CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Seychelles


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!| Background:
 * A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. The most recent presidential elections were held 31 August-2 September 2001. President RENE, who has served since 1977, was re-elected. On 14 April 2004 RENE stepped down and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 455 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 13.33% other: 84.45% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Eastern Africa, group of islands in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar
 * 4 35 S, 55 40 E
 * Africa
 * total: 455 sq km
 * 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 491 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)
 * Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs
 * lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
 * fish, copra, cinnamon trees
 * arable land: 2.22%
 * NA sq km
 * lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible
 * water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
 * 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands
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!| Population: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 66.9% (male 26,380; female 27,731) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,638; female 3,379) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 26.2 years female: 28.4 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2004 est.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 11.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 20.2 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 66.1 years female: 77.14 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Seychellois !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 58% male: 56% female: 60% (1971 est.)
 * 80,832 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 26.9% (male 10,987; female 10,717)
 * total: 27.3 years
 * 0.45% (2004 est.)
 * 16.55 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 6.41 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -5.69 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
 * total: 15.97 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 71.53 years
 * 1.77 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
 * mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab
 * Roman Catholic 86.6%, Anglican 6.8%, other Christian 2.5%, other 4.1%
 * English (official), French (official), Creole
 * definition: age 15 and over can read and write
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Seychelles !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 31 August-2 September 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: France Albert RENE re-elected president; percent of vote - France Albert RENE (SPPF) 54.19%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (UO) 44.95%, Philippe BOULLE 0.86%; note - the first time that presidential elections have been held separately from legislative elections; France Albert RENE stepped down 14 April 2004 and Vice President James MICHEL was sworn in as president cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government !| Legislative branch: elections: last held 4-6 December 2002 (next held by 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11 note: the 9 awarded seats are apportioned according to the percentage that each party won of the total vote !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 !| Diplomatic representation from the US: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Republic of Seychelles
 * republic
 * Victoria
 * 23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka
 * 29 June 1976 (from UK)
 * Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993)
 * 18 June 1993
 * based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law
 * 17 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
 * unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; members serve five-year terms)
 * Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president
 * Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Daniel BELLE]; Mouvement Seychellois pour la Democratie [Jacques HODOUL]; Seychelles National Party or SNP (formerly the United Opposition or UO) [Wavel RAMKALAWAN]; Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] - the governing party
 * Roman Catholic Church; trade unions
 * ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer)
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Claude Sylvestre MOREL
 * the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to the Seychelles
 * five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 28.7% services: 68.9% (2003) !| Investment (gross fixed): !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $323.3 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) !| Public debt: !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Current account balance: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago 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 labor 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. A sharp drop illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf war, and once again following the 11 September 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 privatization of public enterprises. Growth slowed in 1998-2002, 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 vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar.
 * purchasing power parity - $626 million (2002 est.)
 * 1.5% (2002 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $7,800 (2002 est.)
 * agriculture: 2.8%
 * 39.1% of GDP (2003)
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 3.3% (2003 est.)
 * 30,900 (1996)
 * agriculture 10%, industry 19%, services 71% (1989)
 * NA
 * revenues: $338.7 million
 * 129.3% of GDP (2003)
 * coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; broiler chickens; tuna fish
 * fishing; tourism; processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages
 * NA
 * 160 million kWh (2001)
 * 148.8 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 4,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $-73 million (2003)
 * $250 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports)
 * UK 38.8%, France 31.8%, Italy 14.5%, Germany 7.5% (2003)
 * $383.7 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)
 * machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals
 * Saudi Arabia 15.7%, South Africa 10.9%, Spain 10.4%, France 9.7%, Italy 9.2%, Singapore 7%, UK 6.8% (2003)
 * $66 million (2003)
 * $213 million (2003 est.)
 * $16.4 million (1995)
 * Seychelles rupee (SCR)
 * SCR
 * Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.4007 (2003), 5.48 (2002), 5.8575 (2001), 5.7138 (2000), 5.3426 (1999)
 * calendar year
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 21,700 (2002)
 * 54,500 (2003)
 * general assessment: effective system
 * AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998)
 * 42,000 (1997)
 * 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997)
 * 11,000 (1997)
 * .sc
 * 264 (2003)
 * 1 (2000)
 * 11,700 (2002)
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!| Highways: paved: 315 km unpaved: 58 km (1997 est.) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: foreign-owned: Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 1, Nigeria 1, South Africa 2 (2004 est.) by type: cargo 4, chemical tanker 3, container 1 !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) !| Airports - with unpaved runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2004 est.)
 * total: 373 km
 * Victoria
 * total: 8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 42,223 GRT/63,538 DWT
 * 15 (2003 est.)
 * total: 8
 * total: 7
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military manpower - availability: !| Military manpower - fit for military service: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Army, Coast Guard (including Navy Wing, Air Wing), National Guard, Presidential Protection Unit (includes Presidential Guard), Seychelles National Police (includes Police Mobile Unit)
 * 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001)
 * males age 15-49: 23,661 (2004 est.)
 * males age 15-49: 11,712 (2004 est.)
 * $11.6 million (2003)
 * 1.8% (2003)
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