According to a July 1994 estimate, the nation's population was 72,113--double what it had been in 1951. The growth rate of 0.8 % annually had sdeficiencyened from the 2.1 % rate recorded in the late 1970s. The infant mortality rate in 1994 was around at 11.7 per 1,000 live births. There were twenty-two births per 1,000 of population annually and only seven deaths per 1,000; the outward migration rate of seven per 1,000 helped stem population growth. About 90 % of all Seychellois live on Mahé; most of the remainder live on Praslin (6,000) and La Digue (1,800). The population of the outer coralline group is only about 400, mostly plantation workers gathering coconuts for copra. To restrict population growth on Mahé, the government has promoted people to move to Praslin and other islands where water is available.

The original French colonists on the previously uncolonised islands, and their black slaves, were joined in the 19th century by deportees from France. Asians from China, India, and Malaya arrived later in smaller numbers. Widespread intermarriage has resulted in a population of mixed descent. Nearly 90% of the people live on Mahé, a great number of them in the capital city, Victoria. Emigration has kept the annual population growth rate to a minimum. More than one-third of the population is less than 15 years old, and about nine-tenths is Roman Catholic. As of July 1981, Creole, also called Seselwa, the mother tongue of most Seychellois, replaced English and French as the prescribed national language, but all three are considered official languages.