One of the most famous of all Indian Ocean islands, Mauritius, officially a separate nation, lies east of Madagascar Island.
Along with the islands of St. Brandon, Rodrigues, Reunion and the Agalega Islands, Mauritius forms part of an archipelago called Mascarene Islands.
Mauritius, after gaining independence from Britain in 1968 developed into a middle-income diversified economy from the agriculturally driven, low-income based economy. One of the first things that the new government did was to promote it as one of the ideal tourist attractions. Its other growth sectors are financial and industrial areas.
With a growth rate of 5-6 percent per annum, Mauritius can be counted as among the most prosperous African nations. In fact with revenues of more than 16 billion dollars in year 2005 makes it the second highest GDP per capita nation. Only the Equatorial Guinea makes it to the top.
With a high life expactancy, low infact mortality and an excellent infrastructure, Mauritius is a fine example of how when Government and all stakeholders work together, the effort does yield wonderful results.
