Formal Name: Republic of Mauritius.

Short Name: Mauritius.

Term for Citizens: Mauritian(s).

Capital: Port Louis.

Date of Independence: March 12, 1968 (from Britain).

GEOGRAPHY

Size: Approximately 1,865 square kilometers.

Topography: Includes Rodrigues Island, some 600 kilometers east and some uninhabited coralline islands Mauritius and Rodrigues part of volcanic chain of Mascarene Islands. Mauritius part of broken ring of mountain ranges (about 18 percent) encircling central tableland (about 25 percent), with low-lying coastal plains (about 46 percent) and coral reefs offshore. Numerous rivers and streams.

Climate: Below about 400-meter level humid, subtropical climate. Above that level more temperate. Two seasons: hot and wet summer, November through April, including cyclones December through March cool and dry winter, May through October. Overall average 200 centimeters of rain annually.

Data as of August 1994