About Mauritius » General Information » Overview

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 lagoons 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 democracy modelled on the British system of parliamentary democracy, which guarantees the separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers.

The President is the Head of State and Commander-in-chief while the Prime Minister has full executive powers and is the Head of Government. Sixty-two members of the National Assembly are elected every five years by universal adult suffrage. Democracy is well entrenched in Mauritius and all major political parties are represented in Parliament.