Page "Economy of Mauritius" Paragraph 3

With a well-developed legal and commercial infrastructure and a tradition of entrepreneurship and representative government, Mauritius is one of the developing world ’ s most successful democracies.

The economy has shown a considerable degree of resilience, and an environment already conducive to dynamic entrepreneurial activity has moved further toward economic freedom.

The island ’ s institutional advantages are noticeable.

A transparent and well-defined investment code and legal system have made the foreign investment climate in Mauritius one of the best in the region.

Taxation is competitive and efficient.

The economy is increasingly diversified, with significant private-sector activity in sugar, tourism, economic processing zones, and financial services, particularly in offshore enterprises.

The government is trying to modernize the sugar and textile industries, which in the past were overly dependent on trade preferences, while promoting diversification into such areas as information and communications technology, financial and business services, seafood processing and exports, and free trade zones.

Agriculture and industry have become less important to the economy, and services, especially tourism, accounted for over 72 percent of GDP.

The government still owns utilities and controls imports of rice, flour, petroleum products, and cement.