FAX: 208-9534

Flag description: four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green

Mauritius Economy

Economy - overview: Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on foreign investment. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Economic performance since 1991 has continued strong with solid growth and low unemployment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 7.5% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $10,400 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%

industry: 29%

services: 61% (1996)

Population below poverty line: 10.6% (1992 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.3% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 514,000 (1995)

Labor force - by occupation: construction and industry 36%, services 24%, agriculture and fishing 14%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, transportation and communication 7%, finance 3% (1995)

Unemployment rate: 6.4% (1999 est.)

Budget: revenues: $1.1 billion

expenditures: $1.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries: food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing; chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery; tourism

Industrial production growth rate: 8% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 1.26 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 91.27%

hydro: 8.73%

nuclear: 0%

other: 0% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 1.172 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Agriculture - products: sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish

Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities: clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses

Exports - partners: UK 32%, France 19%, US 15%, Germany 6%, Italy 4% (1999 est.)

Imports: $2.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities: manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals (1996)

Imports - partners: France 14%, South Africa 11%, India 8%, UK 5% (1999 est.)

Debt - external: $1.9 billion (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $42 million (1997)

Currency: Mauritian rupee (MUR)

Currency code: MUR

Exchange rates: Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 27.900 (January 2001), 26.250 (2000), 25.186 (1999), 22.993 (1998), 21.057 (1997), 17.948 (1996)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Mauritius Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 223,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 37,000 (1997)

Telephone system: general assessment: small system with good service

domestic: primarily microwave radio relay

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries

Radio broadcast stations: AM 5, FM 9, shortwave 2 (1998)

Radios: 420,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions: 258,000 (1997)

Internet country code: .mu

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)

Internet users: 55,000 (2000)

Mauritius Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways: total: 1,910 km

paved: 1,834 km (including 36 km of expressways)

unpaved: 76 km (1998)

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: Port Louis

Merchant marine: total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,909
GRT/87,313 DWT

ships by type: cargo 2, combination bulk 2, container 2, liquefied gas 1, refrigerated cargo 2

note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: India 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 5 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 2

over 3,047 m: 1

914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 3

914 to 1,523 m: 1

under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.)

Mauritius Military

Military branches: National Police Force (includes the paramilitary
Special Mobile Force or SMF and National Coast Guard)

Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 339,473 (2001 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 171,206 (2001 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $11 million (FY97/98)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.3% (FY97/98)

Mauritius Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claims the Chagos Archipelago
(UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); claims
French-administered Tromelin Island

Illicit drugs: minor consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally

@Mayotte

Mayotte Introduction

Background: Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other Comoros in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forgo independence.

Mayotte Geography

Location: Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 12 50 S, 45 10 E

Map references: Africa

Area: total: 374 sq km

land: 374 sq km

water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Washington,
DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 185.2 km

Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)

Terrain: generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

highest point: Benara 660 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use: arable land: NA%

permanent crops: NA%

permanent pastures: NA%

forests and woodland: NA%

other: NA%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: cyclones during rainy season

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands

Mayotte People

Population: 163,366 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 46.59% (male 38,188; female 37,920)

15-64 years: 51.73% (male 46,132; female 38,378)

65 years and over: 1.68% (male 1,361; female 1,387) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 4.58% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 44.39 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 8.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 10.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.2 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female

total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 69.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 59.83 years

male: 57.77 years

female: 61.96 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6.24 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA

Nationality: noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)

adjective: Mahoran

Ethnic groups: NA

Religions: Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic)

Languages: Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population

Literacy: definition: NA

total population: NA%

male: NA%

female: NA%

Mayotte Government

Country name: conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of
Mayotte

conventional short form: Mayotte

Dependency status: territorial collectivity of France

Government type: NA

Capital: Mamoutzou

Administrative divisions: none (territorial collectivity of France)

Independence: none (territorial collectivity of France)

