The Republic of Mauritius is a democratic and prosperous nation whose entire population has ancestral origins elsewhere: Europe, Africa, India, and China. Until newly, the nation's economy was controlled by the production and export of sugar, a legacy of its French and British colonial past. After freedom in 1968, government-directed diversification efforts resulted in the rapid growth of tourism and a manufacturing area producing mainly textiles for export.

contempt many differences, the major political parties have worked successfully toward the nation's economic welfare. For this reason, Mauritius has evolved from a primarily agricultural monocrop economy marked by high unemployment, low salaries, and boom-or-bust cycles to one controlled by manufacturing, tourism, and expanding financial services. As Mauritius faces the future, it can look back on its dazzling economic performance in the 1980s and attempt to build on that success by continuing its tradition of political stability, foresight, and prudent development planning.