Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island, as well as Rodrigues, Agaléga and St. Brandon. The islands of Mauritius and Rodrigues, along with nearby Réunion, are part of the Mascarene Islands. The capital and largest city, Port Louis, is located in Mauritius, where most of the population is concentrated. The country spans 2,040 square kilometres (790 sq mi) and has an exclusive economic zone covering 2.3 million square kilometres.
Mauritius has strong and friendly relations with the West, with South Asian countries and with the countries of southern and eastern Africa. It is a member of the World Trade Organization, the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the African Union, the Southern Africa Development Community, the Indian Ocean Commission, COMESA, and the recently formed Indian Ocean Rim Association. Her Majesty Elizabeth II was the head of state of Mauritius.
Air Mauritius is the flag carrier airline of Mauritius. The airline is headquartered in Port Louis, Mauritius, with its hub based at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. The company was placed in voluntary administration on 22 April 2020 in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ISO 3166-2:MU is the entry for Mauritius in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.
Rodrigues is a 108 km2 (42 sq mi) autonomous outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about 560 km (350 mi) east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Islands, which include Mauritius and Réunion. Rodrigues is of volcanic origin and is surrounded by coral reef, and some tiny uninhabited islands lie just off its coast. The island used to be the tenth District of Mauritius; it gained autonomous status on 10 December 2002, and it is governed by the Rodrigues Regional Assembly. The capital of the island is Port Mathurin.
The president of Mauritius is the head of state of the Republic of Mauritius. Mauritius is a parliamentary republic, and the president functions as a ceremonial figurehead, elected by the National Assembly as set out by the Constitution of Mauritius. The current office-holder is Prithvirajsing Roopun. He took the office on 2 December 2019. The president's official residence is the State House.
The Prime Minister of Mauritius is the head of government of Mauritius. He presides over the Cabinet of Ministers which advises the President of the Country and is collectively responsible to the National Assembly for any advice given and for all action done by or under the authority of any Minister in the execution of his office.
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport is the main international airport in Mauritius. It is located 26 nautical miles (48 km) southeast of the capital city of Port Louis. The airport was previously known as the Plaisance Airport and has direct flights to several destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe and is home to the country's national airline Air Mauritius. Airports of Mauritius Co. Ltd (AML) is the owner and operator of the airport, the Government of Mauritius is the major shareholder of AML.
The Catholic Church in Mauritius is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
State Bank of Mauritius (SBM), is a bank in Mauritius that the Bank of Mauritius, the national banking regulator, has licensed as a commercial bank.
These are the various flags of Africa.
Mauritians are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian, Sub-Saharan African, European, and Chinese descent, as well those of a mixed background from any combination of the aforementioned ethnic groups.
Mauritius first participated at the Olympic Games in 1984, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. The nation has never participated in the Winter Olympic Games. Mauritius also supported the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is a disputed British Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands – many very small – amounting to a total land area of 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi). The largest and most southerly island is Diego Garcia, 27 km2 (10 sq mi), the site of a Joint Military Facility of the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Governor of Mauritius was the official who governed the Crown Colony of Mauritius during the British colonial period between 1810 and 1968. Upon the end of British rule and the independence of Mauritius in 1968, this office was replaced by the Governor-General, who represented the British Monarch and not the Government of the United Kingdom as did the Governor. The office of Governor-General was itself abolished in 1992 and replaced by the post of President when Mauritius became a Republic.
Mauritius competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Hip-Hop has been around in Mauritius since it has been on International media. Each generation has their own preference in terms of Rap Artists, but all artists who have been playing on the medias since TuPac have also been aired in Mauritius.