Seychelles ( , ; French: [sɛʃɛl] or [seʃɛl]), officially the Republic of Seychelles (French: République des Seychelles; Seychellois Creole: Repiblik Sesel), is an archipelagic country consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, is 1,500 kilometres (800 nautical miles) east of mainland Africa. Nearby island countries and territories include the Maldives, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and the French overseas departments of Mayotte and Réunion to the south; and the Chagos Archipelago to the east.
Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa as well as the least populated sovereign African country, with an estimated population of 100,600 in 2022.
The Seychelles archipelago was uninhabited prior to sustained external contact. Although Arab and Swahili sailors likely knew of the islands earlier through Indian Ocean trade routes, there is no evidence of permanent settlement before European involvement. The islands were first recorded by Europeans in the 16th century, but were not settled until the 18th century, when France formally claimed them. During the period of French colonization, enslaved Africans were brought to the islands for plantation labor; many had already been captured and enslaved through existing African-Arab slave trade or Indian Ocean slave trade.
It faced competing French and British interests until it came under full British control in the early 19th century. After Britain assumed control in the early 19th century, slavery was abolished and later replaced in part by indentured laborers from India. Since proclaiming independence from the United Kingdom in 1976, it has developed from a largely agricultural society to a market-based diversified economy, characterized by service, public sector, and tourism activities. From 1976 to 2015, nominal GDP grew nearly 700%, and purchasing power parity nearly 1600%. Since the late 2010s, the government has taken steps to encourage foreign investment.
As of the early 21st century, Seychelles has the highest nominal per capita GDP and the highest Human Development Index ranking of any African country. According to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy indices, Seychelles is the 43rd-ranked electoral democracy worldwide, the 1st-ranked liberal democracy in Africa, and the 2nd-ranked electoral democracy on the continent. Seychellois culture and society is an eclectic mix of French, British, Indian and African influences, with infusions of Chinese elements. The country is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, and the Commonwealth of Nations.
Seychelles was uninhabited throughout most of recorded history, although simulations of Austronesian migration patterns indicate a good probability that they visited the islands. Tombs visible until 1910 at Anse Lascars on Silhouette Island have also been conjectured to belong to later Maldivian and Arab traders visiting the archipelago. Vasco da Gama and his 4th Portuguese India Armada discovered the Seychelles on 15 March 1503; the first sighting was made by Thomé Lopes aboard Rui Mendes de Brito. Da Gama's ships passed close to an elevated island, probably Silhouette Island, and the following day Desroches Island. Later, the Portuguese mapped a group of seven islands and named them The Seven Sisters. The earliest recorded landing was in January 1609, by the crew of the Ascension under Captain Alexander Sharpeigh during the fourth voyage of the British East India Company.
A transit point for trade between Africa and Asia, the islands were said to be occasionally used by pirates until the French began to take control in 1756 when a Stone of Possession was laid on Mahé by Captain Corneille Nicholas Morphey. The islands were named after French politician Jean Moreau de Séchelles, and were formally part of the colony of Isle de France. In August 1770, the French ship Thélémaque under Captain Leblanc Lécore landed 15 white settlers and 13 African and Indian slaves on Ste. Anne Island.
During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Royal Navy frigate HMS Orpheus under Captain Henry Newcombe arrived at Mahé on 16 May 1794. Jean-Baptiste Quéau de Quinssy, the senior administrator in the Seychelles, refused to resist Orpheus and instead successfully negotiated with the British, resulting the islands remaining under French control as "neutral" territory. After British forces completed their invasion of Isle de France in December 1810, they assumed control over the Seychelles, which was formalised in the 1814 Treaty of Paris that ended the War of the Sixth Coalition. Seychelles became a separate crown colony from Mauritius in 1903. Elections in Seychelles were held in 1966 and 1970.
In 1976, Seychelles gained independence from the United Kingdom as a republic. It has since become a member of the Commonwealth. In the 1970s Seychelles was "the place to be seen, a playground for film stars and the international jet set". In 1977, a coup d'état by France-Albert René ousted the first president of the republic, James Mancham. René discouraged over-dependence on tourism and declared that he wanted "to keep Seychelles for the Seychellois".
The 1979 constitution declared a socialist one-party state, which lasted until 1991.
In the 1980s there were a series of coup attempts against President René, some of which were supported by South Africa. In 1981, Mike Hoare led a team of 43 South African mercenaries masquerading as holidaying rugby players in the 1981 Seychelles coup d'état attempt. There was a gun battle at the airport, and most of the mercenaries later escaped in a hijacked Air India plane. The leader of this hijacking was German mercenary D. Clodo, a former member of the Rhodesian SAS. Clodo later stood trial in South Africa (where he was acquitted) as well as in his home country Germany for air piracy.
In 1986, an attempted coup led by the Seychelles Minister of Defence, Ogilvy Berlouis, caused President René to request assistance from India. In Operation Flowers are Blooming, the Indian Navy's Nilgiri-class frigate Vindhyagiri arrived in Port Victoria to help avert the coup.
The first draft of a new constitution failed to receive the requisite 60% of voters in 1992, but an amended version was approved in 1993.
In January 2013, Seychelles declared a state of emergency when the tropical cyclone Felleng caused torrential rain, and flooding and landslides destroyed hundreds of houses.
Following the coup in 1977, the president always represented the same political party until the October 2020 Seychellois general election, which was historic in that the opposition party won. Wavel Ramkalawan was the first president who did not represent United Seychelles (the current name of the former Seychelles People's Progressive Front).
In January 2023, Seychelles announced its final stages of completing its marine spatial plan. It would become the second largest ocean area at 1.35 million km2 (520,000 sq mi) behind Norway, in support of its blue economy.
In October 2025, presidential runoff was won by former parliamentary speaker and main opposition leader, Patrick Herminie, meaning Herminie's party, United Seychelles (US) returned to power. On 26 October 2025, Patrick Herminie was sworn in as Seychelles' sixth president.
The Seychelles president, who is head of state and head of government, is elected by popular vote for a five-year term of office. The cabinet is presided over and appointed by the president, subject to the approval of a majority of the legislature. As of 2026, the president is Patrick Herminie.