This Republic, a United Nations member, which comprises of 115 mostly uninhabited islands, is in the Indian Ocean.
The islands were mainly used by pirates until the French took control in the 1750s.
They were then named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Minister of Finance under Louis XV.
Tinned tuna accounts for 50% of the total exports of Seychelles.
The Seychelles is the home of the world's largest land crab, the three-foot- long coconut crab.
