Mauritius was discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, and was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was achieved in 1968.
Since independence, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agricultural based economy to a diversified middle-income economy with growth in the industrial and financial services sectors and strong tourism and outsourcing sectors. The island now boasts one of Africa’s highest per capita incomes and has attracted more than 32,000 offshore entities, many targeted at commerce in South Africa, India, and China. Mauritius is considered to have a stable democracy and developed civil society with regular free elections and a positive human rights record.