Comoros

Official nameUnion of the Comoros
Name in local languageالاتحاد القمري - al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī (ar) ; Union des Comores (fr) ; Udzima wa Komori (sw)
ContinentAfrica
SubcontinentEast Africa
Population (ranking: 169e)845,477 inhabitants (2018)
Population growth2.41 % / year
Area1,862 km²
Density454.07 inhabitants / km²
GDP (ranking: 210e)1.203 billions $USD (2018)
GDP/capita (ranking)1,445 $USD (2018)
GDP growth2.80 % / year (2018)
Life expectancy (ranking)64.10 years (2018)
Birth rate27.84 ‰ (2015)
Fertility rate3.60 children / woman (2015)
Death rate (ranking)7.57 ‰ (2015)
Infant mortality rate (ranking)63.55 ‰ (2015)
Literacy rate77.76 % (2015)
Official languagesFrench, Swahili (Comorian), Arabic
CurrencyComorian franc (KMF)
HDI (ranking: 195e)0.538 / 1 (2018)
EPI (ranking)44.24 (2018)
GovernmentFederal presidential republic
Head of StatePresident Azali Assoumani
National Day6 July (independence of 1975)
ISO CodesKM, COM
DemonymComorian
Tourists (ranking)28,000 people (2017)
Comores – petite

Comoros is a Federal Republic of Southern Africa located north of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar and the eastern coast of Africa. The country is made up of three islands that are three federated states: Grande Comore, which houses Moroni, the capital of the country, Anjouan, whose capital is Matsoumoudou, and Mohéli, whose capital is Fomboni.

The leaders of the Union of the Comoros, who share power between the different islands, are sinking daily in endless quarrels over their own fields of competence. The conflicts that this entails, sometimes armed (dozens of coups since the independence of 1975!), are devastating for the economy and civil society in general. Poverty is extreme and everywhere in the islands, to the point that many young people see their future only in emigration, often at the risk of their lives, to Mayotte and France, former colonizing country.

Moutsamoudou, Comores
Moutsamoudou, Anjouan, Comoros. Photo: David Stanley, Wikipedia
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Urban areas (2013)
Urban areasPopulation
Moroni111,329 inhabitants
Moutsamoudou39,710 inhabitants
Fomboni19,582 inhabitants
See all urban areas
Administrative divisions
Autonomous IslandsPopulationArea
Anjouan (Ndzwani)341,539 inhabitants424 km²
Grande Comore (Ngazidja)410,736 inhabitants1,148 km²
Mohéli (Mwali)53,878 inhabitants290 km²
See all administrative divisions
See also