Republic of Seychelles

CAPITAL: Victoria

FLAG: The flag is made up of five oblique bands of (left to right) blue, yellow, red, white, and green.

ANTHEM: Begins "Seychellois both staunch and true."

MONETARY UNIT: The Seychelles rupee (R) is a paper currency of 100 cents. There are coins of 5, 10, and 25 cents and 1, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 1,000, and 1,500 rupees and notes of 10, 25, 50, and 100 rupees. R1 = $0.1984 (or $1 = R5.04) as of March 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's, 1–2 January; Labor Day, 1 May; National Day, 5 June; Independence Day, 29 June; Assumption, 15 August; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Immaculate Conception, 8 December; Christmas, 25 December. Movable religious holidays include Good Friday, Easter Monday, Corpus Christi, and Ascension.

TIME: 4 PM = noon GMT.

Location, Size, and Extent

Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, consists of an estimated 115 islands, most of which are not permanently inhabited. The second-smallest country in Africa, Seychelles has an area of 455 sq...