The Republic of Seychelles is a capitalist state located in the Indian Ocean (although technically a part of Eastern Africa) near Somalia, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius and Diego Garcia.
History
From 1977 to 2004, the Seychelles practiced African Socialism led by France-Albert René following a bloodless coup by René's supporters in 1977. This was one of the more successful efforts at African Socialism, with the country soon scoring the highest HDI in Africa and having some of the best levels of literacy, life expectancy, economic development and infant mortality. The country was politically stable and managed to avoid a coup launched by South Africa and possibly the CIA. However, the government engaged in several assassinations and torture of dissidents, but in 2004 René stepped down peacefully and a representative democracy developed. Since then inequality and poverty have increased on the islands.