The island state of the Republic of Mauritius was, at various times, held by the Dutch, French, and British, before gaining independence in March 1968. The island has sustained one of the developing world's most successful democracies and has enjoyed years of constitutional order. English and French are both official languages in Mauritius, with Creole and Indian languages also being spoken.

Leader: President Sir Anerood Jugnauth
Capital city: Port Louis

Economic profile

Monetary unit: Mauritian rupee
GDP per capita: $14 000 (2010) (CIA)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 4.8% (2010) (CIA)
Industry: 24.6% (2010) (CIA)
Services: 70.5% (2010) (CIA)
GDP growth rate: 4% (2010) (CIA)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: $2.114-billion (2010) (CIA)
Government expenditure: $2.583-billion (2010) (CIA)
Consumer price inflation: 2.9% (2010) (CIA)
Industries: Food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, and tourism
Exports of goods and services: $2.041-billion (2010) (CIA)
Imports of goods and services: $3.935-billion (2010) (CIA)
Export commodities: Clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, and molasses
Import commodities: Manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, and chemicals
Trade balance: $-949-million (2010) (CIA)
Reserves: $2.36-billion (2010) (CIA)
Total investment: 23,8% of GDP (2010) (CIA)
Market capitalisation of listed companies: 55.8% of GDP (2006) (World Bank)

Social profile

Population: 1.27-million (2011) (World Bank)
Population growth: 0.5% (2011) (World Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 72.6 years (2011) (World Bank)
Adult literacy: 88% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 100% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 87% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 26% (2009) (World Bank)
Unemployment: 7.5% (2008) (CIA)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 8 800 (2009) (Unicef)