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Geography
The island of Mauritius lies in the Indian
Ocean 800 km east of Madagascar between latitudes
19.58' and 20.32' S, covering 1,865 sq km
in area. It is a volcanic island, surrounded
by a coral reef. Including its other islands,
the whole territory covers a land area of
2,040 sq km.
Demography
The population of around 1.1 million is of
mixed origin, including people of European,
African, Indian and Chinese descent. Almost
42% of the population inhabit the urban area
extending from Port Louis - the capital and
business centre - on the north-west coast
to Curepipe in the centre.
Mauritius has one of the highest literacy
rates among developing countries, with over
95% literacy among those under 30. Education
is free to university level. Although the
official language is English, Creole, French,
Hindi and Bhojpuri are also widely spoken,
giving Mauritius a richly polyglot population.
The economically active population numbers
407,000, of whom 18.5% are engaged in agriculture,
33.7% in mining and manufacturing, 1% in
utilities, 5.2% in construction, 11% in commerce,
6.2% in transport and communication, 1.7%
in finance and 22.7% in public services.
History and Political Situation
Following unsuccessful attempts at colonisation
by the Dutch in the 17th century, the first
permanent inhabitants of Mauritius were 18th
century French settlers from the neighbouring
island of Reunion (then known as Bourbon).
Slaves were introduced from East Africa and
Madagascar, whose descendants now comprise
28% of the Mauritian population. In 1810
Britain captured the island, and it was formally
ceded to Britain by France in 1814.
After 1831, when slavery was abolished in
the British colonies, the Franco-Mauritian
planters recruited labourers from India.
By 1861 Indians accounted for nearly two-third
of the island's population or 192,000 people.
On March 18, 1968 Mauritius became an independent
state, remaining a member of the British
Commonwealth. The constitution of Mauritius
is based on the Westminster model. There
is an Assembly made up of 70 members, of
whom 62 are elected and 8 nominated by the
president. Members are elected for a maximum
period of five years according to the "first
past the post" system. The president,
who is the head of state, is elected for
five years on a nomination by the Prime Minister
and with the support of members of the assembly.
The prime minister is appointed by the President.
Legislation to turn Mauritius into a republic
was passed in December 1991, and the island
became a republic on March 12, 1992.
The present government headed by Sir Anerood
Jugnauth, is made up by a coalition of Mouvement
Socialist Mauricien ,Mouvement Militant Mauricien,
Mouvement des Travaillistes Democrates and
Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais. The coalition
shares 59 seats out of 66 in the assembly,
after the election in 1991. The opposition
parties are Mauritius Labour Party, Parti
Mauricien Social Democrate and Parti Socialiste
Mauricien.
Economy
The island of Mauritius was for a long time
an extreme example of a one-crop economy,
with sugar production accounting for more
than 90% of total cultivable land and 28%
of the labour force, and, until recent years,
providing about 60% of export earnings. Economic
growth, therefore, was largely dependent
on climatic conditions and world prices for
sugar. However, the dominance of sugar has
been eroded by the steadily expanding manufactured
export sector, and sugar's share in the gross
domestic product declined from 13% in 1979
to 11.3% in 1987, and its share of exports
has fallen to about 32%.
The governmental effort to lessen dependence
on the sugar sector was focused on developing
the Export Processing Zone (EPZ), a sector
which concentrates on labour-intensive processing
of imported goods for the export market.
Within the EPZ, the government offers both
local and foreign investors attractive packages
of incentives, including tax "holidays";
exemption from import duties on most raw
materials and capital goods; free repatriation
of capital; profits and dividends; cheap
electricity; etc. About 60% of invested capital
is locally owned, a further 25% is owned
by Hong Kong entrepreneurs, and the remainder
is supplied mainly by Pakistani, Indian,
French, German and British interests.
The fastest growing EPZ sectors have been
textiles and clothing, which now account
for 80% of total EPZ exports, more than 68%
of EPZ enterprises and 91% of EPZ labour.
Other fast growing sectors have been electronic
components and leather goods, and emphasis
has been put on the development of precision
engineering (electronics, watch and instrument
making etc.), also skilled crafts (diamond
cutting and polishing, furniture, quality
goods etc.).
Many of the EPZ industries experienced difficulties
in the early 1990s, and several closed down,
partly because of huge rises in costs, both
of labour and imported raw materials. The
government is currently promoting investment
in capital-intensive industries producing
high value-added goods. It is well aware
that the access to developed country markets
provided to Mauritian sugar and manufactured
exports of the Lome Convention may not survive
indefinitely, and the strategy is focused
both on diversifying the economy and on moving
up market. The Government anticipates that
by the turn of the century the economy will
rest on four legs - agriculture, manufacturing,
tourism and increasingly the service sector.
Stock trading in Mauritius dates back almost
two centuries, but until recently was carried
out via an informal bourse. The modern Stock
Exchange of Mauritius began operations in
July 1989, with six listed companies. There
are now 19 listed companies whose securities
are traded on the official market and a further
72 on the OTC market, which started in April,
1990.
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