Total area: 455 km2
land area: 455 km2

Comparative area: slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: none

Coastline: 491 km

Maritime claims:

Continental shelf: edge of continental margin or 200 nm;

Extended economic zone: 200 nm;

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes: claims Tromelin Island

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

Natural resources: fish, copra, cinnamon trees

Land use: 4% arable land; 18% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 18% forest and woodland; 60% other

Environment: lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible; no fresh water, catchements collect rain; 40 granitic and about 50 coralline islands

Note: located north-northeast of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean

NOTE: The information regarding Seychelles on this page is re-published from the 1990 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Seychelles Geography 1990 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Seychelles Geography 1990 should be addressed to the CIA.