National holiday: Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system: French law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch: chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre BAYLE (since 15 July 1998)

head of government: President of the General Council Younoussa BAMANA (since NA 1977)

cabinet: NA

elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term

Legislative branch: unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)

elections: last held 7 October 2000 (next to be held NA 2003)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA

note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 1995 (next to be held 24 September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPM 1; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 25 May and 1 June 1997 (next to be held as a special election on NA May 2002); results - percent of vote by party - UDF/FD 51.7%, RPR 48.3%; seats by party - UDF/FD 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf
MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Younoussa BAMANA]; Mahoran
Rally for the Republic or RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Movement for
Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]; Socialist
Party or PS (local branch of French Parti Socialiste) [Ibrahim
ABUBACAR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: FZ

Diplomatic representation in the US: none (territorial collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US: none (territorial collectivity of France)

Flag description: the flag of France is used

Mayotte Economy

Economy - overview: Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $85 million (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $600 (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: NA%

industry: NA%

services: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%

highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: NA

Unemployment rate: 45% (1997)

Budget: revenues: $NA

expenditures: $73 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)

Industries: newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: NA%

hydro: NA%

nuclear: NA%

other: NA%

Electricity - consumption: NA kWh

Agriculture - products: vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra

Exports: $3.44 million (f.o.b., 1997)

Exports - commodities: ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon

Exports - partners: France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion

Imports: $141.3 million (f.o.b., 1997)

Imports - commodities: food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals

Imports - partners: France 66%, Africa 14%, Southeast Asia 11% (1997)

Debt - external: $NA

Economic aid - recipient: $107.7 million (1995); note - extensive
French financial assistance

Currency: French franc (FRF); euro (EUR)

Currency code: FRF; EUR

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Mayotte Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 9,314 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 0 (2000)

Telephone system: general assessment: small system administered by
French Department of Posts and Telecommunications

domestic: NA

international: microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros and other international connections

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 3 (1997)

Televisions: 3,500 (1994)

Internet country code: .yt

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA

Internet users: NA

Mayotte Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways: total: 93 km

paved: 72 km

unpaved: 21 km

Waterways: none

Ports and harbors: Dzaoudzi

Merchant marine: none (2000 est.)

Airports: 1 (2000 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1

1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.)

Mayotte Military

Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France; small contingent of French forces stationed on the island

Mayotte Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: claimed by Comoros

@Mexico

Mexico Introduction

Background: The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations, Mexico came under Spanish rule for three centuries before achieving independence early in the 19th century. A devaluation of the peso in late 1994 threw Mexico into economic turmoil, triggering the worst recession in over half a century. The nation continues to make an impressive recovery. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states.

Mexico Geography

Location: Middle America, bordering the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, between Belize and the US and bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between Guatemala and the US

Geographic coordinates: 23 00 N, 102 00 W

Map references: North America

Area: total: 1,972,550 sq km

land: 1,923,040 sq km

water: 49,510 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Texas

Land boundaries: total: 4,538 km

border countries: Belize 250 km, Guatemala 962 km, US 3,326 km

Coastline: 9,330 km

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM

continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: varies from tropical to desert

Terrain: high, rugged mountains; low coastal plains; high plateaus; desert

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Laguna Salada -10 m

highest point: Volcan Pico de Orizaba 5,700 m

Natural resources: petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber

Land use: arable land: 12%

permanent crops: 1%

permanent pastures: 39%

forests and woodland: 26%

other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 61,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts

Environment - current issues: natural fresh water resources scarce and polluted in north, inaccessible and poor quality in center and extreme southeast; raw sewage and industrial effluents polluting rivers in urban areas; deforestation; widespread erosion; desertification; serious air pollution in the national capital and urban centers along US-Mexico border

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: strategic location on southern border of US

Mexico People

Population: 101,879,171 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.32% (male 17,312,220; female 16,635,438)

15-64 years: 62.28% (male 30,888,015; female 32,558,359)

65 years and over: 4.4% (male 1,997,219; female 2,487,920) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.5% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 22.77 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 5.02 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -2.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.76 years

male: 68.73 years

female: 74.93 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.62 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.29% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 150,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 4,700 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Mexican(s)

adjective: Mexican

Ethnic groups: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1%

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 89%, Protestant 6%, other 5%

Languages: Spanish, various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional indigenous languages

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 89.6%

male: 91.8%

female: 87.4% (1995 est.)

