When I travel to a place, I can't help but compare it to my home. Last week, I visited The Republic of Mauritius. Mauritius and Rhode Island are both tiny and both are roughly rectangular, requiring a little over one hour to drive from one side to the other.
I was struck by the similarities and the opportunities shared by Mauritius and Rhode Island. Mauritius is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, about 1,200 miles off the southeast coast of Africa. Nothing about its location relates to Rhode Island. But, Mauritius' size is similarly small, in that it has 787 square miles (plus a couple of other smaller islands under its control) - a bit less than Little Rhody's 1,212 square miles. Mauritius has about the same amount of people -- 1.2 million, compared to Rhode Island's 1 million. Mauritius is a beautiful tropical island, with turquoise waters that draw visitors from all over the world. Its air quality is second best in the world, according to rankings from the World Health Organization. I assume Rhode Island's air quality is not on the world winners' list. But I honestly could not tell the difference. Rhode Island, of course, is also a global tourist magnet for its coastal beauty.
Both places are cultural and religious mixtures. Mauritius is distinguished as the only country in Africa with a majority of its citizens as Hindu (just slightly over 50%). The next largest group is Christian, at 33%, Islam at 17% and Buddhist at only 0.4%. The really interesting thing about this country is the genuine harmony among its citizens who represent broad religious diversity. Everyone I talked to drew a sincere and blank face whenever asked whether people from different religions get along. Apparently Mauritius' citizens really do live harmoniously. Rhode Island shares Mauritius' religious diversity, as the State's history is deeply intertwined with religious freedom. Founding father Roger Williams established Rhode Island as a new colony governed by the principles of religious liberty and separation of church and state. Rhode Island began as a haven for Baptists, Quakers, Jews and other religious minorities.
The ancestors of almost all of Mauritius' inhabitants were brought from India and Africa in the late 1600s and 1700s to serve as slaves. Similarly, Rhode Island was a prime player in the slave trade during America's colonial era.
The current life expectancy on Mauritius is 75 years, compared to 79.9 for Rhode Islanders. On the not-so-healthy side of the statistics ledger, like Rhode Island and much of the United States, there is alarm about the use of opiod drugs. Nearly 1% of the population of Mauritius (at a rate of 0.9%) uses heroin. Although I could not locate a comparable statistic isolating heroin use specifically, there are estimates published that between 30% and 40% of Rhode Islanders have painkillers prescribed for them.
So, as to size, shape, religion, slave history and citizens' health, Mauritius and Rhode Island have a lot of similarities. Where it gets really interesting is the economy. Tourism is a natural for both of these coastal beauties. But Rhode Island, under our Governor Gina Raimondo, is thoughtful and competitively strategic about nurturing and developing the state's other assets including advanced industries and design.
Similarly, Mauritius is classified by the World Bank as upper middle Income and for eight consecutive years through 2016, has ranked first among African economies and 32nd worldwide in terms of ease of doing business. It leverages off of its high literacy rate and diversifies its economic drivers beyond tourism. As I arrived from the airport, I saw indicators of success in the business realm. I passed shiny office buildings like Cyber City and international banking offices - signs of an educated, tech-savvy workforce and jobs. Billboards promote digital marketing expertise and related tech services.
Mauritius and Rhode Island have in common the assets of unusually beautiful coastal locations and small, connected communities. Both are built on foundations of diverse peoples and tolerance. Mauritius earns praise for its favorable business climate. Rhode Island is laser focused and working on it. Mauritius validates the potential.
Although Rhode Island is challenged by competition of other states on some factors of the business climate, Little Rhody enjoys a strong advantage by being small and nimble. I believe in the power of small. I witnessed the success of Mauritius, a teeny speck in the Indian Ocean, having bested all of the African continent as the easiest place to do business. Rhode Island is on the right track and it can be done.
