Mauritius ( Mauritius) is a country in Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar. Mauritius geographic coordinates 20 17 S, 57 33 E; area 10 s; area comparative almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC; land boundaries 0 km; coastline 177 km; maritime claims 20; climate tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid sum; terrain small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau; elevation extremes Mont Piton 828 m; natural resources arable land, fish; land use 47.78% (2001); irrigated land 200 sq km (2000 est.); natural hazards cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards; environment current issues water pollution, degradation of coral reefs; environment international agreements none of the selected agreements; geography note the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs;

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Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence 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 and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community. government type parliamentary democracy; capital Port Louis; administrative divisions 9 districts and 3 dependencies*; Agalega Islands*, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals*, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues*, Savanne; independence 12 March 1968 (from UK); national holiday Independence Day, 12 March (1968); constitution 12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992; legal system based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

Mauritius population 1,230,602 (July 2005 est.); age structure 6.5% (male 31,506/female 48,760) (2005 est.); median age 31.46 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 0.84% (2005 est.); birth rate 15.62 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 6.83 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -0.41 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 17.74 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 76.41 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 1.96 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 0.1% (2001 est.); hiv people with aids 700 (2001 est.); hiv deaths less than 100 (2001 est.); nationality Mauritian; ethnic groups Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%; religions Hindu 52%, Christian 28.3% (Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 2.3%), Muslim 16.6%, other 3.1%; languages English (official), Creole, French (official), Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, Bhojpuri; literacy 82.7% (2003 est.);

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