Mauritius
Geography - People - Economy - Government - Communications - Transportation - Military - Transnational IssuesCountry information - Mauritius
Country name - conventional long form : Republic of Mauritius
Country name - conventional short form : Mauritius
Country name - local long form : Republic of Mauritius
Country name - local short form : Mauritius
Country name - former :
Country code : MP
Government type : parliamentary democracy
Capital - name : Port Louis
Capital - time difference : UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
National holiday : Independence Day, 12 March (1968)
Population : 1,274,189 (July 2008 est.)
Nationality - noun : Mauritian(s)
Nationality - adjective : Mauritian
Languages : Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)
Currency (code) : Mauritian rupee (MUR)
Currency code : MUR
Major infectious diseases - degree of risk :
Major infectious diseases - note :
Mauritius is located Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. The climate is tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May). The terrain is small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau.
Background
This entry usually highlights major historic events and current issues and may include a statement about one or two key future trends.Background : Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently settled by the Dutch - who named it in honor of Prince Maurits van NASSAU - in the 17th century. The French assumed control in 1715, developing the island into an important naval base overseeing Indian Ocean trade, and establishing a plantation economy of sugar cane. The British captured the island in 1810, during the Napoleonic Wars. Mauritius remained a strategically important British naval base, and later an air station, playing an important role during World War II for anti-submarine and convoy operations, as well as the collection of signals intelligence. Independence from the UK was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather, declining sugar prices, and declining textile and apparel production, have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.
