Seychelles, a nation of 122,000 people spread across islands in the Indian Ocean, is Africa’s only high-income country. Its remoteness, small size and exposure to shocks keep production and transport costs high, and the economy still leans heavily on tourism and fisheries.
The World Bank’s Seychelles Country Growth and Jobs Report 2026finds that raising productivity is the key to the next stage of growth. The reforms outlined in the report could make gross domestic product (GDP) 13% higher by 2040 than it would be without them.
Modernize, Utilize, Digitalize: Growth and Jobs by 2040
Seychelles’ growth record is getting harder to sustain. Its population is aging and employers struggle to find skilled workers, while firms and households have been slow to adopt digital tools. The report sets out three priorities that work best together: modernize the labor market and business rules, fully utilize Seychellois talent, and digitalize the economy.
- By 2040, the three priorities together could bring more than 10,000 new and better-paid jobs: 2,900 new jobs and the equivalent of more than 7,600 better-paid ones, compared to a no-reform scenario.
- Real wages could be almost 8% higher and labor productivity 8.3% higher.
- Household consumption per person could rise by 8.1%.