Mexico Government

Country name: conventional long form: United Mexican States

conventional short form: Mexico

local long form: Estados Unidos Mexicanos

local short form: Mexico

Government type: federal republic

Capital: Mexico

Administrative divisions: 31 states (estados, singular - estado) and
1 federal district* (distrito federal); Aguascalientes, Baja
California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua,
Coahuila de Zaragoza, Colima, Distrito Federal*, Durango,
Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Mexico, Michoacan de Ocampo,
Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro de Arteaga,
Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas,
Tlaxcala, Veracruz-Llave, Yucatan, Zacatecas

Independence: 16 September 1810 (from Spain)

National holiday: Independence Day, 16 September (1810)

Constitution: 5 February 1917

Legal system: mixture of US constitutional theory and civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal and compulsory (but not enforced)

Executive branch: chief of state: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Vicente FOX Quesada (since 1 December 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; note - appointment of attorney general requires consent of the Senate

elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA July 2006)

election results: Vicente FOX Quesada elected president; percent of vote - Vicente FOX Quesada (PAN) 42.52%, Francisco LABASTIDA Ochoa (PRI) 36.1%, Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS Solorzano (PRD) 16.64%, other 4.74%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Union consists of the Senate or Camara de Senadores (128 seats; 96 are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and 32 are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote) and the Federal Chamber of Deputies or Camara Federal de Diputados (500 seats; 300 members are directly elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; remaining 200 members are allocated on the basis of each party's popular vote, also for three-year terms)

elections: Senate - last held 2 July 2000 for all of the seats (next to be held NA 2006); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2 July 2000 (next to be held NA 2003)

election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 59, PAN 45, PRD 17, PVEM 5, PT 1, PCD 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PRI 211, PAN 208, PRD 50, PVEM 16, PT 7, PCD 3, PSN 3, PAS 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice or Corte Suprema de
Justicia (judges are appointed by the president with consent of the
Senate)

Political parties and leaders: Convergence for Democracy or CD
[Dante DELGADO Ranauro]; Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI
[Dulce Maria SAURI Riancho]; Mexican Green Ecological Party or PVEM
[Jorge GONZALEZ Torres]; National Action Party or PAN [Luis Felipe
BRAVO Mena]; Party of the Democratic Center or PCD [Manuel CAMACHO
Solis]; Party of the Democratic Revolution or PRD [Amalia GARCIA
Medina]; Party of the Nationalist Society or PSN [Gustavo RIOJAIS
Santana]; Social Alliance Party or PAS [Jose Antonio CALDERON
Cardoso]; Workers Party or PT [Alberto ANAYA Gutierrez]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Employers of
the Mexican Republic or COPARMEX; Confederation of Industrial
Chambers or CONCAMIN; Confederation of Mexican Workers or CTM;
Confederation of National Chambers of Commerce or CONCANACO;
Coordinator for Foreign Trade Business Organizations or COECE;
Federation of Unions Providing Goods and Services or FESEBES;
National Chamber of Transformation Industries or CANACINTRA;
National Peasant Confederation or CNC; National Union of Workers or
UNT; Regional Confederation of Mexican Workers or CROM;
Revolutionary Confederation of Workers and Peasants or CROC; Roman
Catholic Church

International organization participation: APEC, BCIE, BIS, Caricom
(observer), CCC, CDB, CE (observer), EBRD, ECLAC, FAO, G-3, G-6,
G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM,
IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM
(observer), NEA, OAS, OECD, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Juan Jose BREMER Martino

chancery: 1911 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006

telephone: (202) 728-1600