| Location: |
archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar |
| Geographic coordinates: |
4 35 S, 55 40 E |
| Map references: |
Africa |
| Area: |
total: 455 sq km
land: 455 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative: |
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
| Land boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
491 km |
| Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
| Climate: |
tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) |
| Terrain: |
Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs |
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m |
| Natural resources: |
fish, copra, cinnamon trees |
| Land use: |
arable land: 2.17%
permanent crops: 13.04%
other: 84.79% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: |
NA |
| Natural hazards: |
lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
| Environment - current issues: |
water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater |
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note: |
41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands |
