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Mauritius

Mauritius
General information
Common nameMauritius
Local nameRepublik Moris
République de Maurice
NameRepublik Moris
République de Maurice
Motto"Stella Clavisque Maris Indici" (Latin)
"Star and Key of the Indian Ocean"
Anthem"Motherland"
CapitalPort Louis
Official languagesEnglish
VernacularMauritian Creole, French, English, Rodriguan Creole
DemonymMauritian
Government
GovernmentParliamentary republic
PresidentSir Anerood Jugnauth
Prime MinisterNavinchandra Ramgoolam
LegislatureParliament
Lower HouseNational Assembly
IndependenceIndependence (from the United Kingdom)
Date12 March 1968
Republic12 March 1992
Geography
Total Area787 sq mi (2038.3 km2) (179th)
Water %0.05
Demography
Population Est.1286340 (151st)
Population census1179137 (2000)
Density (pop.)631.7/km2 (18th) (1636.5/sq mi)
Economy
GDP PPP$19.008 billion (2011)
GDP (PPP) per capita$14,746
GDP (nominal)$10.299 billion (2011)
GDP (nominal) per capita$7,989
Other information
HDI(+) 0.701 (2010) (high) (72nd)
CurrencyMauritian rupee (MUR)
Time zoneMUT (UTC+4)
Date formatsdd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on theleft
Internet TLD.mu
Calling code230

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Mauritius c-enaudio=En-us-Mauritius.oggməˈrɪʃəs (Mauritian Creole: Moris; , -frmɔˈʁispron), officially the Republic of Mauritius (Mauritian Creole: Republik Moris; ) is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 km (559.2 mi) east of Madagascar. In addition to the island of Mauritius, the Republic includes the islands of Cargados Carajos, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius Island is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 200 km (124.3 mi) to the southwest and the island of Rodrigues 570 km (354.2 mi) to the northeast. Mauritius's area is 2040 km2; its capital city is Port Louis.

The British took control of the islands during the Napoleonic Wars, and Mauritius became independent from the UK in 1968. It is a parliamentary republic and is a member of the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the African Union, La Francophonie and the Commonwealth of Nations. Mauritius has an upper middle income economy.

The main languages spoken in Mauritius are Mauritian Creole, French and English. English is the only official language but the lingua franca is Mauritian Creole and the newspapers and television programmes are usually in French. Rodriguan Creole is a minority language and is spoken in certain parts of the country only. The country is composed of several ethnicities, including Indian, African, Chinese and French. The first European explorers found no indigenous people living on the island.

The island of Mauritius is renowned for having been the only known home of the dodo. This bird was an easy prey to settlers due to its weight and inability to fly, and became extinct fewer than eighty years after the initial European colonization.


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