Seychelles (GPS: 4 35 S, 55 40 E) located in archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar. The country’s area measurements are total: 455 sq km; land: 455 sq km, water: 0 sq km. This sovereign state is 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC. The total irrigated land is three sq km (2012).
One of the critical features of Seychelles: The smallest African country. The constitution of the Republic of Seychelles lists 155 islands: 42 granitic and 113 corallines. The largest island is Mahe, which is home to about 90% of the population and the site of the capital city of Victoria.
It’s significant, and at the same time, the principal city, Victoria’s GPS coordinates are 4 37 S 55 27 E. Victoria’s local time is 9 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time. The capital’s time difference: UTC+4.
A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814 when they were ceded to the latter. During colonial rule, a plantation-based economy developed that relied on imported labor, primarily from European colonies in Africa. Independence came in 1976. Following a coup d’etat in 1977, the country was a socialist one-party state until adopting a new constitution and holding free elections in 1993. President France-Albert RENE, who had served since 1977, was reelected in 2001 but stepped down in 2004. Vice President James Alix MICHEL took over the presidency and in 2006 was elected to a new five-year term; He was reelected in 2011 and again in 2015. In 2016, James MICHEL resigned and handed over the presidency to his vice-president, Danny FAURE.
Seychelles’s names conventional long form: the Republic of Seychelles, conventional short form: Seychelles, local long form: the Republic of Seychelles, local short form: Seychelles, etymology: named by French Captain Corneille Nicholas MORPHEY after Jean Moreau de SECHELLES, the finance minister of France, in 1756. Named by French Captain Corneille Nicholas MORPHEY after Jean Moreau de SECHELLES, France’s finance minister, in 1756.
Seychelles’s terrain is typically Mahe Group is volcanic with a narrow coastal strip and rocky, hilly interior; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs. The country’s mean elevation: N/A, elevation extremes; lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m, highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m.
The country’s general climate is tropical marine: humid: colder season during southeast monsoon (late May to September): warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May).
The total number of border countries is 0; none are the neighboring nations with the indicated border lengths. Seychelles’s coastline is 491 km. Its marital claims are territorial sea: 12 nautical miles, contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles, continental shelf: 200 nautical miles, or the edge of the continental margin. Waterways: N/A. Land use: agricultural land: 6.5%; arable land 2.2%; permanent crops 4.3%; permanent pasture 0%; forest: 88.5%; other: 5% (2011 estimate).
The population in Seychelles 94,633 (July 2018 estimate), urban population: 53.9% of total population (2015), major urban area’s population: VICTORIA (capital) 26,000 (2014), while Seychelles has N/A. Their spoken languages are: Seychellois Creole (official language) 89.1%, English (official language) 5.1%, French (official language) 0.7%, other 3.8%, unspecified 1.4% (2010 estimate). Main religions in Seychelles are Roman Catholic 76.2%, Protestant 10.6% (Anglican 6.1%, Pentecoastal Assembly 1.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.2%, other Protestant 1.6), other Christian 2.4%, Hindu 2.4%, Muslim 1.6%, other non-Christian 1.1%, unspecified 4.8%, none 0.9% (2010 estimate). The nation uses mixed legal system of English common law, French civil law, and customary law. It is a(n) presidential republic, National holiday(s) Constitution Day, 18 June (1993); Independence Day (National Day), 29 June (1976).
Economic overview for the country: Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the pre-independence, near-subsistence level, moving the island into the high-income group of countries. Growth has been led by the tourism sector, which directly employs about 26% of the labor force and directly and indirectly accounts for more than 55% of GDP and tuna fishing. In recent years, the government has encouraged foreign investment to upgrade hotels and tourism industry services. Simultaneously, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting offshore financial, information, and communication sectors and renewable energy. In 2008, having depleted its foreign exchange reserves, Seychelles defaulted on interest payments due on a $230 million Eurobond, requested assistance from the IMF, and immediately enacted several significant structural reforms, including liberalization of the exchange rate, reform of the public sector to include layoffs, and the sale of some state assets.
In December 2013, the IMF declared that Seychelles had successfully transitioned to a market-based economy with full employment and a fiscal surplus. However, state-owned enterprises still play a prominent role in the economy. Effective 1 January 2017, Seychelles was no longer eligible for trade benefits under the US African Growth and Opportunities Act after gaining developed country status. Seychelles grew at 5% in 2017 because of a strong tourism sector and low commodity prices. The Seychellois Government met the IMF’s performance criteria for 2017 but recognized a need to reduce further high-income inequality, represented by a Gini coefficient of 46.8. As a small open economy dependent on tourism, Seychelles remains vulnerable to developments such as economic downturns in countries that supply tourists, natural disasters, and changes in local climatic conditions and ocean temperature. One of the government’s main challenges is implementing strategies that will increase Seychelles’ long-term resilience to climate change without weakening economic growth.
Natural resources of Seychelles: fish, coconuts (copra), cinnamon trees.
Main export partners for Seychelles, Africa are France 18.2%, UK 17.9%, Mauritius 10%, Japan 9.2%, Italy 7.8%, Spain 4.5% (2015) for canned tuna, frozen fish, petroleum products (re-exports), while the main import partners for the country are: Saudi Arabia 22.5%, Spain 11.1%, Singapore 7.4%, China 4.5%, South Africa 4.1%, France 4% (2015) for machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals, other manufactured goods.
When you visit this country in Africa, consider the natural hazards in Seychelles: Lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare, occasional short droughts, while infectious diseases are N/A. Also, note that Seychelles faces the following environmental issues: Water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater, water pollution, Biodiversity maintenance.
You may also be interested in the countries next to Seychelles around its 0 km border – No border countries.
