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1.
Geographic
Adrift in the Indian Ocean the island of Mauritius is situated
approximately 2000km to the south east of Africa and lies east of
Madagascar. Enjoying a subtropical climate the island boasts 330km of
coastline.
2.
Landscape
Mauritius owes its origins to volcanic activity thus resulting in
spectacular mountain ranges; the highest peak is over 800 meters above
sea level. The hilly landscape was traditionally covered with
subtropical rainforest. The plainer areas of the island are mostly used
for sugar cane plantations. The coast is surrounded by beautiful coral
reefs.
3.
Population
Mauritius has 1.2 million inhabitants, of which around 200.000 live in
the capital Port Louis. The society is multicultural. The biggest
ethnical group (50%) has its origins in the Indian Sub Continent: India,
Pakistan and Bangladesh. The second group are the Chinese and the third
is from Africa. Europeans (mainly French) are the fourth group. Thanks
to this big ethnical diversity there are many religions; Hinduism,
Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.
4.
History
The first Europeans to discover Mauritius were the Portuguese. The
island was conquered by The Netherlands in 1598 and was called Mauritius
after Prince Maurits of Nassau. In 1712 the French took control of the
Island and from 1810 the British were in power. Mauritius became
independent in 1968 and has been a Republic since 1992.
5.
Geographic
The official language is English, whilst French and “Creole”, a dialect
from “old French”, are widely spoken. Other languages are Hindi and
Mandarin.
6.
Economy
The island is fairly prosperous and Mauritius is an “emerging market”.
Tourism and agriculture (mainly sugar cane) are important sectors.
Industry and financial services are growing. The textile sector is
especially important. Many fashion brands such as Tommy Hilfiger are
manufactured here.
7. Placement Mauritius
The strong economic growth of Mauritius offers good opportunities to do
internships in:
• Tourism (900.000 tourists per year in 2007 to 2.000.000 in 2015)
• Textiles
• ICT – “Cyber Island”
• Free Port – “Export Processing Zone”
• Finance – “Offshore Banking Center”
• Business
• Health / Education
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