Seychelles is an island nation located off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean with a population of 98,462. Seychelles gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1976, at which time the population was among the global poor. Today, Seychelles' main economic activities are tourism and fishing, and the country aspires to be a financial hub. Although the World Bank designated Seychelles as a "high income" country in 2015, its wealth is not evenly distributed. Heavy reliance on the tourism industry, which directly and indirectly contributed to over 60 percent of GDP in 2019, made the overall economy vulnerable to external shocks, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic