E-Deals Tours Hotels Cars Transfer Flights Books Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. Its chief island, also called Mauritius, lies about 800 kilometres east of Madagascar and about 4,000 kilometres southwest of India. Overpopulation is one of the country's problems. Sugar-cane fields cover about half of the island. Bare, black volcanic peaks tower over the sugarcane fields.
Sugar is the island's chief product.
The Dutch claimed Mauritius in 1598. Mauritius gained its independence in 1968. It remained a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Port Louis, a city of about 138,000 people, is the capital and leading port. Discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, Mauritius was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968.