Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 provided courtesy of
the libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
======================================================
National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : CI WOFACT WO0212
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994
 
AGENCY      : CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
PROGRAM     : WORLD FACTBOOK
TITLE       : World Factbook: Seychelles
 
Source key      : CI 
Program key     : CI WOFACT 
Update sched.   : Annually         
Data type       : TEXT 
End year        : 1994
Date of record  : 19941020
Keywords 3      :  
Keywords 3      : | Seychelles 
 
 
                                Seychelles
 
 
                                 Geography
 
Location:
     Eastern Africa in the western Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar
Map references:
     Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     455 sq km
land area:
     455 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
     0 km
Coastline:
     491 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     200 nm or the edge of continental margin
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     claims Tromelin Island
Climate:
     tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late
     May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to
     May)
Terrain:
     Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are
     coral, flat, elevated reefs
Natural resources:
     fish, copra, cinnamon trees
Land use:
arable land:
     4%
permanent crops:
     18%
meadows and pastures:
     0%
forest and woodland:
     18%
other:
     60%
Irrigated land:
     NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
     no fresh water, catchments collect rain water
natural hazards:
     lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short
     droughts possible
 
 
international agreements:
     party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
     Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
Note:
     40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands
 
                                  People
 
Population:
     72,113 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.84% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     21.88 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     6.93 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -6.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     11.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     69.67 years
male:
     66.05 years
female:
     73.39 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.23 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Seychellois (singular and plural)
adjective:
Ethnic divisions:
     Seychellois (mixture of Asians, Africans, Europeans)
Religions:
     Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 8%, other 2%
Languages:
     English (official), French (official), Creole
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1971)
total population:
     58%
male:
     56%
female:
     60%
Labor force:
     27,700 (1985)
by occupation:
     industry and commerce 31%, services 21%, government 20%, agriculture,
     forestry, and fishing 12%, other 16% (1985)
note:
     57% of population of working age (1983)
 
 
 
                                Government
 
Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Seychelles
conventional short form:
Digraph:
     SE
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Victoria
Administrative divisions:
     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 Island),
     Grand' Anse (on Praslin Island), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont
     Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe Larue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis,
     Takamaka
Independence:
     29 June 1976 (from UK)
National holiday:
     National Day, 18 June (1993) ( adoption of new constitution)
Constitution:
     18 June 1993
Legal system:
     based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law
Suffrage:
     17 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state and head of government:
     President France Albert RENE (since 5 June 1977); election last held
     20- 23 July 1993; results - President France Albert RENE reelected by
     59.5% of votes, MANCHAM (PS party) 36.72%
cabinet:
     Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
People's Assembly (Assemblee du Peuple):
     elections last held 20-23 July 1993; results - SPPF 82%, DP 15%, UO
     3%; seats - (33 total, 22 elected) SPPF 22
Judicial branch:
     Court of Appeal, Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
     ruling party - Seychelles People's Progressive Front (SPPF), France
     Albert RENE; Democratic Party (DP), Sir James MANCHAM; United
     Opposition (UO) is a coalition of the following parties: Seychelles
     Party (PS), Wavel RAMKALAWAN; Seychelles Democratic Movement (MSPD),
     Jacques HONDOUL; Seychelles Liberal Party (SLP), Ogilvie BERLOUIS;;
Other political or pressure groups:
     trade unions; Roman Catholic Church
 
 
Member of:
     ACCT, ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
     IMF, IMO, INTELSAT (nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, ISO
     (correspondent), NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO,
     WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Marc Michael Rogers MARENGO
chancery:
     (temporary) 820 Second Avenue, Suite 900F, New York, NY 10017
telephone:
     (212) 687-9766 or 9767
FAX:
     (212) 922-9177
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Matthew F. MATTINGLY
embassy:
     4th Floor, Victoria House, Box 251, Victoria, Mahe
mailing address:
     Box 148, Unit 62501, Victoria, Seychelles; APO AE 09815-2501
telephone:
     (248) 25256
FAX:
     (248) 25189
Flag:
     three horizontal bands of red (top), white (wavy), and green; the
     white band is the thinnest, the red band is the thickest
 
                                  Economy
 
Overview:
     In this small, open, tropical island economy, the tourist industry
     employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of
     hard currency earnings. 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 high dependence
     on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and
     small-scale manufacturing.
National product:
     GDP - exchange rate conversion - $407 million (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     4% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $5,900 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     3.3% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     9% (1987)
Budget:
revenues:
     $172 million
expenditures:
     $181 million, including capital expenditures of $48 million (1991
     est.)
 
 
Exports:
     $47 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     fish, copra, cinnamon bark, petroleum products (re-exports)
partners:
     UK 54% France 23%, Reunion 14%, (1991)
Imports:
     $192 million (f.o.b., 1992 est.)
commodities:
     manufactured goods, food, petroleum products, tobacco, beverages,
     machinery and transportation equipment
partners:
     South Africa 13%, Singapore 12%, UK 12% (1991)
External debt:
     $201 million (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 1.3% (1991); accounts for 12% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     30,000 kW
production:
     80 million kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,160 kWh (1991)
Industries:
     tourism, processing of coconut and vanilla, fishing, coir rope
     factory, boat building, printing, furniture, beverage
Agriculture:
     accounts for 5% of GDP, mostly subsistence farming; cash crops -
     coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla; other products - sweet potatoes, cassava,
     bananas; broiler chickens; large share of food needs imported;
     expansion of tuna fishing under way
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY78-89), $26 million; Western
     (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1978-89), $315
     million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $5 million; Communist countries
     (1970-89), $60 million
Currency:
     1 Seychelles rupee (SRe) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
     Seychelles rupees (SRe) per US$1 - 5.2681 (January 1994), 5.1815
     (1993), 5.1220 (1992), 5.2893 (1991), 5.3369 (1990), 5.6457 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year
 
                              Communications
 
Highways:
total:
     260 km
paved:
     160 km
unpaved:
     crushed stone, earth 100 km
 
 
Ports:
     Victoria
Merchant marine:
     1 refrigerated cargo (over 1,000 GRT) totaling 1,827 GRT/2,170 DWT
Airports:
total:
     14
usable:
     14
with permanent-surface runways:
     8
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     1
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     0
Telecommunications:
     direct radio communications with adjacent islands and African coastal
     countries; 13,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 2 AM, no FM, 2 TV;
     1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT earth station; USAF tracking station
 
                              Defense Forces
 
Branches:
     Army, National Guard, Marines, Coast Guard, Presidential Protection
     Unit, Police Force
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 19,399; fit for military service 9,900
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $12 million, 4% of GDP (1990 est.)
 
 
 
===========================================================================
This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1994 produced by the United States
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) CD-ROM,
November, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/11/v.1-2 / Presented by Raleigh Muns,
(srcmuns@umslvma.umsl.edu) University of Missouri-St. Louis Libraries.