]! ^! 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. President France-Albert RENE, who had served since 1977, was re-elected in 2001, but stepped down in 2004. Vice President James MICHEL took over the presidency and in July 2006 was elected to a new five-year term. 
]" ^" archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar ^# 4 35 S, 55 40 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 455 sq km `" 455 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 491 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* 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 ^, `% Indian Ocean 0 m `& Morne Seychellois 905 m ^- fish, copra, cinnamon trees ^. `' 2.17% `( 13.04% `) 84.79% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible ^1 water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands 
]# ^3 81,895 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 25.4% (male 10,504/female 10,272) `, 68.5% (male 27,405/female 28,706) `- 6.1% (male 1,590/female 3,418) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 28.4 years `. 27.3 years `/ 29.4 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.432% (2007 est.) ^7 15.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 6.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -5.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.023 male(s)/female `, 0.955 male(s)/female `- 0.465 male(s)/female `2 0.932 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births `. 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 72.34 years `. 66.98 years `/ 77.86 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.74 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Seychellois (singular and plural) `4 Seychellois ^B mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab ^C Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census) ^D Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 91.9% `. 91.4% `/ 92.3% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Seychelles `7 Seychelles `Z Republic of Seychelles `[ Seychelles ^H republic ^I `8 Victoria `9 4 38 S, 55 27 E `: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 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 ^K 29 June 1976 (from UK) ^L Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993) ^M 18 June 1993 ^N based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law ^O 17 years of age; universal ^P `; President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government `< President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the president `> president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 28-30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011) `? President James MICHEL elected president; percent of vote - James MICHEL 53.73%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN 45.71%, Philippe BOULLE 0.56%; note - this was the first election in which President James MICHEL participated; he was originally sworn in as president after former president France Albert RENE stepped down in April 2004 ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats - 25 elected by popular vote, nine allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; members serve five-year terms) `> last held 4-6 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007) `? percent of vote by party - SPPF 54.3%, SNP 42.6%, DP 3.1%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11 ^R Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president ^S Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Paul CHOW]; Seychelles National Party or SNP [Wavel RAMKALAWAN] (formerly the United Opposition or UO); Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] (the governing party) ^T Roman Catholic Church; trade unions ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ^V `R Ambassador Jeremie BONNELAME `S 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 `T [1] (212) 972-1785 `U [1] (212) 972-1786 ^W the US does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Seychelles ^X five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side 
]% ^Y 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 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. Sharp drops 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. Growth slowed in 1998-2002 and fell in 2003, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors, but resumed in 2004. Growth turned negative again in 2005-06. 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 may remain sluggish as vacationers seek cheaper destinations such as Comoros, Mauritius, and Madagascar. ^Z $626 million (2002 est.) ^[ $712 million (2006 est.) ^\ -1% (2006 est.) ^] $7,800 (2002 est.) ^^ `@ 3.2% `A 30.1% `B 66.7% (2006 est.) ^_ 30,900 (1996) ^` `@ 10% `A 19% `B 71% (1989) ^a NA% _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 0.7% (2006 est.) _V 44.2% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $371.1 million `F $376 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 166.1% of GDP (2006 est.) _& coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; poultry; tuna _' fishing, tourism, processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages _( NA% _) 208 million kWh (2004) _* 193.4 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 5,600 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-78.59 million (2006 est.) _3 $365.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) _5 UK 23.2%, Spain 20%, France 11.5%, Japan 9.8%, Italy 7.5%, Germany 5.8%, Netherlands 5.4% (2005) _6 $570.6 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals _8 Saudi Arabia 15.3%, South Africa 13.9%, Spain 13.7%, France 7.2%, Singapore 6.9%, Italy 5.7% (2005) _[ $44.78 million (2006 est.) _9 $616.7 million (2006 est.) _: $16.4 million (1995) _; Seychelles rupee (SCR) _< Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 5.5 (2006), 5.5 (2005), 5.5 (2004), 5.4007 (2003), 5.48 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 21,400 (2005) _? 57,000 (2005) _@ `G effective system `H radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago `I country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) _A AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) _B 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997) _C .sc _D 72 (2006) _E 20,000 (2005) 
]' _F 15 (2006) _G `! 8 `J 1 `c 5 `W 2 (2006) _R `! 7 `c 3 `W 4 (2006) _H `! 458 km `K 440 km `L 18 km (2003) _S `! 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 69,777 GRT/113,501 DWT by type: cargo 1, chemical tanker 4 `X 1 (Nigeria 1) (2006) _I Victoria 
]( _J Seychelles Defense Force: Army, Coast Guard (includes Naval Wing, Air Wing), National Guard (2005) _T 18 years of age (est.); no conscription (2001) _K males age 18-49: 21,612 females age 18-49: 22,459 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 16,122 females age 18-49: 18,777 (2005 est.) _U 2% (2006 est.) 
]) _N together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) 