The Republic of Seychelles is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, some 1,600 km east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar. Other nearby island territories include Mauritius and Reunion to the south, and the Maldives to the northeast.
|National motto: "Finis Coronat Opus"|
(Latin: The End Crowns the Work)
|Official languages||English and French|
- % water
|Ranked 177th |
- Total (2002)
|From the United Kingdom
June 29, 1976
|Time zone||UTC +4|
|National anthem||Koste Seselwa[?]|
While Arab traders were probably the first to visit the uninhabited Seychelles, the first recorded sighting of them took place in 1505, by the Portuguese. As a transit point for trading between Africa and Asia, they were occasionaly used by pirates until the French began to take control of the islands starting in 1756, naming them after Jean Moreau de Sechelles[?], the then French finance minister.
The British contested control over the islands with the French between 1794 and 1811, with the British eventually gaining the upper hand and being ceded the islands in 1814. The Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritius in 1903 and independence was granted in 1976, with the country remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The 1979 constitution declared a socialist one-party state, which lasted until 1992.
The Seychellois president, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term of office. The current president, France-Albert René[?], was democratically elected after the constitutional reforms of 1992, though he has been in power since a coup d'état in 1977. The cabinet is presided over and appointed by the president, subject to the approval of a majority of the legislature.
The unicameral Seychellois parliament, the National Assembly or Assemblée Nationale, consists of 34 members, of whom 25 are elected directly by popular vote, while the remaining 9 seats are appointed proportionally according to the percentage of votes received by each party. All members serve five-year terms.
Seychelles is divided into 23 administrative regions, called districts:
archipelago in the Indian Ocean of about 115 islands, of which 33 are inhabited. The group of islands around Mahé[?] consist of granite and are the largest and most populated of the country. The remaining outer group consists of smaller coralline atolls. The capital city, Victoria[?], is situated on Mahé, which is the largest island and home to about 80% of the total population, as well as the Seychelles' highest point, the Morne Seychellois[?] at 905 m.
The local climate is tropical, tempered by marine influences and fairly humid. The southeast monsoon is a generally cooler season which lasts from late May to September, while the warmer northwest monsoon lasts from March to May. The Seychelles are fortunate to lay outside the tropical cyclone belt.
Since independence in 1976, per capita output 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 labour 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 1991-1992 due largely to the Gulf War and once again following the September 11, 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 privatisation 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 tourists seek cheaper destinations such as nearby Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar.
As the islands of the Seychelles had no indigenous population, the current Seychellois are composed of immigrants, mostly of French, African, Indian and Chinese descent. The official languages are French and English, although a French Creole language is most commonly spoken, and increasingly also used to write. Most Seychellois are Christians, mostly Catholics.