Demographics of Seychelles
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Seychelles, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. About 90% of the Seychellois people live on the island of Mahé. Most of the rest live on Praslin and La Digue, with the remaining smaller islands either sparsely populated or uninhabited. Most Seychellois are descendants of early French settlers and East Africans who arrived in the 19th century. Tamils, along with other South Indians and Chinese (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 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  91.9% of the adult population is literate, and the literacy rate of school-aged children has risen to well over 98%. Increases are expected, as nearly all children of primary school age attend school, and the government encourages adult education. Vital statistics. Structure of the population. Structure of the population (2013 estimates): Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020): Other demographic statistics. Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019. The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated. Demographics profile. Seychelles has very little indigenous population and was first permanently settled by a  small group of French colonizers, African, 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 labor force participation. Life expectancy has increased steadily, but women on average live 9 years longer than men, a difference that is higher than that typical of developed countries. The combination of reduced fertility and increased longevity has resulted in an aging 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. Despite some of its health and education indicators being nearly on par with Western countries, Seychelles has a high level of income inequality. Sex ratio. "at birth:" 1.03 male(s)/female "under 15 years:" 1.06 male(s)/female "15-64 years:" 0.95 male(s)/female "65 years and over:" 0.70 male(s)/female "total population:" 1.07 male(s)/female (2005 est.) Nationality. "noun:" Seychellois (singular and plural), "adjective:" Seychelles Ethnic groups. predominantly creole (mainly of East African and Malagasy heritage); also French, Indian, Chinese, and Arab populations Religions. Roman Catholic (76.2%), Protestant (10.5%) (Anglican (6.1%), Pentecoastal Assembly (1.5%), Seventh-Day  Adventist (1.2%), other Protestant (1.7)), other Christian (2.4%), Hindu (2.4%), Islam (1.6%), other non-Christian (1.1%), unspecified (4.8%), none (0.9%) (2010 est.) Languages. Seychellois Creole (official) 89.1%, English (official) 5.1%, French (official) 0.7%, Other 3.8%, Unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.) Literacy. "definition:" age 15 and over can read and write Census. The Seychelles census has now been postponed by one year, from August 2020 to August 2021. Field mapping, questionnaire design, and pretest of data collection tools using tablets, are all proceeding.