Mauritius, an island covering 1,860 square kilometres (720 square miles), is situated some 2,000 kilometres (1242 miles) off the South East coast of Africa. More than 150 kilometres (93 miles) of white sandy beaches and transparent lagoon are protected from the open sea by the world’s third largest coral reef, which surrounds the island.

The population is estimated at 1,2 million. It forms a mosaic of different races, cultures and religions since Mauritians are descendants of immigrants from the Indian sub-continent, Africa, Europe and China. The cultural diversity and racial harmony of the island make of Mauritius a unique place. Most Mauritians are multilingual, being fluent in Creole, French and English. English is the official language. Bhojpuri, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu and Mandarin are also spoken.

Mauritius is a development success story. It achieved remarkable economic and social success, based on good governance and an exceptional use of trade preferences for sugar and clothing exports. At independence in 1968, the country was poor, with per capita income of about US$260. Today it is an upper middle income country, with a 2006 per capita income of US$6,431 or $11,643 in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, the second highest in Africa after Seychelles. The country’s ability to profit from the trade opportunities testifies to its institutional strengths – a stable democracy and rule of law; ethnic tolerance; macroeconomic stability; equitable social progress; and reliance on private incentives.