Two decades ago, Mauritius had a one-crop economy based on sugar
cane, which accounted for 90 percent of the island's revenue. A
crash program of diversification, the basis of the boom, has
established an export-oriented multi-product economy. This year
sugar is expected to account for only 35 percent of foreign
exchange earnings, while industrial exports led by textiles will
account for more than 50 percent. Tourism, which now ranks
third, is growing fast as an earner of foreign currency.
Mauritius was founded as a French colony in 1722 and passed to
British control in 1810. It became independent in 1968. French
remains the main spoken language, but English is the official
language in Parliament and the courts. South African tourists
are struck by the island's lack of racial friction and the 94
percent literacy rate. Hindus, descendants of indentured Indian
laborers brought to the island by the British after the
abolition of slavery, make up 52 percent of the population and
dominate political life. The next