I.

Introduction

Mauritius, independent island republic in the western Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. The country includes the island of Mauritius, with an area of 1,865 sq km (720 sq mi); the island of Rodrigues (109 sq km/42 sq mi) to the east; the Agalega islands to the north; and the St Brandon Group (also known as the Cargados Carajos Shoals) to the north-east, which have a combined area of 71 sq km (27 sq mi). The country has a total area of 2,040 sq km (788 sq mi). The capital of Mauritius is Port Louis.

II.

Land and Resources

The island of Mauritius is of volcanic origin. From a low-lying plain in the north, the terrain rises to a plateau that covers the central part of the island. The south is mostly mountainous, rising to a maximum elevation in Petite Rivière Noire Peak (828 m/2,717 ft). Several lakes are located in the plateau region, and numerous rivers rise in the highlands and flow to the coast. The island is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs, but Port Louis has a fine harbour that is accessible to ocean-going ships. The main natural resource is the island’s relatively fertile soil.

A.

Climate

The climate is tropical and generally humid. The average annual temperature is 26.7° C (80° F) on the coast but is lower in the central plateau. Average annual rainfall ranges from about 1,016 mm (40 in) on the coast to about 5,080 mm (200 in) in the plateau region. Strong cyclonic storms occur often during the hot season (December to April).

B.

Environmental Concerns

The islands of Mauritius rely almost entirely on sugar cane production. Intense farming has led to overuse of pesticides and a consequent build-up of resistant insects. The islands are almost entirely surrounded by coral, which is a valuable fishery and tourist resource, but some damage has occurred as a result of pollution and siltation. The Macchabee region was designated a Man and the Biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1977. The Rivulet Terre Rouge Estuary Bird Sanctuary is protected under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

III.

Population

Mauritius has a population of 1,260,781 (2008 estimate), giving an overall population density of about 621 people per sq km (1,609 per sq mi), one of the highest in the world. Port Louis, the capital and largest city, has a population of 143,000 (2003 estimate). Life expectancy at birth is 69 years for men, 77 years for women (1996).

About two thirds of the population are of Indian origin, while people of mixed African and European descent, known as Creoles, constitute less than one third of the total. Chinese and European minorities also exist; Mauritius has one of the largest Chinese populations in Africa.

A.

Political Divisions

Mauritius is divided into nine districts: Black River, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Rivière du Rempart, Savanne and three dependencies: Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals, and Rodrigues.

B.

Religion

Most of the Indo-Mauritians are Hindu (52 per cent of the population), though some are Muslim (17 per cent). The Creoles are mainly Roman Catholic, and many of the Chinese are Buddhist.

C.

Language

English is the official language (3,000 mother-tongue speakers), but French and Morisyen (a French creole) are commonly spoken. French and English are used in government and business. Road signs are in English, and most newspapers and media communications are in French. Other languages spoken in Mauritius include Hindi, Urdu, and Bhojpuri, which is an amalgamation of several Indian dialects spoken by the early Indian settlers. Most Mauritians are at least bilingual. Morisyen is the most widely spoken language in Mauritius.

D.

Education

The adult literacy rate in Mauritius is around 86 per cent. In 2002–2003, 4.7 per cent of the country’s gross national product (GNP) was spent on education. Higher education is provided by the University of Mauritius (1965) and the University of Technology (2000).

E.

Culture

The country has six major museums. The Natural History Museum and the Mauritius Institute Museum are located in Port Louis. The Folk Museum of Indian Immigration is at Moka and the Historical Museum at Mahébourg. A unique song and dance form, the séga, is native to the country and dates from slave times. An important exponent of séga was Ti Frère (1900-1992). A modern interpretation of séga is seggae, a mix of séga and reggae.

Art and literature are represented by Malcolm de Chazal (1902-1981); he wrote in French with perhaps his most famous work being Sens-Plastique, a series of aphorisms. Other famous writers include Robert Edward Hart (1891-1954), Marcel Cabon (1912-1972), Edouard Maunick (1931- ), and Raymonde de Kervern (1899-1973).

IV.

Economy

Mauritius had a GNP (World Bank estimate) of some US$5,724 million in 2004, equivalent to about $5,430 per capita. Since independence in 1986, Mauritius has developed from a primarily agriculture-based economy to one that is more diversified, with growing industrial and tourist sectors. Annual growth in the early 1990s was around 6 per cent, with low unemployment.

