COMOROS
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 2,170 km2; land area: 2,170 km2
Comparative area: slightly more than 12 times the size of
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 340 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: claims French-administered Mayotte
Climate: tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
Terrain: volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains
to low hills
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: arable land 35%; permanent crops 8%; meadows and
pastures 7%; forest and woodland 16%; other 34%
Environment: soil degradation and erosion; deforestation;
cyclones possible during rainy season
Note: important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel
PEOPLE
Population: 476,678 (July 1991), growth rate 3.5% (1991)
Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 59 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Comoran(s); adjective--Comoran
Ethnic divisions: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Religion: Sunni Muslim 86%, Roman Catholic 14%
Language: Shaafi Islam (a Swahili dialect), Malagasy, French
Literacy: 48% (male 56%, female 40%) age 15 and over can
read and write (1980)
Labor force: 140,000 (1982); agriculture 80%, government 3%; 51% of
population of working age (1985)
Organized labor: NA
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
Type: independent republic
Capital: Moroni
Administrative divisions: 3 islands; Anjouan, Grande Comore,
Moheli; note--there may also be 4 municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni,
Moroni, and Mutsamudu
Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)
Constitution: 1 October 1978, amended October 1982 and January 1985
Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch: unicameral Federal Assembly (Assemblee
Federale)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government--President Said
Mohamed DJOHAR (since 11 March 1990)
Political parties:
Comoran Union for Progress (Udzima), Said Mohamed DJOHAR, president;
National Union for Democracy (UNDC), Mohamed TAKI
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
President--last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996);
results--Said Mohamed DJOHAR (Udzima) 55%; Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim
(UNDC) 45%;
Federal Assembly--last held 22 March 1987 (next to be held March
1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(42 total) Udzima 42
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA,
IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Amini Ali MOUMIN; Chancery
(temporary) at the Comoran Permanent Mission to the UN, 336 East 45th
Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 972-8010;
US--Ambassador Kenneth N. PELTIER; Embassy at address NA, Moroni
(mailing address B. P. 1318, Moroni); telephone 73-22-03, 73-29-22
Flag: green with a white crescent placed diagonally (closed side of
the crescent points to the upper hoist-side corner of the flag); there
are four white five-pointed stars placed in a line between the points of
the crescent; the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional
symbols of Islam; the four stars represent the four main islands of the
archipelago--Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (which is a territorial
collectivity of France, but claimed by the Comoros)
ECONOMY
Overview: One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made
up of several islands that have poor transportation links, a young and
rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low
educational level of the labor force contributes to a low level of
economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign
grants and technical assistance. Agriculture, including fishing and
forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes about 40%
to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports.
The country is not self-sufficient in food production, and rice, the main
staple, accounts for 90% of imports. During the period 1982-86 the
industrial sector grew at an annual average rate of 5.3%, but its
contribution to GDP was only 5% in 1988. Despite major investment in the
tourist industry, which accounts for about 25% of GDP, growth has
stagnated since 1983. A sluggish growth rate of 1.5% during 1985-90 has
led to large budget deficits, declining incomes, and balance-of-payments
difficulties.
GDP: $245 million, per capita $530; real growth rate 1.5% (1990
est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.9% (1989)
Unemployment rate: over 16% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $88 million; expenditures $92 million,
including capital expenditures of $13 million (1990 est.)
Exports: $16 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--vanilla, cloves, perfume oil, copra;
partners--US 53%, France 41%, Africa 4%, FRG 2% (1988)
Imports: $41 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--rice and other foodstuffs, cement, petroleum products,
consumer goods;
partners--Europe 62% (France 22%, other 40%), Africa 5%, Pakistan,
China (1988)
External debt: $242 million (December 1990)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.4% (1988 est.); accounts
for 5% of GDP
Electricity: 16,000 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced,
55 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: perfume distillation, textiles, furniture, jewelry,
construction materials
Agriculture: accounts for 40% of GDP; most of population works in
subsistence agriculture and fishing; plantations produce cash crops for
export--vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, and copra; principal food
crops--coconuts, bananas, cassava; world's leading producer of essence of
ylang-ylang (for perfumes) and second-largest producer of vanilla; large
net food importer
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-89), $10
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $406 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $22 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $18 million
Currency: Comoran franc (plural--francs); 1 Comoran franc
(CF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comoran francs (CF) per US$1--256.54 (January
1991), 272.26 (1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30
(1986), 449.26 (1985); note--linked to the French franc at 50 to 1 French
franc
Fiscal year: calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 750 km total; about 210 km bituminous, remainder crushed
stone or gravel
Ports: Mutsamudu, Moroni
Civil air: 4 major transport aircraft
Airports: 4 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications: sparse system of radio relay and high-frequency
radio communication stations for interisland and external communications
to Madagascar and Reunion; over 1,800 telephones; stations--2 AM, 1 FM,
1 TV
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Comoran Defense Force (FCD), Federal Gendarmerie (GFC)
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 101,332; 60,592 fit for
military service
Defense expenditures: $NA, 3% of GDP (1981)