f the period, annual growth has been in the order
of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more
equitable income distribution, 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
expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic
information telecommunications industry. 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. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector
and responsible fiscal management, has been well poised to take
advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Mayotte
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.

Mexico
Mexico has a free market economy with a mixture of modern and
outmoded industry and agriculture, increasingly dominated by the
private sector. Recent administrations have expanded competition in
seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation,
natural gas distribution, and airports. Per capita income is
one-fourth that of the US; income distribution remains highly
unequal. Trade with the US and Canada has tripled since the
implementation of NAFTA in 1994. Real GDP growth was a weak -0.3% in
2001, 0.9% in 2002, and 1.2% in 2003, with the US slowdown the
principal cause. Mexico implemented free trade agreements with
Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and the European Free Trade Area
in 2001, putting more than 90% of trade under free trade agreements.
The government is cognizant of the need to upgrade infrastructure,
modernize the tax system and labor laws, and provide incentives to
invest in the energy sector, but progress is slow.

Micronesia, Federated States of
Economic activity consists primarily
of subsistence farming and fishing. The islands have few mineral
deposits wor