Seychelles

The name "Seychelles" honors the French minister of finance under King Louis XV.

The country covers a total area of 455,3 square kilometers and is situated in western Indian ocean. It consists of 115 islands, of which forty-one are granites, and 74 coralline, from the archipelagos Seychelles, Amirantes, Aldabra, Cosmoledo, Farquhar with a total of 620 km-long coastline. It is situated between 4 and 10 decrees south width and between 46 and 56 decrees east length. The archipelago is situated in the Indian Ocean, north of Madagascar Island.

Country's population numbers 81,188 people (2005), the sole city on the islands being the capital Victoria.

Major islands from the group of Seychelles (Mahe, Praslin, Silhouette and La Digue) are rocky and have hills up to 906 meters high (Morne hill at Mahe island), the remainder being small, mainly coralline.