East Africa

Seychelles Travel Podcast with Chantal Ladouceur

Hosted by Chantal Ladouceur — a new episode every day from Seychelles.

This podcast follows a single resident host travelling around Seychelles over a couple of years, staying in one place long enough to learn it before moving to somewhere connected to it. The archipelago ranges from the volcanic Mahé group, with its narrow coastal strip and rocky interior, to coral atolls that sit on the submarine Mascarene Plateau.

The route covers Mahé, where most of the population lives, Praslin and La Digue with their granitic hills and beaches, and less-visited Silhouette Island. The outer coral islands appear too, particularly Aldabra Atoll, an elevated reef known for its giant tortoises. The route depends on the sea, since the island group is split between granitic highs and coralline rims.

The show unfolds through the southeast monsoon from late May to September, when the southeast winds cool the islands, and the northwest monsoon from March to May, when the weather warms. Episodes return to the same coves, passes and plantation ruins in different conditions. Knowing a granitic island properly takes repeated visits.

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The basics

Seychelles at a glance

Capital

Victoria

Population 2025

122,730

Area

455 sq km

Languages

Seychellois Creole (official) 89.1%, English (official) 5.1%, French (official) 0.7%

Time zone

UTC+4

Currency

Seychelles rupees (SCR)

GDP per capita 2025

$19,449

Life expectancy 2024

76.3 years

Urban population 2025

45.5%

Inflation 2025

0.3%

Internet users 2024

87.8%

Government

Presidential republic

Country file

Seychelles in depth

Reference data on the country — geography, people, history, economy and transport.

Geography and climate

Location

Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar

Terrain

Mahe Group is volcanic with a narrow coastal strip and rocky, hilly interior; others are relatively flat coral atolls, or elevated reefs; sits atop the submarine Mascarene Plateau

Climate

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

Elevation

Highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m
Lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

Area

Total: 455 sq km
Land: 455 sq km
Water: 0 sq km

Size comparison

2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.

Coastline

491 km

Land borders

Total 0 km

Natural resources

Fish, coconuts (copra), cinnamon trees

Land use

Agricultural land: 3.4% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 0.3% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 3% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 0% (2022 est.)
Forest: 58.6% (2023 est.)
Other: 38% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

Lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; occasional short droughts

Note

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

People and society

Population

Total: 98,187 (2024 est.)
Male: 50,973
Female: 47,214

Nationality

Noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
Adjective: Seychellois

Ethnic groups

Predominantly Creole (mainly of East African and Malagasy heritage); also French, Indian, Chinese, and Arab populations

Languages

Seychellois Creole (official) 89.1%, English (official) 5.1%, French (official) 0.7%, other 3.8%, unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 76.2%, Protestant 10.5% (Anglican 6.1%, Pentecostal Assembly 1.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.2%, other Protestant 1.7%), other Christian 2.4%, Hindu 2.4%, Muslim 1.6%, other non-Christian 1.1%, unspecified 4.8%, none 0.9% (2010 est.)

Median age

Total: 39.2 years (2025 est.)
Male: 38.2 years
Female: 39.4 years

Life expectancy

Total population: 76.6 years (2024 est.)
Male: 72.2 years
Female: 81.1 years

Urbanisation

Urban population: 58.8% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.99% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

More than three quarters of the population lives on the main island of Mahe; Praslin is home to less than 10%, and a smaller percentage is on La Digue and the outer islands, as shown in this population distribution map

Largest cities

28,000 VICTORIA (capital) (2018)

Background and government

Background

Seychelles was uninhabited before Europeans discovered the islands early in the 16th century. After a lengthy struggle, France eventually ceded control of the islands to Great Britain in 1814. During colonial rule, a plantation-based economy developed that relied on imported labor, primarily from European colonies in Africa. Seychelles gained independence in 1976 through negotiations with Great Britain. In 1977, Prime Minister France-Albert RENE launched a coup against the country’s first president, and Seychelles became a socialist one-party state until adopting a new constitution and holding elections in 1993. RENE continued to lead Seychelles through two election cycles until he stepped down in 2004. Vice President James Alix MICHEL took over the presidency and in 2006 was elected to a new five-year term; he was reelected in 2011 and again in 2015. In 2016, James MICHEL resigned and handed over the presidency to his vice-president, Danny FAURE. In 2020, Wavel RAMKALAWAN was elected president, the first time an opposition candidate has won the presidency.

Government

Presidential republic

Capital

Victoria

Time zone

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

Local name

Republic of Seychelles

Independence

29 June 1976 (from the UK)

National day

Constitution Day, 18 June (1993); Independence Day (National Day), 29 June (1976)

Economy and cost of living

Overview

High-income Indian Ocean island economy; rapidly growing tourism sector; major tuna exporter; offshore financial hub; environmentally fragile and investing in ocean rise mitigation; recently discovered offshore oil potential; successful anticorruption efforts