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The Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean with a total area of 2,040 kmē. It is formerly known as the republic of Mauritius. The republic includes the islands of St. Brandon, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands in addition to the island of Mauritius.
The capital city is Port Louis and it is the largest city of Maritius. Important cities are Curepipe, Vacoas, Phoenix, Quatre Bornes, Rose-Hill and Beau-Bassin.
Mauritius got independence from Britain on March 12th, 1968. It became a Republic on March 12th, 1992 and is officially known as the Republic of Mauritius. The currency is Mauritian rupee (MUR).
The head of state of Mauritius is the President, who is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly.
English is the official language of Mauritius. French is widely spoken and is used together with English in educational system. The most widely-spoken language of the country is Mauritian Creole, which has words similar to French. Creole was the language used by the African slaves to communicate with their French masters. Today, Creole is used in everyday life by all Mauritians.
Several other languages including Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Punjabi and dialects of Chinese, such as Cantonese, Hakka and Mandarin, are also spoken by significant parts of the population.
Majority of the population are Hindus with 52% followed by Roman Catholicism 28% and Islam 16.6% and Buddhism 2.5%.
The island is well known for its natural beauty and beautiful beaches. The beautiful beaches attract tourists from all over the world.
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