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. The most recent presidential elections were held in 2001; President RENE who had served since 1977 was re-elected. In April 2004 RENE stepped down and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president.

Geographic coordinates: 4 35 S 55 40 E

Map reference: Africa

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

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 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% (2001)

Irrigated land: NA km²

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

Geography
Note: 41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands

Population: 81,188 (July 2005 est.)
Growth rate: 0.43% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

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

Ethnic groups: mixed French African Indian Chinese and Arab

Languages: Creole 91.8% English 4.9% (official) other 3.1% unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)

Religions: Roman Catholic 82.3% Anglican 6.4% Seventh Day Adventist 1.1% other Christian 3.4% Hindu 2.1% Muslim 1.1% other non-Christian 1.5% unspecified 1.5% none 0.6% (2002 census)

Age structure
0-14 years: 26.4% (male 10,839/female 10,601)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 26,709/female 28,025)
65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,622/female 3,392) (2005 est.)

Median age
Total: 27.7 years
Male: 26.62 years
Female: 28.76 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.43% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 16.22 births/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 6.34 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.54 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 est.)

Environment
Current issues: water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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: 0.48 male/female
Total population: 0.93 male/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 15.53 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 19.65 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.28 deaths/1000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 71.82 years
Male: 66.41 years
Female: 77.4 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.75 children born/woman (2005 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: 91.9%
Male: 91.4%
Female: 92.3% (2003 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 James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
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 re-elected 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; France Albert RENE stepped down 14 April 2004 and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next to be 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 Daniel BELLE]; Mouvement Seychellois pour la Democratie [Jacques HODOUL]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE James MICHEL] - the governing party

International organization participation: ACCT ACP AfDB AU C FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICCt (signatory) ICFTU ICRM IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO InOC Interpol IOC ISO (correspondent) ITU MIGA NAM OPCW SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTO (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 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785
In the us fax: [1] (212) 972-1786
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. A sharp drop illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Growth slowed in 1998-2002 and fell in 2003 due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors but resumed in 2004 erasing a persistent budget deficit. 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 may remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros Mauritius and Madagascar.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $626 million (2002 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 1.5% (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.8%
Industry: 28.7%
Services: 68.9% (2004 est.)

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)
By occupation agriculture: 10%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 71% (1989)

Unemployment rate: NA

Population below poverty line: NA

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

Budget
Revenues: $318.3 million
Expenditures: $298.5 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt: 122.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5% (2004 est.)

Current account balance: $-98.42 million (2004 est.)

Exports: $256.2 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: canned tuna frozen fish cinnamon bark copra petroleum products (reexports)
Partners: UK 27.7% France 15.8% Spain 12.6% Japan 8.6% Italy 7.5% Germany 5.6% (2004)

Imports: $393.4 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment foodstuffs petroleum products chemicals
Partners: Saudi Arabia 15.5% Spain 13.3% France 10.3% Singapore 7% South Africa 6.8% Italy 6.7% UK 4.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $70.94 million (2004 est.)

Debt external: $218.1 million (2004 est.)

Exchange rates: Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.5 (2004) 5.4007 (2003) 5.48 (2002) 5.8575 (2001) 5.7138 (2000)

Electricity
Production: 218 million kWh (2002)
Consumption: 202.8 million kWh (2002)
Exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Imports: 0 kWh (2002)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 21,700 (2002)
Mobile cellular: 54,500 (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: effective system
Domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago
International: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Internet
Country code: .sc
Hosts: 264 (2003)
Users: 11,700 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $12.3 million (2004)
Percent of gdp: 1.8% (2004)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)

Airports: 15 (2004 est.)
With paved runways total: 8
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)

Merchant marine
Total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 42,223 GRT/63,538 DWT
By type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 1
Foreign owned: 1 (Nigeria 1) (2005)

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