Mauritius

Mauritius is an island nation, considered part of Africa, in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar. It is a parliamentary democracy that became independent of the United Kingdom in 1968, with a good record in free elections and human rights. While its own Creole is the traditional language, English is widely spoken, as is French; both are taught as part of public education.

Government

The legal system is a combination of French civil law with some English common law.

Its chief of state, the President of Mauritius, is elected by the unicameral National Assembly. The National Assembly has 70 seats, with 62 members elected by popular vote and 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities. Elections were last held in 2005, and due again in 2010.

The President is Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who was reelected unanimously after assuming office in 2003.

Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam has been head of government since 2005.

Mauritius is involved in international organizations and nongovernmental organizations. Dheerujlall Seetulsingh is on the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Economy

Its economic development has been unusually effective for a relatively new country, with a 5-6% annual growth rate that has taken it into the middle-income range. The economy is diverse, with growth in industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%.

The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 15% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on creating vertical and horizontal clusters of development in these sectors.

Its location has attracted foreign business, with the financial sector having had investment in excess of USD $1 billion. Over 32,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India, South Africa, and China, are present.

Information technology

It is a meeting point for optical submarine cables, at present SAFE submarine cable to Asia and South Africa , and the SAT-3-WASC submarine cable to parts of East Africa. Other links are under consideration.

The African Network Information Center (AfriNIC), the regional Internet address registry is headquartered in Mauritius, linked to specialized centers in South Africa, Egypt, and Ghana.

Military

Mauritius has no military, only police and coast guard.