Site Loader
  • Capital Victoria (4°37´S 55°27´E)
  • International airport(s) Seychelles International Airport
  • Official language(s) English, French, Seychellois Creole
  • Currency Seychellois rupee (SCR)
  • Time UTC +4
  • Region Atlantic and Indian Ocean
GeographyClimateEconomyCulture
Seychelles is an archipelago of with 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, about 1 600 km east of Kenya. It has the smallest population of any sovereign African country. The highest point is Morne Seychellois (905 m) on the largest island, Mahé. The Seychelles are composed of two island groups, the central Mahé group of over 40 mountainous granite islands, and a second group of more than 70 outer, flat, coralline islands. These outer islands rise only a few feet above sea level and are very sparsely populated.
The climate is quite humid in the small islands that are classified as tropical rain forest. The temperature varies little throughout the year. Average annual rainfall in the Seychelles is 1 600 mm, varying by location with around 2 900 mm at Victoria to 3 600 mm in the mountains. Monthly average temperatures vary very little within 27‐28 °C. The coolest months are July and August. -—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
The most pleasant time of the year is from May to November, when the southeast trade winds blow regularly. The hot season lasts from December to April, with a high humidity of about 80 per cent. While March and April are the hottest months, the temperature seldom exceeds 31 °C. Most of the islands lie outside the cyclone belt. However, in January 2013, Seychelles declared a state of emergency when tropical cyclone, Felleng, caused torrential rain, flooding and landslides that destroyed hundreds of houses.
While Seychelles does produce agricultural goods for export, such as sweet potatoes, vanilla, coconuts and cinnamon, agriculture makes a modest contribution to GDP. The main exports products include tuna, skipjack and bonito, motorboats and petroleum oil. The main export partners include the United Arab Emirates, France, the British Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom. Since the 1970s, services, including tourism, have become a significant industry for the country, accounting for over 80 per cent of GDP -—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
. Recently, Seychelles have attracted foreign investment in hotels and other services. In 2019, Seychelles attracted 428 thousand tourist arrivals with an inbound tourism expenditure of 36 per cent over GDP -—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
. Government incentives have also given rise to increasing investment in real estate and new resort properties. The government has also promoted the development of farming, fishing, small‐scale manufacturing and offshore finance to reduce dependence on tourism. At over US$17 thousands, Seychelles had the highest GDP per capita in Africa in 2019 -—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
, but income inequality remains significant.
Seychelles is a small country, but has a vibrant art scene with artisans, dancers, musicians, painters, poets, sculptors and writers. Painters take inspiration from the rich nature of Seychelles and sculptors produce works in wood, stone, bronze and cartonnage.

The lively Sega dance, with hip‐swaying and shuffling of the feet, is still popular, as is the traditional Moutya, a mysterious, traditional dance. Music played in the country is varied, reflecting the fusion of cultures through the history of Seychelles.

Fish dishes are typical in the country and are cooked in several ways ‐ baked, grilled, steamed, wrapped in banana leaves, salted and smoked. Curry with rice is also a significant part of the country's cuisine. People also consumer a lot of breadfruit, coconut, mangoes and kordonnyen fish and garnish their food with fresh flowers.
Land areakm2
Arable land%
Forest area%
Coastline
lengthkm
Exclusive economic zonekm2
Nearest
neighbourkm
Economic trendsMaritime transportPopulationInternational tradeEnvironmentInformation and communications technology
Gross domestic product
US dollars at constant prices (2015) in millions
GDP per capita

2019

US$

Productive Capacity Index

2018

Economic and environmental vulnerability index

2019

Consumer Price Index growth

2019

%

Unemployment
rate

Total %
Female %, Male %
Main economic sectors, 2019
Percentage of GDP
Tourist arrivals
Thousands of tourists, percentage of GDP
External financial resources
Percentage of GDP
Public debt as % of GDP

2018

%

Fleet size
Number of ships
Ship type20112019
Total fleet1 4071 407
Oil tankers264266
Bulk carriers311333
General cargo16177
Container ships5249
Other types of ships619682
Port performance
Ranked by 2019 data within SIDS group
Indicators2019SIDS Ranking
Number of port calls33523
Median time in port (days)24
Average age of vessels209
Average size (GT) of vessels21 02616
Container port throuput

2019

TEU

Bilateral connectivity index, 2019
Top 5 partners
Liner shipping connectivity index
Maximum China Q1 2006=100
Total population
Thousands of people, share of urban population
Population development indicators
IndicatorsPeriodValue
Poverty headcount (% of population)20180.5
Human development index20180.8
Human assets index202093
Adult literacy rate (15+ years, both sexes %)....
Gender inequality index....
Life expectancy at birth

years

Population density

2019

persons per km2
Dependency
ratio

2019

Child:
Old-age:
Age structure by gender, 2019
Percentage of total population
Merchandise and services trade
US dollars in millions
Indicators20052010201520192019 (% of GDP)
Merchandise exports34040041551830.5
Merchandise imports6759849911 16768.7
Services exports3704418481 12366.1
Services imports24026649868240.1
Trade openness
Goods and services

% of GDP

Export concentration index

2019

Food import
dependency
Average 2015-2019

Top 5 partners in merchandise trade, 2019
Exports in millions US dollars
Merchandise exports by product group, 2019
Services exports by category, 2019
CO2 emissions per capita
Kg per capita
CO2 emissions per GDP
Kg per 2010 US$ of GDP
Renewable energy share in total energy consumption, 2017
Percentage of total energy consumption
Material
footprint
per capita

2016

kg

Terrestrial
protected
area

2018

%

Marine
protected
area

2018

%

Disasters indicators
Data not available
Trade in ICT goods

Exports: %
Imports: %
Trade in ICT services

Exports: %
Imports: %
Share of
internet users

%

Fixed broadband vs Mobile broadband subscriptions
Number of subscriptions per 100 people
Sources
Source of data: -—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
except indicators listed below.
References
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.