Mauritius
Mauritius (full name, The Republic of Mauritius) covers an area of approximately 2,000 sq km. An island in the Indian Ocean with 177 km of coastline, Mauritius has a small coastal plain rising to mountains encircling a central plateau. The country is divided into 9 districts - Black River, Cargados Carajos, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart and Savanne; and three dependencies - Agalega Islands, Shoals and Rodrigues. Port Louis is the capital, with a time difference of 4 hours ahead of GMT. The currency is the Mauritian rupee, and main exports include sugar, clothing, tea and jewellery. The population of approximately 1,300,000 people contains the ethnic groups Indo-Mauritian (68%) and Creole (27%). Primary languages are English with some Creole, French and Indian languages spoken, and the predominant religions are Hindu, Christianity and Islam.