Population and Demographics

As the islands of the Seychelles had no indigenous population, the current Seychellois are composed of immigrants, mostly of French, African, Indian and Chinese descent. The majority of Seychellois are descendants of early French settlers and the Africans from East Africa in the 19th century. Desi and Chinese (1.1% of the population) account for the other permanent inhabitants. About 1,703 (2000) expatriates live and work in Seychelles.

About 90% of the Seychellois people live on Mahe Island. Most others live on Praslin and La Digue, with the remaining smaller islands either sparsely populated or uninhabited.

About 91.9% of the adult population is literate, and the literacy rate of school-aged children has risen to well over 98%. Increases are expected, as nearly all children of primary school age attend school, and the government encourages adult education.

The majority of Seychellois are Christians, mostly Catholics.

Facts and Figures

• Population: 81,541
• Age Structure:
  • 0-14 years: 25.9% (male 10,667/female 10,440)
  • 15-64 years: 68% (male 27,060/female 28,366)
  • 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 1,607/female 3,401)
• Median Age:
  • Total: 28.1 years
  • Male: 27 years
  • Female: 29.1 years
• Population Growth Rate: 0.43%
• Birth Rate: 16.03 births/1,000 population
• Death Rate: 6.29 deaths/1,000 population
• Net Migration Rate: -5.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population
• Sex Ratio:
  • At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
  • Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  • 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female
  • Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female
• Infant Mortality Rate:
  • Total: 15.14 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Male: 19.16 deaths/1,000 live births
  • Female: 10.99 deaths/1,000 live births
• Life Expectancy at Birth:
  • Total population: 72.08 years
  • Male: 66.69 years
  • Female: 77.63 years
• Total Fertility Rate: 1.74 children born/woman
• Religions:
  • 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%
• Languages:
  • Creole 91.8%
  • English 4.9% (official)
  • Other 3.1%
  • Unspecified 0.2%
• Literacy:
  • Total population: 91.9%
  • Male: 91.4%
  • Female: 92.3%