Seychelles is located in the Indian Ocean about 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) east of Kenya. The nation is an archipelago of 115 tropical islands with two distinct collections of islands, some comprised of granite and others of coral. The Mahe Group consists of 42 granite islands, all within a 56-kilometer (35-mi.) radius of the main island of Mahe. These islands are rocky, and most have a narrow coastal stripe and a central range of hills rising as high as 914 meters (3,000 ft.). Mahe is the largest island--9,142 sq. km (55 sq. mi.)--and is the site of Victoria, the capital. The coral islands are flat with elevated coral reefs at different stages of formation. They have no fresh water; human life can be sustained on them only with difficulty.

President: James Michel (2004)

Total area: 176 sq mi (456 sq km)

Population (2007 est.): 81,895 (growth rate: 0.4%); birth rate: 15.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 14.8/1000; life expectancy: 72.3; density per sq mi: 465

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Victoria, 23,000

Monetary unit: Seychelles rupee

Languages: Seselwa Creole 92%, English 5%, French (all official) (2002)

Ethnicity/race: mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 20,700 (2006); mobile cellular: 70,300

(2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2001). Radios: 42,000

(1997). Television broadcast stations: 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997). Televisions: 11,000

(1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 187 (2007). Internet users: 29,000 (2006).

Transportation: Railways: 0 km. Highways: total: 458 km; paved: 440 km; unpaved: 18 km (2003). Ports and harbors: Victoria. Airports: 15 (2007).

Climate : The climate is equable and healthy, although quite humid, as the islands are small and subject to marine influences. The temperature varies little throughout the year. Temperatures on Mahe vary from 240C to 29.90C (750F-850F), and rainfall ranges from 288 centimeters (90 in.) annually at Victoria to 355 centimeters (140 in.) on the mountain slopes. Precipitation is somewhat less on the other islands. During the coolest months, July and August, the temperature drops to as low as 700F. The southeast trade winds blow regularly from May to November, and this is the most pleasant time of the year. The hot months are from December to April, with higher humidity (80). March and April are the hottest months, but the temperature seldom exceeds 880F. Most of the islands lie outside the cyclone belt, so high winds are rare.

History
The Seychelles islands remained uninhabited for more than 150 years after they became known to Western explorers. The islands appeared on Portuguese charts as early as 1505, although Arabs may have visited them much earlier. In 1742, the French Governor of Mauritius, Mahe de Labourdonais, sent an expedition to the islands. A second expedition in 1756 reasserted formal possession by France and gave the islands their present name in honor of the French finance minister under King Louis XV. The new French colony barely survived its first decade and did not begin to flourish until 1794, when Queau de Quincy became commandant.

The Seychelles islands were captured and freed several times during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, then passed officially to the British under the 1814 Treaty of Paris.

From the date of its founding by the French until 1903, the Seychelles colony was regarded as a dependency of Mauritius, which also passed from the French to British rule in 1814. In 1888, a separate administrator and executive and administrative councils were established for the Seychelles archipelago. Nine years later, the administrator acquired full powers of a British colonial governor, and on August 31, 1903, Seychelles became a separate British Crown Colony.

Economy:
Seychelles’ economy rests on tourism and fishing. Employment, foreign earnings, construction, banking, and commerce are all largely dependent on these two industries.

The services sector--including transport, communications, commerce, and tourism--has accounted for close to 70% of GDP in recent years. The share of manufacturing has been between 15-20% of GDP, although it fluctuates from year to year owing to changes in output from the Indian Ocean Tuna cannery. Public investment in infrastructure has kept construction buoyant, with its share of GDP at around 10%. Given the shortage of arable land, agriculture, forestry, and fishing (excluding tuna) make a small contribution to national output.

GDP in 2005 was at $693 million and income per capita was at $8,682, by far the highest in Africa. This puts the island in the World Bank’s “upper middle-income” bracket with the result that Seychelles is low on the agenda of international donors and aid flows are limited. However, given the small size of the economy, the island remains vulnerable to external shocks.

Although the average per capita income is over $8,000, residents often have difficulty obtaining even basic foodstuffs, such as rice and sugar. Government mismanagement and excessive economic regulations, including a manipulated exchange rate, have resulted in foreign exchange shortages and a parallel market currency exchange rate double the official rate.