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 of French colonists, 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 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, 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 3,500 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 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.
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): Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 44 735 45 214 89 949 100 0–4 3 777 3 631 7 408 8.24 5–9 3 179 3 215 6 394 7.11 10–14 3 131 2 952 6 083 6.76 15–19 3 411 3 187 6 598 7.34 20–24 3 393 2 844 6 237 6.93 25–29 3 609 3 473 7 082 7.87 30–34 3 751 3 681 7 432 8.26 35–39 3 529 3 693 7 222 8.03 40–44 3 656 3 536 7 192 8.00 45–49 3 371 3 628 6 999 7.78 50–54 3 162 3 153 6 315 7.02 55–59 2 473 2 351 4 824 5.36 60–64 1 459 1 604 3 063 3.41 65–69 1 106 1 193 2 299 2.56 70–74 789 999 1 788 1.99 75–79 468 890 1 358 1.51 80–84 286 634 920 1.02 85–89 141 349 490 0.54 90–94 37 152 189 0.21 95–99 6 44 50 0.06 100+ 1 5 6 0.01Age group MaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 10 087 9 798 19 885 22.11 15–64 31 814 31 150 62 964 70.00 65+ 2 834 4 266 7 100 7.89
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020): Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 50 061 48 401 98 462 100 0–4 4 068 3 869 7 937 8.06 5–9 3 952 3 679 7 631 7.75 10–14 2 761 2 610 5 371 5.45 15–19 2 441 2 642 5 083 5.16 20–24 1 630 1 344 2 974 3.02 25–29 3 013 2 170 5 183 5.26 30–34 3 790 2 615 6 405 6.51 35–39 4 986 4 363 9 349 9.50 40–44 3 724 3 552 7 276 7.39 45–49 4 294 3 944 8 238 8.37 50–54 3 124 3 632 6 756 6.86 55–59 4 010 4 529 8 539 8.67 60–64 3 219 3 312 6 531 6.63 65–69 2 439 2 454 4 893 4.97 70–74 1 352 1 431 2 783 2.83 75–79 768 917 1 685 1.71 80–84 331 671 1 002 1.02 85–89 134 455 589 0.60 90+ 25 212 237 0.24Age group MaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 10 781 10 158 20 939 21.27 15–64 34 231 32 103 66 334 67.37 65+ 5 049 6 140 11 189 11.36
Vital statistics
Population United nations. Demographic YearbooksLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate (per 1000)Crude death rate (per 1000)Natural change (per 1000)TFR 1950 36,0001,061 418 64329.511.617.9 1951 34,0001,033 425 60830.412.517.9 1952 36,0001,037 456 58128.812.716.1 1953 37,0001,169 438 73131.611.819.8 1954 37,0001,209 457 75232.712.420.3 1955 39,0001,303 456 84733.411.721.7 1956 38,0001,458 468 99038.412.326.1 1957 38,0001,534 4241,11040.411.229.2 1958 39,0001,553 4501,10339.811.528.3 1959 40,0001,595 4211,17439.910.529.4 1960 42,0001,714 4501,26440.810.730.1 1961 43,0001,775 5741,20141.313.327.9 1962 44,0001,733 5041,22939.411.527.9 1963 45,0001,855 5131,34241.211.429.8 1964 46,0001,867 4851,38240.610.530.0 1965 47,0001,772 5631,20937.712.025.7 1966 47,0001,895 5151,38040.311.029.4 1967 48,0001,827 5361,29138.111.226.9 1968 49,0001,738 5381,20035.511.024.5 1969 51,0001,715 5611,15433.611.022.6 1970 52,0001,660 4371,22331.98.423.5 1971 54,6951,837 4641,37334.78.825.9 1972 56,0291,723 5291,19431.39.621.7 1973 56,8921,639 4751,16429.38.520.8 1974 57,9371,860 4971,36332.68.723.9 1975 59,2921,806 4331,37330.67.323.3 1976 60,5041,642 4661,17626.97.619.3 1977 61,7861,599 4771,12225.87.718.1 1978 62,1501,796 4661,33029.07.521.5 1979 62,6861,730 4381,29227.57.020.5 1980 63,2611,830 4441,38629.07.022.0 1981 64,0351,802 4421,36028.26.921.3 1982 64,4131,552 4821,07024.37.516.7 1983 64,3351,662 4521,21025.87.018.8 1984 64,7171,739 4881,25126.97.619.4 1985 65,2441,729 4681,26126.57.219.3 1986 65,6521,722 4981,22426.27.618.6 1987 68,4991,684 5051,17925.47.617.8 1988 68,7551,643 5041,13924.77.617.1 1989 69,1671,600 5631,03723.28.215.0 1990 69,5071,617 5431,07423.37.815.5 1991 70,4391,708 5451,16324.27.716.5 1992 70,7631,603 5221,08122.77.415.3 1993 72,2531,689 5971,09223.48.315.1 1994 74,2051,700 5501,15023.07.515.6 1995 75,3041,582 5251,05721.07.014.0 1996 76,4171,611 5661,04521.17.413.7 1997 77,3191,475 603 87219.17.811.3 1998 78,8461,412 570 84217.97.210.7 1999 80,4101,460 560 90018.27.011.2 2000 81,1311,512 553 95918.66.811.8 2001 81,2021,440 554 88617.76.810.91.98 2002 83,7231,481 647 83417.77.710.02.04 2003 82,7811,498 668 83018.18.110.02.06 2004 82,4751,435 611 82417.37.49.92.01 2005 82,8581,536 673 86318.38.010.32.20 2006 84,6001,467 664 80317.37.89.42.11 2007 85,0331,499 630 86917.47.310.12.24 2008 86,9561,546 662 88417.87.610.22.33 2009 87,2981,580 684 89618.17.810.32.38 2010 89,7701,504 664 84016.87.49.42.17 2011 87,4411,625 691 93418.67.910.72.33 2012 88,3031,645 651 99418.67.411.32.37 2013 89,9491,566 717 84917.48.09.42.26 2014 91,3591,557 725 83217.07.99.12.25 2015 93,4191,592 703 88917.07.59.52.31 2016 94,6771,64574789817.47.99.52.39 2017 95,8431,651 748 90317.27.89.42.41 2018 96,7621,650 818 83217.18.48.72.41 2019 97,6251,605 795 81016.4 8.18.32.36 2020 98,4621,554 668 88615.8 6.89.02.29 2021 99,2581,665 925 74016.8 9.37.52.46 2022 119,8781,569 941 62813.1 7.85.32.01 2023 119,7731,553 879 67413.0 7.35.72.02 2024 121,3541,333 850 48311.0 7.04.01.73 2025 122,7301,293 845 44810.5 6.93.71.68
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 (official) 89.1%, English (official) 5.1%, French (official) 0.7%, Other 3.8%, Unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)
Religion
Roman Catholic 76.2%, Anglican 6.1%, other Christian 6.9%, Hindu 2.4%, Muslim 1.6%, other 2%, unspecified or missing 4.8% (2010 census).
Notes
References