Seychelles: Fact file
Updated March 2010
| Name | Republic of the Seychelles |
| Area | 455.3 sq km |
| Capital | Victoria |
| Boundaries | Indian Ocean (archipelago) |
| Population | 85 000, 2007 (National Statistics Bureau 2008, 9) |
| Pop growth rate | 0.5%, 2007 (National Statistics Bureau 2008, 9) |
| Urbanisation | 55.3%, 1990 (UNDP 2009) |
| Life expectancy at birth | Female 77.7 yrs, male 68.9 yrs, 2007 (National Statistics Bureau 2008, 11) |
| Infant mortality | 10.7/1000, 2007 (National Statistics Bureau 2008, 11) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | No data (Republic Of Seychelles 2008) |
| Adult literacy rate | Aged 12 plu: Female 96%, male 96, 2008 (National Statistics Bureau 2008, 14) |
| Military expenditure | 1.7% of GDP; 2005-2010 est (UN Statistics Division 2010a) |
| Health expenditure | 6.8% of GDP; 2005 (UN Statistics Division 2010b) |
| Legal system | Based on English common law and elements derived from the French Napoleonic Code (Library of Congress Undated) |
| Independence | 29 June 1976 |
| GDP | US$0.71 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP per capita | US$9 600, 2007 (IMF 2009, 65) |
| GDP growth rate | -1.9%, 2008 (IMF 2009, 62) |
| Main exports | Sea food, refined petroleum, chemicals (Frame 2008, 1026) |
| Currency | 100 cents = 1 Seychelles rupee |
| Unemployment | 1.9%, Dec 2008 (Michel 2008) |
| Inflation rate | 37%, 2008 (IMF 2009, 66) |
| External debt ratio | 38.4% of GDP, 2008 (IMF 2009, 84) |
| Roads | 498 km, 478 tarred (Frame 2008, 1022) |
| Rail | None (Frame 2008, 1022) |
| Airports | 7 paved, 1 international (Victoria) (Frame 2008, 170) |
| Ethnic groups | African, European, Indian and Chinese (Frame 2008, 1018) |
| Languages | Seselwa (Creole French, official) (Frame 2008, 1018) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 82%, Anglican 6%, remainder mainly Protestant (US Department of State 2009) |
Sources
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Seychelles", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Seychelles.php [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS UNDATED "Legal System and Civil Rights" IN Country Studies, [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Seychelles.php [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
IMF 2008 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
IMF 2009 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, October, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2009/AFR/eng/sreo1009.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
NATIONAL STATISTICS BUREAU 2008 Seychelles in Figures, [www] http://www.virtualseychelles.sc/downloads/pdf/Seychelles%20In%20Figures%202008%20EDITION.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
MICHEL, JA 2008 "State of the Nation Speech 2008 by Seychelles President J.A. Michel (12/02/2008)", [www] http://www.polity.org.za/article/state-of-the-nation-speech-2008-by-seychelles-president-ja-michel-12022008-2008-02-12 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES 2008 UNGASS Country Progress Report Seychelles, Reporting for the Period: January 2006 - December 2007, 5, [www] http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/seychelles_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf [PDF document, opens in window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010a "Military expenditure (% of GDP)" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=GDP&d=WDI&f=Indicator_Code%3AMS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
UN STATISTICS DIVISION 2010b "Total expenditure on health as percentage of gross domestic product" IN UNdata, [www] http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?q=Gross+domestic+product&d=WHO&f=inID%3AHSR20 [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE 2009 "Seychelles" IN International Religious Freedom Report 2009, [www] http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127253.htm [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
UNDP 2009 "Seychelles HDI Rank - 57", IN Human Development Report 2009, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_SYC.html [opens new window] (accessed 18 Mar 2010).
