Facts about Seychelles
Seychelles is the smallest nation in the world issuing its own currency (that is, not pegged to a foreign currency and not shared with any other country).
Seychelles hosts some of the largest seabird colonies in the world.
The government invested heavily in health care and education, so Seychelles today has the highest per capita income in Africa and 92 percent of the people are literate.
At official exchange rates Seychelles remains the richest country in Africa in terms of GDP per capita.
Seychelles follows a policy of nonalignment and strongly supports the principle of reduced superpower presence in the Indian Ocean.
The Seychelles is a small island nation located in the Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar and about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) east of Kenya.
Each October, Seychelles hosts the world's largest Creole festival, featuring artists and writers from other nations with a Creole culture, such as Mauritius, Reunion, and Guyana.
The Seychelles president, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term of office.
Seychelles is divided into 25 administrative regions, called districts.
A World Bank/Environment Facility project in 1999 and a project for rat eradication has led to a program of restoration of private islands by the government, Nature Seychelles, and private island owners.
The giant tortoises from Aldabra now populate many of the islands of the Seychelles.
Much of the land territory (about 40 percent) and a substantial part of the coastal sea around Seychelles are protected as national parks, including marine parks, and reserves.
Seychelles has six national marine parks including the St. Anne National Marine Park located adjacent to the capital, Port Victoria, which are managed by the government parastatal, Marine Parks Authority.
The Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritius in 1903 and independence was granted in 1976, as a republic within the Commonwealth.
The Cousin Island Special Reserve, purchased by the Royal Society for Nature Conservation in 1968 and managed by Nature Seychelles, is an internationally known bird and marine sanctuary.
The granitic islands of Seychelles are home to about 75 endemic plant species, with a further 25 or so species in the Aldabra group.
Seychelles, officially the Republic of Seychelles, is an archipelago nation of 155 islands in the Indian Ocean.
Seychelles culture is a mixture of French and African (Creole) influences.
Most are descendants of early French settlers and the African slaves brought to the Seychelles in the nineteenth century by the British, who had freed them from slave ships.
Seychelles is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites run by the Seychelles Islands Foundation.
The Seychelles today is known for success stories in protecting its flora and fauna.
Jean Baptiste Queau de Quincy, French administrator of Seychelles during the years of war with England, realized it was pointless to resist whenever a heavily armed enemy warship arrived.