Background: A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814 when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993.

Geographic coordinates: 4 35 S 55 40 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 455 km²
Water: 0 km²
Land: 455 km²
Comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
Territorial sea: 12 NM
Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)

Terrain: Mahe Group is granitic narrow coastal strip rocky hilly; others are coral flat elevated reefs

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m

Natural resources: fish copra cinnamon trees

Land use
Arable land: 2.22%
Permanent crops: 13.33%
Other: 84.45% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: NA km²

Natural hazards: lies outside the cyclone belt so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible

Geography
Note: 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands

Population: 80,098 (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 0.47% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
Adjective: Seychellois

Ethnic groups: mixed French African Indian Chinese and Arab

Languages: English (official) French (official) Creole

Religions: Roman Catholic 86.6% Anglican 6.8% other Christian 2.5% other 4.1%

Age structure
0-14 years: 27.8% (male 11,238; female 11,002)
15-64 years: 66% (male 25,763; female 27,086)
65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,667; female 3,342) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.47% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 17.27 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 6.57 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.99 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

Environment
Current issues: water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
International agreements signed but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male/female
65 years and over: 0.5 male/female
Total population: 0.93 male/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 16.86 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.97 years
Female: 76.63 years (2002 est.)
Male: 65.48 years

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA%
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 58%
Male: 56%
Female: 60% (1971 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Seychelles
Conventional short form: Seychelles

Government type: republic

Capital: Victoria

Administrative divisions: 23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins Anse Boileau Anse Etoile Anse Louis Anse Royale Baie Lazare Baie Sainte Anne Beau Vallon Bel Air Bel Ombre Cascade Glacis Grand' Anse (on Mahe) Grand' Anse (on Praslin) La Digue La Riviere Anglaise Mont Buxton Mont Fleuri Plaisance Pointe La Rue Port Glaud Saint Louis Takamaka

Independence: 29 June 1976 (from UK)

National holiday: Constitution Day (National Day) 18 June (1993)

Constitution: 18 June 1993

Legal system: based on English common law French civil law and customary law

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 August-2 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2006)
Election results: France Albert RENE reelected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 54.19%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 44.95%, Philippe BOULLE 0.86%; note - the first time that presidential elections have been held separately from legislative elections
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
Head of government: President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next held by 2007)
Election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11
Note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the percentage that each party won of the total vote

Judicial branch: Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE] - the governing party

International organization participation: ACCT ACP AfDB C CCC ECA FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICFTU ICRM IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO InOC Interpol IOC ISO (correspondent) ITU NAM OAU OPCW SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Claude Sylvestre MOREL
In the us chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10,017
In the us fax: [1] (212) 972-1786
In the us telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to the Seychelles

Flag description: five oblique bands of blue (hoist side) yellow red white and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side

Economy overview: Since independence in 1976 per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the old near-subsistence level. Growth has been led by the tourist sector which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings and by tuna fishing. In recent years the government has encouraged foreign investment in order to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming fishing and small-scale manufacturing. The vulnerability of the tourist sector was illustrated by the sharp drop in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Other issues facing the government are the curbing of the budget deficit including the containment of social welfare costs and further privatization of public enterprises. Growth slowed in 1998-2001 due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors. Also tight controls on exchange rates and the scarcity of foreign exchange have impaired short-term economic prospects. The black market value of the Seychelles rupee is half the official exchange rate; without a devaluation of the currency the tourist sector should remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros Mauritius and Madagascar.

Real gdp growth rate: 1.5% (2001 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2001 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3%
Industry: 26%
Services: 71% (1999) (1999)

Agriculture products: coconuts cinnamon vanilla sweet potatoes cassava (tapioca) bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish

Industries: fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla coir (coconut fiber) rope boat building printing furniture; beverages

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 30,900 (1996) (1996)
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 71%
By occupation agriculture: 10% (1989) (1989)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $249 million
Expenditures: $262 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) (1998 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.1% (2001 est.)

Exports: $182.6 million f.o.b. (2001)
Commodities: canned tuna cinnamon bark copra petroleum products (reexports)
Partners: UK 48.1% Italy 23.1% France 14.8% Netherlands 2.7% (1999)

Imports: $360.2 million f.o.b. (2001)
Commodities: machinery and equipment foodstuffs petroleum products chemicals
Partners: Italy 13.3% South Africa 10.7% France 9.9% UK 8.0% Singapore 7.7% (1999)

Debt external: $240 million (1999 est.)

Exchange rates: Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.7458 (January 2002) 5.8575 (2001) 5.7138 (2000) 5.3426 (1999) 5.2622 (1998) 5.0263 (1997)

Electricity
Production: 160 million kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 100%
Production by source hydro: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 148.8 million kWh (2000)
Exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Imports: 0 kWh (2000)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 19,635 (1997)
Mobile cellular: 16,316 (1999)

Telephone system
General assessment: effective system
Domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago
International: direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Internet
Country code: .sc
Service providers isps: 1 (2000)
Users: 9,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $11 million (FY01)
Percent of gdp: 1.8% (FY01)

Airports: 14 (2001)
With paved runways total: 7
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2002)

Railways: 0 km (2003)

Waterways: none

Merchant marine
Total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,086 GRT/10,192 DWT
Ships by type: cargo 2
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: South Africa 2 (2002 est.)

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