Seychelles Information Guide & Facts

Area: 455 sq km
Population: 80,410 (1999 est)
Capital City: Victoria
People: Predominantly African with French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Indian, British infusions
Languages: English, French and Creole
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (90%), Anglican (8%)
Currency: Seychelles Rupee

GEOGRAPHY

The Seychelles is a small group of 115 islands (scattered over 650,000 sq km of ocean) around 1,600 km to the east of Kenya. The climate is tropical with uniformly high temperatures all year round (average 26C) and a wet season from December to May. The capital, Victoria, is on the main island of Mahe.

HISTORY

The islands were uninhabited until the 17th century, and were probably first visited by the Malays and Arabs. The Portuguese used the islands as a stop-over point during the 16th century. In 1609 a British East India ship made landfall, and in the next few years shiploads of pirates moved their operations to the Indian Ocean from the Caribbean and used the islands as their base.

Seychelles was proclaimed a French colony in 1756 but the first French settlers did not arrive until 1770. The French ruled the islands with delegated powers from Mauritius. Both the British and French were keenly interested in the strategic value of the islands and during the late 1790s and early 1800s Seychelles changed hands several times. Following the Napoleonic wars, Seychelles was ceded to the British in 1814 and was administered from Mauritius until 1888, when an administrator was appointed to govern from Victoria. Seychelles became a separate Crown colony in 1903.

ECONOMY

Basic Economic Facts

GDP: purchasing power parity US$626 million (2002 est)
GDP per head: purchasing power parity US$7,800 (2002 est)
Annual Growth: 1.5% (2002)
Inflation: 0.5% (est 2002)
Major Industries: Tourism, tuna fishing/canning
Main Imports: Manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, food and live animals
Main Exports Canned tuna, fish, prawns, re-exports of petroleum
Major Trading Partners: South Africa, UK, France, Germany, Singapore
Aid & Development: Seychelles is the top African country on the UN Human Development Index (based on economic wealth and social indicators), and 53rd out of 174 countries worldwide
Exchange rate: £1 = SRs8.83 (October 2003)