Seychelles is an island country in East Africa. The
archipelago is located in the western part of the Indian
Ocean, northeast of the island of Madagascar. There are
115 officially registered islands and islets. The
country consists of two large groups of islands: the
central group of Mahé, forty granitic and mountainous
islands, with tropical vegetation, lagoons and beaches
of great tourist attraction; and the secondary group,
formed by seventy flat and coral islands. The capital is
the city of Vitória, with a population of 23 200
Located to the south of the
equator, it has a humid tropical climate and occupies an
area that is often subject to cyclones.
The archipelago today has an exclusive economic zone,
more than one million square kilometers. The seas are
rich in fish, but the tourism income is essentially
lived, which has been increasing since the opening of
the Mahé airport in 1971. With the population growth,
problems of limitation of the cultivated land surface
are approaching, in addition to the poverty of the
soils. The Seychelles' main trading partners are the
United States of America, the United Kingdom, China and
Environmental indicator: the value of carbon dioxide
emissions, per capita(metric tons, 1999), is
The population is 81 541 inhabitants (2006), which
corresponds to a population density of 178.44 inhab./km2. The
birth and death rates are, respectively, 16.03% and
6.29%. Average life expectancy is 72.08 years. The value
of the Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.840 and the
value of the Gender-adjusted Development Index (IDG) was
not assigned (2001). It is estimated that, in 2025, the
population will be 88 000 inhabitants. The island of
Mahé, where the capital is located, concentrates 90% of
the population. Seychelles Creoles represent 89% of the
population, followed by Indians (5%), Malagasy (3%),
Chinese (1.6%) and English (1.5%). The main religions
are Catholicism (89%) and Protestantism (8%). Creole is
the most widely spoken language, but English and French
are also common languages.
The first colonizers were the French at the end of the
18th century. They took their black slaves there, to
which the deportees from France joined in the 19th
century. However, a war between the French and the
English would grant Britain territory in 1903. Asians
from China, India and Malaysia arrived later and in
fewer numbers. The peoples later came to mix, generating
a population with mixed ancestry.
In 1976 the archipelago became independent. Since 1979
it has had a one-party regime and a socialist
The archipelago is experiencing currency problems
following the closure of the American satellite
observation base, with the president of Seychelles
passing a law in 1995 that offered judicial immunity to
anyone who invested 10 million dollars in the
country. However, the law was subsequently withdrawn and
another law against money laundering was passed.
|1UpTravel.com - Maps of Seychelles
|Check out the maps of this eastern African group of
islands in the Indian Ocean. View the maps of Aldabra
Islands, Farquhar Group, Mahe Island and Desroches.
|Seychelles - InfoPlease.com Map
|Offers visitors a graphical color map of this chain of
islands located north of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.
|Seychelles - Merriam-Webster's Atlas
|Detailed color map of the islands of the Seychelles also
includes country facts, illustration of the nation's
flag, and a historical summary.
|Seychelles - National Geographic Map Machine
|Satellite imaging and political map-making combine to
create a zoomable map of this west African country, and
it's cities, rivers and topography.
|Seychelles - University of Texas Library
|Take a look at maps of the Aldabra Islands, Ile
Desroches, Mahe Island and the Farquhar Group.