Seychelles

• tropical marine;
• humid;
• cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September);
• warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May)

agricultural land:

6.5%;

• arable land 2.2%;
• permanent crops 4.3%;
• permanent pasture 0%

forest:

88.5%

other:

5% (2011 est.)

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, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• smallest African country;
• the constitution of the Republic of Seychelles lists 155 islands: 42 granitic and 113 coralline;
• by far the largest island is Mahe, which is home to about 90% of the population and the site of the capital city of Victoria

noun:

Seychellois (singular and plural)

adjective:

Seychellois

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.1 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.12 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.64 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Seychelles

conventional short form:

Seychelles

local long form:

Republic of Seychelles

local short form:

Seychelles

name:

Victoria

geographic coordinates:

4 37 S, 55 27 E

time difference:

UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• previous 1970, 1979;
• latest drafted May 1993, approved by referendum 18 June 1993, effective 23 June 1993;
• amended many times, last in 2011 (2015)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of the Seychelles

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

• President James Alix MICHEL (since 14 April 2004);
• Vice President Danny FAURE (since 1 July 2010);
• note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government:

President James Alix MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); Vice President Danny FAURE (since 1 July 2010)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for 2 more terms);
• election last held on 3-5 December with runoff on 16-18 December 2015 (next to be held NA)

election results:

President James MICHEL reelected president; percent of vote in second round - James MICHEL (PP) 50.2%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN (SNP) 49.8%

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats; 25 members directly elected in single-member constituencies by simple majority vote and 9 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:

last held on 29 September - 1 October 2011 (next to be held in 2016); note - the National Assembly was dissolved in July 2011 resulting in early elections

election results:

• percent of vote by party - PL 88.6%, PDM 10.9%, independent 0.6%;
• seats by party - PL 33, PDM 1;
• note - the SNP and NDP boycotted the 2011 elections

highest court(s):

Seychelles Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and 4 justices; Supreme Court of Seychelles (consists of the chief justice and 9 puisine judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 3 Supreme Court judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• all judges appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the Constitutional Appointments Committee, a 3-member body, with 1 member appointed by the president of the republic, 1 by the opposition leader in the National Assembly, and 1 by the other 2 appointees;
• judges appointed until retirement at age 70

subordinate courts:

• Magistrates' Courts of Seychelles;
• Family Tribunal for issues such as domestic violence, and child custody and maintenance;
• Employment Tribunal for labor related disputes

• People's Party (Parti Lepep) or PL [James Alix MICHEL] (formerly SPPF)
• Popular Democratic Movement or PDM [David PIERRE]
• Seychelles National Party or SNP [Wavel RAMKALAWAN] (formerly the United Opposition or UO)
• Seselwa (Seychelles) United Party or SUP [Robert ERNESTA] (formerly the New Democratic Party or NDP)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Marie-Louise Cecile POTTER (since 6 September 2012)

chancery:

800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017

telephone:

[1] (212) 972-1785

FAX:

[1] (212) 972-1786

• five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side;
• the oblique bands are meant to symbolize a dynamic new country moving into the future;
• blue represents sky and sea, yellow the sun giving light and life, red the peoples' determination to work for the future in unity and love, white social justice and harmony, green the land and natural environment

name:

"Koste Seselwa" (Seychellois Unite)

lyrics/music:

David Francois Marc ANDRE and George Charles Robert PAYET

note: adopted 1996

agriculture:

3%

industry:

23%

services:

74% (2006)

lowest 10%:

4.7%

highest 10%:

15.4% (2007)

general assessment:

effective system

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 170 telephones per 100 persons; 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) (2011)

• the government operates the only terrestrial TV station, which provides local programming and airs broadcasts from international services;
• multi-channel cable and satellite TV are available;
• the government operates 1 AM and 1 FM radio station;
• transmissions of 2 international broadcasters are accessible in Victoria (2007)

total:

508 km

paved:

490 km

unpaved:

18 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 195

males age 16-49:

26,257

females age 16-49:

23,996 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

20,231

females age 16-49:

19,891 (2010 est.)

male:

686

female:

650 (2010 est.)