Only half of citizens say the country's media is free.
Key findings
- Four-fifths (81%) of Seychellois "agree" or "strongly agree" that the media should "constantly investigate and report on government mistakes and corruption."
- A similarly strong majority (84%) say the media should have the right to publish any views and ideas without government interference, while only 6% endorse a government right to prevent the publication of things it disapproves of.
- About half (51%) of survey participants say the country's media is "somewhat free" or "completely free" to report and comment on the news without government interference, while more than four in 10 (42%) disagree.
- More than six in 10 citizens (62%) say the public should have access to government information, while one-fourth (25%) say such information should be for use by government officials only.
- Overwhelming majorities say the public should have access to district administration budgets (84%) and government bids and contracts (82%). o But fewer than half (47%) believe salaries of district administrators and teachers should be made public.
- Television and radio are the most popular sources of news in Seychelles, used at least "a few times a week" by most citizens, followed by the Internet and social media.
- Senior citizens and the unschooled are considerably less likely than youth and more educated respondents to consume news via digital or print media.
Reporters Without Borders (2024) ranked Seychelles 37th out of 180 countries and third in Africa in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index. While the position is encouraging, Seychelles' ranking has plummeted 24 places in the space of two years (Hasina, 2024), though it remains well above its 2014 placement of 103rd (Reporters Without Borders, 2014). Intimidation of journalists and harsh criticism from politicians are some of the emerging challenges the media in the archipelago face (Reporters Without Borders, 2024; U.S. Department of State, 2023).
Although rare, sanctions on media in Seychelles can be punitive. For example, in 2020, the newspaper Today in Seychelles was fined 23,000 euros for publishing a defamatory article in 2016, despite the decriminalisation of defamation in 2017 (BBC, 2023). In 2022, the Seychelles Independent, a newspaper known for its investigative journalism, was banned from covering the presidential briefings "for no official reason" (Reporters Without Borders, 2024). The same year, the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation complained about political pressure from both the government and the opposition and called for greater respect for media impartiality (U.S. Department of State, 2023).
Despite these challenges, the media environment remains generally favourable. The country's Constitution expressly provides for freedom of expression for everyone, and the judiciary has upheld press freedom in several important court cases, which include several rulings against the government (Judiciary of Seychelles, 2023). The Seychelles Media Commission (2024), the country's media regulator, cites preservation of media freedom at the top of its list of functions.
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What are Seychelles citizens' perceptions of their media? Findings from the most recent Afrobarometer survey, conducted in late 2022, show that a majority of Seychellois support the media's role as a watchdog over the government. Most citizens say the public should have access to information held by public authorities, such as budgets and contracts. Seychellois also support media freedom, although a large plurality of respondents worry that media is not actually free to report without government interference.
Television is the most popular source of news in Seychelles, with virtually all citizens watching news at least a few times a week.
Daniel Iberi Communications coordinator for East Africa
