|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
Common Name: Seychelles
|
Local Official Name: Seychelles
|
|
Abbreviated Name: Republic of Seychelles
|
Official Name: Seychelles
|
|
Official Script Name: Seychelles
|
Local Common Name: Seychelles
|
|
Former Name: Seychelles
|
Territory of: NA
|
|
|
Head of State: President France Albert RENE
|
Government Type: republic
|
Independence: 1976 June 29 (from UK)
|
Constitution: 1993 June 18
|
National Holiday: Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June
|
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
|
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
|
Dependent Areas: NA
|
Legal System: based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law
|
Suffrage: 17 years of age years
|
Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches: 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:
unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10 % of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20-22 March 1998 (next to be held by 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 61.7%, UO 26.1%, DP 12.1%; seats by party - SPPF 30, UO 3, DP 1
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
|
Party 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 Disputes: claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)
|
Illicit Drugs: NA
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Location of Seychelles: Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar
|
|
Continent: Africa
|
Land Area Total: 455 sq km
|
|
Region: Eastern African |
Land Area Land: 455 sq km
|
|
Capitol City: Victoria
|
Land Area Water: 0 sq km
|
|
Current:
|
|
|
|
|
Latitude: 004 35 S
|
Border Boundary Land: 0 km
|
|
Longitude: 055 40 E
|
Border Boundary Coastline: 491 km
|
|
|
|
Arable Land: 2.00 %
|
Pastures: 0.00 %
|
|
Crops: 13.00 %
|
Woodlands and Forests: 0.00
|
|
|
|
Highest Elevation: 905 m
|
Location: Morne Seychellois
|
|
Lowest Elevation: 0 m
|
Location: Indian Ocean
|
|
|
|
Largest City in Seychelles: Victoria
|
Victoria Largest City Population: 28,000
|
|
|
Threatened Species: 0
|
Environmental Issues: water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater
|
Environmental 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
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
|
Irrigated Land: 0
|
Bordering Countries: NA
|
Natural Resources: fish, copra, cinnamon trees
|
Geographical Terrain: Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs
|
Comparative Area of Seychelles: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
|
Seychelles's Geography: 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click Here for detailed information about the weather conditions in Seychelles.
|
General Climate: tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)
|
Natural Hazards: lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Economic 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.
|
|
|
|
GDP: $605,000,000 USD
|
Currency: Seychelles rupee
|
|
GDP per Capita: $7,600 USD
|
Currency Code: SCR
|
|
GDP Growth Rate: 1.50 %
|
One $USD Equals: %fincurrencyequals% SCR
|
|
|
Currency Exchange Rate History: Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.7458 (January 2002), 5.8575 (2001), 5.7138 (2000), 5.3426 (1999), 5.2622 (1998), 5.0263 (1997)
|
|
|
|
GDP of Agriculture: 3.10 %
|
GDP of Industry: 26.30 %
|
|
GDP of Services: 70.60 % |
|
|
|
|
Inflation Rate: 6.10 % |
Population in Poverty: 0.00 %
|
|
Unemployment Rate: 0.00 %
|
Tourism: 125,000.00 visitors each year
|
|
|
|
Consumption by lowest 10%: 0.00 %
|
Budget Revenue in USD: $249,000,000 USD
|
|
Consumption by upper 10%: 0.00 %
|
Budget Expenditures in USD: $262,000,000 USD
|
|
|
|
Electricity Production: 160,000,000 kWh
|
Electricity Exports: 0 kWh
|
|
Electricity Consumption: 148,800,000 kWh
|
Electricity Imports: 0 kWh
|
Electricity Production by Source:
|
|
|
Fossil Fuel Electricity Production: 100.00%
|
Nuclear Electricity Production: 0.00%
|
|
Hydro Electricity Production: 0.00%
|
Other Electricity Production: 0.00%
|
|
|
|
Oil Production: 0 barrels per day
|
Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m
|
|
Oil Consumption: 0 barrels per day
|
Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m
|
|
Oil Exports: 0 barrels per day
|
Natural Gas Exports: 0 cu m
|
|
Oil Imports: 0 barrels per day
|
Natural Gas Imports: 0 cu m
|
|
Proven Oil Reserves: 0 barrels
|
