Mauritius is in the Mascareignes archipelago in the Indian Ocean, 2000km south east to the African coast and 900km from Madagascar.  The Mauritian Republic covers the main island Mauritius and the 3 islands of Rodrigues, Saint Brandon and Agalega.  Its capital is Port Louis.

Mauritius gained its independence within the Commonwealth March 12th 1968 and proclaimed itself a Republic on March 12th 1992.  The island covers an area of 1865km² and is of volcanic origin although the volcanoes have been extinct for a long time.

It has a population of 1.3 million.  The inhabitants are Indian, Chinese, African, European and Madagascan; a melting pot of different ethnic groups.  The official language is English, but most of the population speaks either French or Mauritian Creole.