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About 90% of the Seychellois people live on Mahe Island. Most others 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 the Africans from East Africa in the 19th century. Desi and Chinese (1.1% of the population) account for the other permanent inhabitants. About 1,703 (2000) expatriates live and work in Seychelles. Of those, about 35 are from the United States.

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.

Demographics of Seychelles, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

Population: 81,188 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.4% (male 10,839; female 10,601)
15-64 years: 67.4% (male 26,709; female 28,025)
65 years and over: 6.2% (male 1,622; female 3,392) (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.43% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 16.22 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 6.34 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female
total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.82 years
male: 66.41 years
female: 77.4 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.75 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
adjective: Seychelles

Ethnic groups: mixed French, African, Desi, Chinese, and Arab

Religions: Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh-day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%,other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census)

Languages: Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9%
male: 91.4%
female: 92.3% (2003 est.)