MAURITIUS. Republic of Mauritius
An island nation in the southwestern part of the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, it includes the island of Mauritius and several smaller islands - Rodrigues, Agalega, and the Cargados Carajos Shoals. The Legislative Assembly of Mauritius passed a law in 1980 to include the island of Tromelin, which is administered by France (since 1990, negotiations have been ongoing between Mauritius and France regarding the future of the island), and in 1982, the Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia, which was ceded by Britain to the USA on a 50-year lease. The area is 2,040 km². The capital is Port Louis (150,000). The administrative division consists of 5 cities and 9 districts. The population is over 1.1 million (as of 2004); 69% are Indo-Mauritians (descendants of India and Pakistan), 27% are Creoles, 3% are Chinese, and 1.8% are of European descent. The official language is English, with French and Creole widely spoken. Religion: Hinduism is practiced by 51% of the population, Christianity by 32.2%, and Islam by 16.1%. The currency is the Mauritian rupee.
It has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with the USSR on March 17, 1968).
The national holiday is March 12 - Independence Day (1968) and Republic Day (1992).
Mauritius is a republic. The constitution of 1968 (with subsequent amendments) is in effect. The head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the president, elected by the parliament for a 5-year term. On October 7, 2003, Anerood Jugnauth was elected president of Mauritius. Legislative power is exercised by the National Assembly (70 deputies; 62 are elected by universal suffrage, and 8 are reserved for candidates who receive a relatively large number of votes but do not win). The executive power is held by the cabinet of ministers.
The main political parties are: the Labour Party (LP) - founded in 1936, it has the support of the rural Hindu population; the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) - founded in 1969, it reflects the interests of a significant part of the Muslim, Chinese, and Creole communities; the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) - founded by A. Jugnauth in 1983, it relies on broad segments of the Hindu community; the Mauritian Social Democratic Party (PMSD) - founded in the late 1940s, it reflects the interests of the large and medium Franco-Mauritian and Creole bourgeoisie; the Reformed Mauritian Militant Movement (RMMM) - formed in 1994 from a splinter group of the MMM.
Trade unions (General Federation of Workers, Labour Congress of Mauritius) have over 90,000 members.
Mauritius is a member of the UN and the African Union.
In 1511, the Portuguese arrived on the island of Mauritius; in 1598, it was captured by the Dutch. From 1715 to 1810, it was a French colony, and then a British colony. Since March 12, 1968, it has been an independent state, with the British monarch as its formal head, represented by a governor-general. It is part of the Commonwealth, headed by the United Kingdom.
From 1968 to 1982, the cabinet of S. Ramgoolam was in power without interruption, initially consisting of the LP and later a coalition of the LP and PMSD. In 1982, the coalition of MSM and MMM led by A. Jugnauth won the elections and remained in power until July 2005. In July 2005, in the course of the next elections, the Social Alliance led by LP leader N. Ramgoolam won, who then headed the government.
Mauritius is one of the most dynamically developing countries in Africa. In 2004, the GDP was over $4.4 billion (growth rate in 2004 - 5.1%), and the per capita income was $5,000. Mauritius has established a "free export zone," which includes 495 enterprises producing textiles, garments, knitwear, perfumes, and footwear. There are 17 sugar factories and 8 tea factories in the country. Electricity production is about 390 million kWh. The share of agriculture in GDP is about 15%. The production of major agricultural crops: sugar is about 600,000 tons (sugar accounts for over 25% of Mauritius' exports), and tea is 6,000 tons.
Tourism plays an important role in the economy of Mauritius. In 2004, over 730,000 tourists visited the country, generating about $700 million in revenue.
The foreign trade turnover of Mauritius in 2004 amounted to $5.2 billion. Exports were $2.3 billion (sugar, clothing, leather goods and footwear, textile semi-finished products, tea). Imports were $2.9 billion (fabrics, wool and yarn, machinery and equipment, petroleum products). Main trading partners: France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the USA, South Africa. The external debt is about $2 billion (as of 2004).
Paved roads total 2,000 km. Air transport is well developed. The main seaport and international airport are in Port Louis.
About 95% of the population is literate. The country has 280 primary schools (140,000 students), 128 colleges (80,000 students). There is a university.
About 20 newspapers are published (the largest are "L'Express," "Weekend," "Mauricien"), and there are radio stations and dual-channel television.
