The paradise island of Mauritius is a wonderful place to spend a vacation here. It is not as popular with Russian tourists as Turkey, Thailand or the Dominican Republic, but this is a plus – here you can enjoy the amazing local atmosphere, not yet soaked through with a commercial attitude. However, holidays in Mauritius are not very cheap, and not least because of the cost of the flight.
The composition of the state of the same name includes many islands – in fact, Mauritius, and a scattering of smaller islands. Most of the population lives on the main island. There are no official languages. In practice, the local Creole dialect prevails. Many also speak English or French. The total land area of the country is approximately 2 thousand square kilometers. Mauritius has practically no water holdings – in total, they make up only 0.05% of the country’s territory. Once Europeans tried to develop agriculture here, but it turned out that frequent hurricanes destroy any crops, and only sugarcane is able to withstand the onslaught of fierce winds. Half of Mauritians are Hindu religion. Every fifth woman and every tenth man in the country is illiterate.
Nearly three-quarters of the population of Mauritius are descendants of immigrants from India, mixed with other races. The population growth rate here is very small – it grows by an average of 1% over three years. About 90% of all agricultural land in Mauritius is used to grow sugarcane. At the same time, less than 10% of the able-bodied population is employed in agriculture as a whole. One of the local attractions is the Seven Color Sands, dunes consisting of grains of sand of seven different colors. An amazing sight. From Madagascar, Mauritius is separated by a distance of 900 kilometers. All TV channels and radio stations here belong to the state. There is one university in Mauritius. It is located in the capital, the city of Port Louis.
The local currency is called the Mauritian rupee. About 8% of Mauritians are unemployed. An interesting fact is that the number of people below the poverty level is equal to the number of the unemployed. Rest here is worth a lot of money. Prices can be compared with the Seychelles or the Maldives. Once in Mauritius, there were many unique species of animals, in particular, flightless birds, but they were exterminated by Europeans. The most famous of the extinct species is the dodo bird. Land tortoises were also exterminated.
Geographically, Mauritius refers to Africa. By the way, in terms of standard of living, it ranks second among all African countries. There is a very mild climate – there is neither suffocating heat, nor extreme cold. There are so many descendants of Hindus in Mauritius, because after the abolition of slavery, a huge number of Indian workers began to be brought here. The island once belonged to France, but then it, along with the Seychelles, ceded it to England. And then the country gained independence. The population density in Mauritius is the highest among African countries. About 45% of the entire country is occupied by sugar cane planting. Unofficially here almost everywhere you can pay with US dollars. The course is usually normal, and the change is given in local rupees.