Proven Natural Gas Reserves: 0 cu m
|
|
|
|
External Debt: $240,000,000 USD |
Received in economic aid: $16,400,000 USD
|
|
|
Donated in economic aid: $0 USD
|
|
|
Agricultural Products: coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish
|
Primary Industries: fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages
|
Industrial Growth Rate: 0.00 %
|
|
|
Import Amount in USD: $360,200,000 USD - machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
|
Import Partners: Italy 13.3%, South Africa 10.7%, France 9.9%, UK 8.0%, Singapore 7.7%
|
Export Amount in USD: $182,600,000 USD - canned tuna, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports)
|
Export Partners: UK 48.1%, Italy 23.1%, France 14.8%, Netherlands 2.7%
|
|
|
GINI Index: 0.00%
|
Labor Force Number of People: 30,900
|
Labor Force by Occupations: industry 19%, services 71%, agriculture 10%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Radio Broadcast Stations: 5 |
Number of People with Radios: 42,000 |
|
Television Broadcast Stations: 2 |
Number of People with Televisions: 11,000 |
|
Number of People with Mainline Telephones: 19,635 |
Number of People with Mobile Phones: 16,316 |
|
|
|
Internet Service Providers: 1 |
Internet Users: 6,000 |
|
|
|
Internet Country Code: .sc |
Newspapers: 46 |
|
Two Letter Country Code: SE |
Weights and Measures: |
|
Phone Country Code: +248 |
Electricity Voltage: Volts |
|
|
Telephone Systems: 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)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Highways: 176 km |
Railways: 0 km
|
|
Gas And Oil Pipelines: 0 km |
Waterways: 0 km
|
|
Airports: 7 |
Heliports: 0
|
|
|
|
Motor Vehicles: 112 per 1,000 people |
CO2 Emissions: 0 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
|
|
Per capita CO2 emissions: 0.00 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
|
|
Merchant Marines: 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
|
Ports and Harbors: Victoria
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Population: 80,098 people type - nationality |
Birth Rate: 17.27 births per 1,000 people |
|
Population Density: 177.00 people per sq km |
Death Rate: 6.57 deaths per 1,000 people |
|
Population Growth: 0.47% per year |
Fertility Rate per Women: 1.81 babies born per woman |
|
|
|
Population Male 0-14: 11,238 |
Population Female 0-14: 11,002 |
|
Population Male 15-64: 25,763 |
Population Female 15-64: 27,086 |
|
Population Male 65+: 1,667 |
Population Female 65+: 3,342 |
|
|
|
Population 0-14: 27.80% |
Literacy Rate: 58.00% |
|
Population 15-64: 66.00% |
Literacy rate of Males: 56.00% |
|
Population 65+: 6.20% |
Literacy rate of Females: 60.00% |
|
|
|
Population that is Male: 46.50
% |
Population that is Female: 53.50% |
|
Life expectancy at birth in years: 70.97 years |
Infant mortality rate - baby deaths per 1000 births: 16.86 Babies die per 1,000 births |
|
Life expectancy at birth for Males: 65.48 years |
Life expectancy at birth for Females: 76.63 years |
|
|
|
Rate of AIDS/HIV infection: 0.00%
|
Number of people living with AIDS or HIV: 0
|
|
|
Number of people who died of AIDS: 0 |
|
|
Disease Risk:
|
Diseases:
|
Net Migration Rate per 1,000 people: -5.99
|
Nationality: SEYCHELLOIS
|
Ethnic Groups: mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab
|
|
|
Primary Language: English
|
Other Languages: English (official), French (official), Creole
|
|
|
Primary Religion: Roman Catholic
|
Other Religions: Roman Catholic 86.6%, Anglican 6.8%, other Christian 2.5%, other 4.1%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Branches: Army, Coast Guard (includes Air Wing), Presidential Protection Unit (includes Presidential Guard), Police Force (includes Police Mobile Unit, a special weapons and tactics unit capable of assisting the Army in maintaining internal stability)
|
Manpower Fit to Serve: NA years
|
Manpower Available: 23,210 People
|
Manpower Fit to Serve: 11,554 People
|
Amount of Manpower Available each Year: 0 People per year
|
Expenditures: $11,000,000 USD per year
|
Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP: 1.80
|
|
|
|
Note: Phrasebase uses a variety of sources when compiling the facts and information presented above. This information is continually updated throughout the year.
|
|
|
|
|
Seychelles Spa and Resort Directory
|
Seychelles Home Exchanges and Home Swaps
|
Seychelles Vacation Rentals And Holiday Villas
|
Seychelles City Information Game Earn Real Money
|
