Seychelles is officially known as the Republic of Seychelles with Victoria, the largest city, as its capital. An archipelago nation gained its independence from the United Kingdom in June 29, 1976. The people of Seychelles speak English, French and Seychellois Creole as the official languages.

A total of 115 islands (155 as listed by the Constitution) covering 451 sq km or 174 sq mi, Seychelles is strategically located in the Indian Ocean with an estimated 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) east of mainland Africa and northeast of Madagascar island. Nearby island countries, include Mauritius and Reunion to the south, the Suvadives of Maldives to the northeast, Zanzibar to the west and Comoros and Mayotte to the southwest. Of any sovereign state of Africa, Seychelles has the smallest population.

As recorded by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco de Gama, the first to visit Seychelles were Austronesian seafarers or Arab traders first sighted in 1502. The crew of English East Indiaman Ascension wrote the first account on their landing 1609. Being a transit point between Asia and Africa, they were exploited by pirates until 1756 when the French started to take over the island. The islands took its name after Jean Moreau de Sèchelles, when Captain Nicholas Morphey set a Stone of Possession.

When the British challenged the French for control over the island (1794 and 1812), the French Administrator successfully negotiated the status of submission to Britain. This gave the settlers a privilege to neutral position. In 1812, upon the submission of Mauritius, Britain gained full control that was formally recognized in 1814 at the Treaty of Paris. In 1903, Seychelles became a separate crown colony from Mauritius and gained the status as a republic within the commonwealth.

In 1976. A coup d’ètat in 1977 ousted the first president James Mancham who was replaced by France Albert Renè. From 1979 to 1991, the constitution declared a one-party state. The new constitution did not achieve the 60 percent requisite in 1991 until the revised version was approved in 1993. Renè was democratically elected after the constitutional reforms of 1992 and stood down in 2004 in favor of James Mitchel, his vice-president who in turn was re-elected in 2006. Subject to approval of a majority of the legislature, the president selects or appoints the cabinet and presides over them.

Main rival parties – Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF) and the Seychelles National Party (SNP) dominate the Seychellois politics and the opinion spans ranges from liberal democrat and socialist ideology. Internationally, Seychelles is part of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), Commonwealth Organization and La Francophonie (the union of French Speaking countries).

Since the independence of Seychelles in 1976, economic growth was based on tourism and tuna fishing that contributed to the per capita output increased to almost seven times the previous near-subsistence level. Recently, the government has invited foreign investors to upgrade hotels and other facilities or services. The incentives brought about a large amount of investment in real estate projects and new resort properties, mostly 5 star hotels – Hilton, Four Seasons and Banyan Tree. The Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Raffles, Shangri-La and others are at the beginning stages. In addition, Ile Aurore, Per Aquam and Eden Island, projected at over $2 billion are ongoing private developments.

Cable and Wireless operate the local and international telecommunication lines in Seychelles and as per the 2007 census, more than 50% of the populations have a home telephone. Direct international calls can be made to over 100 countries worldwide. The Seychelles Radio coast station introduced digital microwave systems. The Seychelles Cables and Wireless established internet in September 1996 and in the year 2000, an estimate of 2000 have subscribed to Internet.

Seychelles is the smallest nation that issues its own currency worldwide, meaning it is not shared with any other country and is not tied to any foreign currency. Seychelles’ economy abruptly increased in 2007 gaining a growth rate of 5.3% partly due to the growing tourism industry as well as the booming building and offshore industries that are dramatically setting records in the country’s growing economy.