Republic of Seychelles

The Seychelles is a small island nation located in the Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar and about 1,600 km east of Kenya. The nation is an archipelago of 155 tropical islands, some granite and some coral. The majority of the islands are small and uninhabited. The landmass is only 459 km2, but the islands are spread over an Exclusive Economic Zone of 1,374,000 km2. Most of the Seychellois population reside on three islands. Approximately 90% of the population of 90,000 live on Mahé, 9% on Praslin and La Digue.

The Seychellois coat of arms depicts a shield with a giant tortoise located on green grounds. On the ground there is a coco de mer palm tree. Behind it there is a blue sea with two islands and a sail ship. The shield is enthroned by a silver helmet with a white-tailed tropic bird located above blue and white waves. The shield is supported by two white sailfish. Beneath the shield the motto of Seychelles is stated: Finis Coronat Opus which means “The End Crowns the Work” in Latin.