Names: conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius

Capital City: Port Louis

Population: 1,240,827 (July 2006 est.)

GDP Per Capita: $13,500 (2006 est.)

Currency: Mauritian rupee (MUR)

Languages: Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)

Total Area: total: 2,040 sq km land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC

Region: Africa

Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism

Agriculture: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish

Resources: arable land, fish

Labor Force: 555,000 (2006 est.)
agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 14%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 36%, finance 3%, other services 7% (1995)

Exports: $2.318 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses

Imports: $3.391 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals

Overview: Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

_{CIA World Book}

In 2007 Missouri exported $121,672 in goods to Mauritius. This ranks Mauritius 147^th among the 223 international buyers of Missouri goods. Missouri exports to Mauritius decreased from the previous year by $122,113 a change of -50.09%. State exports to Mauritius have decreased over the last 5 years by $113,767 a change of -48.32%. Missouri exports account for .68%. of all 2007 US exports to Mauritius.