(Seychelles News Agency) - The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2016 report says Seychelles has the best quality of air on the planet. 

The archipelago in the western Indian Ocean topped the list of 180 countries with a score of 98.24 percent, ahead of Trinidad and Tobago and the Maldives.

The Seychelles’ Minister of Environment says the type of development that government has chosen for the nation has played a big role in how clean the island air is today. 

“If we look at the industries that we have, they do not produce any real air pollution, and we have over the years moved away from charcoal and kerosene for cooking,” Minister of Environment Didier Dogley told SNA.

Visitors to Seychelles told SNA they are not surprised by the rating and it is the first thing they noticed on their arrival.

“I cannot even begin to compare. It’s not just the air, it’s everything, it’s definitely a little piece of heaven. Yes, if it is said that you have the country with the purest air in the world, there is no way I am going to contradict this. Whoever said this is totally right,” said Chelsea Duncan, an American tourist.

“It's almost the first thing we noticed here when we came out of the plane. China is crowded and has (a) lot of smoke from factories and transport. Seychelles, oh it’s a beautiful country and yes it is good to breathe clean air in the lungs,” said Xierly Young from China.

Seychelles’ Minister of Tourism and Culture Alain St. Ange said he is thrilled to see that the quality of life being experienced and enjoyed on a daily basis by the Seychellois and also by visitors to Seychelles is today noticed by the world at large. 

The Environmental Performance Index is a ranking done every two years on how countries perform on high-priority environmental issues Finland topped the overall list 2016 at a rating if 90.68 percent.

Seychelles is 112th overall with 64.12 percent.

Since 2010, Seychelles, with a population of 93,000, has been putting a lot of emphasis on environmental protection to guarantee its citizens the right to a clean, healthy and ecologically balanced environment.