ResourcesOverview
The Seychelles is a very large archipelagic nation in the Western Indian Ocean. The 115 named islands and atolls together with their associated reef systems can be clearly divided into two distinct regions: the high islands to the north and the low coralline islands spread over wide areas to the south and southwest. The Seychelles Bank lies at the northernmost point of the Mascarene Ridge and is a large, shallow area (some 31 000 square kilometers) of water, mostly above a depth of 100 meters. In its center are a number of high granitic islands of continental origin. These have been described as a “micro-continent”, having been left behind during the northwards migration of the Indian sub-continent about 135 million years ago. These are surrounded by widespread but discontinuous, fringing reefs. Along the east coast of Mahé and the west coast of Praslin such fringing reefs are well developed. Reef flats reaching over 2 kilometers in width and terminating in a high algal ridge are followed by a reef slope descending to a floor typically at 8-12 meters. Such clearly zoned reefs are less apparent in more sheltered locations where more complex reef formations have developed. Coral cover varies, being virtually absent from some former reef structures, but abundant in other areas, including non-reefal slopes and granitic surfaces.
Geography
Area: 444 sq. km; approximately 2.5 times the size of Washington D.C.
Major Islands: Mahe and Praslin.
Cities: Capital--Victoria.
Terrain: About half of the islands are granitic in origin, with narrow coastal strips and central ranges of hills rising to 914 m. The other half are coral atolls, many uninhabitable.
Climate: Tropical marine.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Seychellois.
Population (1999): 80,410.
Annual growth rate (1999): 1.7%.
Ethnic groups: Creole (European, Asian, and African).
Religions: Catholic 86.6%, Anglican Church 6.8%, other Christians 2.5%, other 4.1%.
Languages: Official languages are Creole, English, and French.
Education: Public schools and Private schools, compulsory through grade 10. Literacy (1994)-- 87.5%.
Health: Free government health services for all people. Life expectancy--male 67.9 yrs, female 77.9 yrs. Infant mortality rate--9.9/1000.
Work force: 32,382 with 3,550 unemployed. Industries include tourism, fishing, manufacturing, and construction.
Economy
GDP $603.9 million.
Annual growth rate: 1.5%.
Per capita income: $7,444.
Avg. Inflation rate (1999): 6%.
Natural resources: Fish.
Agriculture: Copra, cinnamon, vanilla, coconuts, sweet potatoes, tapioca, bananas, tuna, chicken.
Industry: Tourism, re-exports, maritime services.
Trade: Exports (2000)--$135.73 million: canned tuna, frozen/fresh fish, frozen prawns, cinnamon bark. Imports (2000)--$375.27 million. Major partners--France, Italy, UK, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Saudi Arabia.|
Official exchange rate (November 2001): 5.20 rupees=U.S.$1.
Economic aid received (1995): $16.4 million.
Profile
About 90% of the Seychellois people live on Mahe Island. Most others live on Praslin and La Digue, with the remaining smaller islands either sparsely populated or uninhabited.
Most Seychellois are descendants of early French settlers and the African slaves brought to the Seychelles in the 19th century by the British, who freed them from slave ships on the East African coast. Indians and Chinese (1.1% of the population) account for the other permanent inhabitants. About 1,703 (2000) expatriates live and work in Seychelles. Of those, about 35 are American.
Seychelles culture is a mixture of French and African (Creole) influences. Creole is the native language of 94% of the people, however, English and French are commonly used. English remains the language of government and commerce.
About 88% of the adult population is literate, and the literacy rate of school-aged children has risen to well over 98%. Increases are expected, as nearly all children of primary school age attend school, and the government encourages adult education.
History
The Seychelles islands remained uninhabited for more than 150 years after they became known to Western explorers. The island appeared on Portuguese charts as early 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 Treaty of Paris 1814.
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.
In March 1970, colonial and political representatives of Seychelles met in London for a constitutional convention. Elections in November 1970 brought a resulting constitution into effect. Further elections were held in April 1974, in which both major political parties campaigned for independence. Following this election, negotiations with the British resulted in an agreement by which Seychelles became a sovereign republic on June 29, 1976. These negotiations also restored the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Des Roches, which had been transferred from Seychelles in November 1965 to form part of the new British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) to Seychelles upon independence.
Information provided by CIA Worldfactbook, US Department of State, Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). ReefBase: Oliver, J. and M. Noordeloos. Editors. 2002, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center,
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