Mauritius
Mauritius is an island country in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of East Africa, and east of Madagascar. The Republic of Mauritius includes the main island Mauritius as well as Rodrigue, Agalaéga, and St. Brandon. The main island, Mauritius where most of the population is concentrated hosts the largest city and capital, Port Louis. This small African country occupies an area of just 790 square miles and has an exclusive economic zone spanning 670 square miles.
It is generally accepted that Arab sailors first discovered the uninhabited island around 975. Later in 1502 Portuguese sailors arrived and also made some claim to the island. This was followed by the Dutch who landed and took possession in 1598. A succession of conquest led to the French eventually taking possession in 1715. The United Kingdom also got into the fray when it seized the island from France in 1810. Under the treaty of Paris, four year later France ceded Mauritius and the British colony was named. The country finally gained independence from the United Kingdom in March of 1968.
The people of Mauritius are diverse in ethnicity, culture, language, and faith. It is the only African country where Hinduism is the most practised religion. Indo-Mauritians make up the bulk of the 1,265m. population, with Creole, Sino-Mauritians, and Franco-Mauritians as the minorities. The official languages are English and French. However, Creole -Mauritian is spoken at home by 90% of the population. The main religion is Hinduism where 48% of the population identify with this faith, Christianity follows with 32%, Islam 18%, and 1.6% others.
Mauritius is considered a high income economy and is ranked 13th out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business. It has built its success on a free market economy. Its political structure is a unitary parliamentary republic with a president, vice president, prime minister , and a speaker of the national assembly. Mauritius GDP stands at 14 billion USD.
Mauritius is an island country in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of East Africa, and east of Madagascar. The Republic of Mauritius includes the main island Mauritius as well as Rodrigue, Agalaéga, and St. Brandon. The main island, Mauritius where most of the population is concentrated hosts the largest city and capital, Port Louis. This small African country occupies an area of just 790 square miles and has an exclusive economic zone spanning 670 square miles.
It is generally accepted that Arab sailors first discovered the uninhabited island around 975. Later in 1502 Portuguese sailors arrived and also made some claim to the island. This was followed by the Dutch who landed and took possession in 1598. A succession of conquest led to the French eventually taking possession in 1715. The United Kingdom also got into the fray when it seized the island from France in 1810. Under the treaty of Paris, four year later France ceded Mauritius and the British colony was named. The country finally gained independence from the United Kingdom in March of 1968.
The people of Mauritius are diverse in ethnicity, culture, language, and faith. It is the only African country where Hinduism is the most practised religion. Indo-Mauritians make up the bulk of the 1,265m. population, with Creole, Sino-Mauritians, and Franco-Mauritians as the minorities. The official languages are English and French. However, Creole -Mauritian is spoken at home by 90% of the population. The main religion is Hinduism where 48% of the population identify with this faith, Christianity follows with 32%, Islam 18%, and 1.6% others.
Mauritius is considered a high income economy and is ranked 13th out of 190 economies in terms of ease of doing business. It has built its success on a free market economy. Its political structure is a unitary parliamentary republic with a president, vice president, prime minister , and a speaker of the national assembly. Mauritius GDP stands at 14 billion USD.