SEYCHELLES (Continued)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Government leader: President France Albert RENE
Suffrage: universal adult
Elections: general elections held June 1979 gave 98% approval to René as only presidential candidate on yes/no ballot
Political parties and leaders: René, who heads the Seychelles People's Progressive Front, came to power by a military coup in June 1977. Until then he had been Prime Minister in an uneasy coalition with then President James Mancham, who headed the Seychelles Democratic Party. René banned the Seychelles Democratic Party in mid-March 1978 and announced a new constitution in March 1979 that turned the country into a one-party state
Communists: negligible, although some Cabinet Ministers espouse pro-Soviet line
Other political or pressure groups: trade unions
Member of: G-77, GATT (de facto), IAEA, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMCO, IMF, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
ECONOMY
GDP: $90 million (1978 est.); $1,330 per capita; 6% growth rate (1980)
Agriculture: islands depend largely on coconut production and export of copra; cinnamon, vanilla, and patchouli (used for perfumes) are other cash crops; food crops—small quantities of sweet potatoes, cassava, sugarcane, and bananas; islands not self-sufficient in foodstuffs and the bulk of the supply must be imported; fish is an important food source
Major industries: processing of coconut and vanilla, fishing, small-scale manufacture of consumer goods, coir rope factory, tea factory, tourism
Electric power: 16,000 kW capacity (1980); 45 million kWh produced (1980), 703 kWh per capita
Exports: $5.2 million (f.o.b., 1980); cinnamon (bark and oil) and vanilla account for almost 50% of the total, copra accounts for about 40%, the remainder consists of patchouli, fish, and guano
Imports: $74.0 million (c.i.f., 1980); food, tobacco, and beverages account for about 40% of imports, manufactured goods about 25%, the remainder consists of machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, textiles
Major trade partners: exports—India, US; imports—UK, Kenya, South Africa, Burma, India, Australia
External debt: $22 million (1980); external service payment (1980), $245,000
Aid: economic commitments—Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $110 million; US (FY70-80), $2.7 million; OPEC, ODA (1974-79), $1.2 million
Budget: (1979) revenue $42.0 million, current expenditure $35.0 million, development expenditure $15.6
Monetary conversion rate: 6.39 Seychelles rupees=US$1 (1981)
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: none
Highways: 215 km total; 145 km bituminous, 70 km crushed stone or earth
Ports: 1 small port (Victoria)
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
Airfields: 7 total, 7 usable (on Praslin Island, Astove Island, Bird Island, Mahe Island); 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
Telecommunications: direct radiocommunications with adjacent island and African coastal countries; 5,970 telephones (9.6 per 100 popl.); 2 AM, no FM, and no TV stations; Indian Ocean satellite station
DEFENSE FORCES
Military manpower: males 15-49, 13,000; 7,000 fit for military service
Supply: infantry-type weapons and ammunition from Tanzania, USSR, and the PRC