A.

Agriculture

The economy of Mauritius has traditionally been dominated by a single cash crop, sugar cane. More than half the cultivated land is planted with sugar cane; sugar and molasses make up 30 per cent of export earnings. Other crops include tea, peanuts, tobacco, and vegetables.

B.

Manufacturing

Manufactured goods include refined sugar and sugar by-products, fertilizers, beverages, electronic components, leather goods, and clothing. The textile industry boomed during the 1980s and 1990s, and tourism became increasingly important.

C.

Currency and Banking

The monetary unit of Mauritius is the Mauritian rupee of 100 cents (29.58 rupees equalled US$1; early 2008). The central bank is the Bank of Mauritius.

D.

Transport

Mauritius is served by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport, 48 km (30 mi) to the south-east of Port Louis. The national carrier is Air Mauritius, which is partly state owned. There are around 1,000 km (620 mi) of paved roads in the country.

V.

Government

From 1968 to 1991, Mauritius was a constitutional monarchy with executive power nominally vested in the British monarch, as represented by a governor-general. In March 1992, however, the country became a republic and the governor-general assumed presidential powers. Cassam Uteem was president from July 1992 to February 2002, and was elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 62 members elected by popular vote, plus 4 other members chosen from the losing political parties by an election commission. The head of government is the prime minister, who presides over the Council of Ministers.

A.

Health and Welfare

Almost all of the population has access to health services, clean water, and sanitation. There were 946 people per doctor in 2004 and an infant mortality rate of 14 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008. Around 8 per cent of government expenditure was spent on health care in 2001.

B.

International Organizations

Mauritius is a member of the United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth of Nations, and the African Union.

VI.

History

Although it has been settled for less than 400 years, Mauritius was probably visited by the Arabs before the 10th century, the Malays in the 15th century, and the Portuguese in the early 1500s. It was occupied in 1598 by the Dutch, who named it after Maurice of Nassau, then stadtholder or chief magistrate of the Netherlands. The Dutch left in 1710, and in 1715 the French took possession, renaming it Île de France. It was captured by the British in 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars and was formally ceded to Britain in 1814. To offset the labour problem arising from abolition of slavery in the British Empire, the planters were allowed to import indentured labourers from India, and since 1861 the population has been mainly Indian.

A.

Independence

Mauritius was granted independence on March 12, 1968. The Mauritius Labour Party (MLP), headed by Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, governed Mauritius during the first 14 years of independence. The opposition Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) gained strength throughout the 1970s, and in 1982 swept to power under the leadership of Anerood Jugnauth. Ousted from the MMM in a power struggle, Jugnauth formed a new party, the Mauritian Socialist Movement, which, in alliance with the MLP, won a parliamentary majority in 1983. Jugnauth’s coalition was re-elected in 1987 and 1991. Mauritius became a republic in 1992, with Cassam Uteem as its president.

In elections held in December 1995, the MLP won 65 per cent of the seats and Navin Ramgoolam became prime minister, setting up a coalition with the MMM. In 1997 in an unpopular move he sacked the MMM leader, his deputy and foreign affairs minister, Paul Raymond Bérenger. In September 2000 the so-called kingmaker Bérenger returned; this time his party's alliance with the MSM helped restore Jugnauth to power, with a commanding majority that precipitated the resignation of Ramgoolam. An MSM/MMM coalition was duly formed, with Jugnauth as prime minister and Bérenger his deputy.

President Uteem resigned in February 2002 in protest at a controversial anti-terrorism bill drawn up by the government. The president refused to sign the new legislation, as did his immediate successor in the role, Angidi Chettiar, who was appointed shortly afterwards but who also resigned in protest. The country’s third president in as many weeks, Supreme Court Chief Justice Ariranga Govindasamy Pillay, signed the bill into law the same month.

Pillay was succeeded by Karl Offmann in February 2002 but was replaced by Raouf Bundhun, in an acting capacity, for less than a week. In October 2003 Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who had resigned as prime minister the previous month, assumed the office of president. He passed the leadership of the MSM to his son Pravind. The new prime minister was Paul Raymond Bérenger. He resigned in July 2005 after losing the general election to Navim Ramgoolaam’s Social Alliance, which won 38 of the 62 constituencies.