Demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...

features of the population of

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

include population density,

ethnicity An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they Collective consciousness, collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, ...

, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Seychelles has no indigenous population and was first permanently settled by a small group of French colonizers, Africans, and South Indians in 1770. Seychelles' modern population is composed of the descendants of French and later British colonizers, Africans, and Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern traders and is concentrated on three of its 155 islands – the vast majority on Mahe and lesser numbers on Praslin and La Digue. Seychelles' population grew rapidly during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to natural increase, but the pace has slowed because of fertility decline. The total fertility rate dropped sharply from 4.0 children per woman in 1980 to 1.9 in 2015, mainly as a result of a family planning program, free education and health care, and increased female labour force participation.

Life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...

has increased steadily, but women on average live 9 years longer than men, a difference that is higher than that typical of developed countries. Most Seychellois are descendants of early French settlers and East Africans who arrived in the 19th century.

Tamils The Tamils ( ), also known by their endonym Tamilar, are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. The Tamil language is o ...

, along with other South Indians and

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

(1.1% of the population) account for the other permanent inhabitants. About 1,703 (2000) expatriates live and work in Seychelles. In 1901, there were roughly 3500 Tamil speakers out of the country's population of 19,237. Tamil immigrants arrived in Seychelles as early as 1770 and were among the first settlers to the originally sparsely inhabited island nation. Seychelles culture is a mixture of French and African ( Creole) influences. The local Seychellois Creole (''Kreol''), a

creole language A creole language, or simply creole, is a stable form of contact language that develops from the process of different languages simplifying and mixing into a new form (often a pidgin), and then that form expanding and elaborating into a full-fl ...

derived from French and African tongues, is the native language of 91.8% of the people; but English and French are also commonly used. English remains the language of government and commerce. About 90% of the

Seychellois Demographic features of the population of Seychelles include population density, ethnicity, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Seychelles has no indigenous population and was first permanently settled by a small group ...

people live on the island of Mahé. Most of the rest live on

Praslin Praslin () is the second largest island (38.5 km2) of the Inner Seychelles, lying northeast of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé. Praslin has a population of around 7,533 people and comprises two administrative districts: Baie Sainte Anne and Grand ...

and

La Digue La Digue is the third most populated island of the Seychelles, and fourth largest by land area, lying east of Praslin and west of Felicite Island. In size, it is the fourth-largest granitic island of Seychelles after Mahé, Praslin, and Silho ...

, with the remaining smaller islands either sparsely populated or uninhabited. The combination of reduced fertility and increased longevity has resulted in an ageing population, which will put pressure on the government's provision of pensions and health care. Seychelles' sustained investment in social welfare services, such as free primary health care and education up to the post-secondary level, have enabled the country to achieve a high human development index score, among the highest in Africa.

Population

Structure of the population

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2013): Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020):

Vital statistics

Life expectancy

Total population: 76.1 years. Country comparison to the world: 109th male: 71.67 years female: 80.66 years (2022 est.) :Total population: 75.8 years :Male: 71.4 years :Female: 80.4 years (2021 est.)

Ethnic groups

Predominantly creole (mainly of East African and Malagasy heritage); also French, Indian, Chinese, and Arab populations

Languages

Seychellois Creole Seychellois Creole (), also known as Kreol, Seselwa Creole French, and Seselwa Creole is the French-based creole language spoken by the Seychellois Creole people, Seychelles Creole people of the Seychelles. It is one of the national language, na ...

(official) 89.1%, English (official) 5.1%, French (official) 0.7%, Other 3.8%, Unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)

Religion

Roman Catholic 76.2%, Protestant 10.5% (Anglican 6.1%, Pentecostal Assembly 1.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.2%, other Protestant 1.7%), other Christian 2.4%, Hindu 2.4%, Muslim 1.6%, other non-Christian 1.1%, unspecified 4.8%, none 0.9% (2010 est.)

References

{{Seychelles topics Society of Seychelles