塞席尔(Seychelles)

正式名称塞席尔共和国（Republic of Seychelles）

印度洋西部共和国。面积453平方公里。人口80,600（2001）。首都︰维多利亚。居民为法国人、黑人和亚洲人混血种人。语言︰克里奥尔语、英语和法语。宗教︰天主教。货币︰塞席尔卢比（SR）。位於东北坦尚尼亚以东。塞席尔由两个主要岛群组成︰一个是中部四十个多山岛组成的马埃岛，另一个是由周边七十多个平坦的珊瑚岛组成的岛群。该国的经济属开发中经济，旅游业为经济支柱。出口包括渔类、椰子和桂皮。政府形式为共和国，一院制。国家元首暨政府首脑为总统。

1609年，东印度公司探险队首次在荒芜的塞席尔群岛登陆。1756年该群岛归法国，1810年投降英国。1903年，塞席尔成为英国直辖殖民地。1976年宣布独立，但仍留在国协。自1979年，塞席尔为一党制社会主义国家。1990年代，塞席尔开始转向较为民主的统治。1993年通过新宪法。

English version：

Seychelles

Island republic, western Indian Ocean. Area: 175 sq mi (453 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 77,000. Capital: Victoria. The mixed population is of French, black, and Asian ancestry. Languages: Creole, English, French. Religion: Roman Catholicism. Currency: Seychelles rupee. Located east of northeastern Tanzania, the Seychelles are composed of two main island groups: the Mahé group of 40 central mountainous islands, and a second group of over 70 outlying, flat, coralline islands. The country's developing economy is heavily dependent on tourism. Exports include fish, copra, and cinnamon. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. The first recorded landing on the uninhabited Seychelles was made in 1609 by an expedition of the British East India Co. The archipelago was claimed by the French in 1756 and surrendered to the British in 1810. In 1903 the Seychelles became a British crown colony, and a republic within the Commonwealth in 1976. A one-party socialist state since 1979, the Seychelles began moving toward democracy in the 1990s; it adopted a new constitution in 1993.