated to "best losers" to guarantee equitable representation of all ethnic groups. This brought the total representation to 42 Alliance Sociale, 24 MSM/MMM/PMSD, and 4 OPR.

In international affairs, Mauritius is part of the Indian Ocean Commission.

In 2006, Mauritius asked to be an observing member of CPLP in order to become closer to those countries.

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 the whole of Africa. It is only exceeded by Equatorial Guinea, which derives most of its revenue from oil exports. Mauritius on the other hand is a very mature economy with a great deal of wealth distribution among its citizens. 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 USD 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 have close ties with the country. They also provide technical assistance in various forms.