COMOROS
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COMOROS
@Comoros:Geography
Location: Southern Africa, group of islands in the Mozambique Channel,
about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern
Mozambique
Map references: Africa
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COMOROS - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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MORONI 21,000 11.40S, 43.16E 269- GMT+3
Mutsamudu 13,000 12.10S, 44.25E 269- GMT+3
Fomboni 6,000 12.18S, 43.46E 269- GMT+3
Mitsamiouli 3,000 11.22S, 43.21E 269- GMT+3
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Area:
total area: 2,170 sq km
land area: 2,170 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 340 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International 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%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: soil degradation and erosion results from crop
cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation
natural hazards: cyclones and tsunamis possible during rainy season
(December to April); Mount Kartala on Grand Comore is an active
volcano
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
Note: important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel
@Comoros:People
Population: 549,338 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (female 131,334; male 132,327)
15-64 years: 49% (female 137,083; male 133,629)
65 years and over: 3% (female 7,860; male 7,105) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.56% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 46.22 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.6 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 77.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58.27 years
male: 56.04 years
female: 60.57 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 6.73 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Comoran(s)
adjective: Comoran
Ethnic divisions: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Religions: Sunni Muslim 86%, Roman Catholic 14%
Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend of
Swahili and Arabic)
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
total population: 48%
male: 56%
female: 40%
Labor force: 140,000 (1982)
by occupation: agriculture 80%, government 3%
@Comoros:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
conventional short form: Comoros
local long form: Republique Federale Islamique des Comores
local short form: Comores
Digraph: CN
Type: independent republic
Capital: Moroni
Administrative divisions: three islands; Grand Comore (Njazidja),
Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali)
note: there are also four municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni,
Moroni, and Mutsamudu
Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
Constitution: 7 June 1992
Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Said Mohamed DJOHAR (since 11 March 1990);
election last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996); results
- Said Mohamed DJOHAR (UDZIMA) 55%, Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim (UNDC) 45%
head of government: Prime Minister Halifa HOUMADI (since 13 October
1994); note - HOUMADI is the fifteenth prime minister appointed by
President DJOHAR in the last three years
cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Legislative branch: unicameral
Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federale): elections last held 12-20
December 1993 (next to be held by NA January 1998); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (42 total) Ruling Coalition: RDR 15, UNDC
5, MWANGAZA 2; Opposition: UDZIMA 8, other smaller parties 10; 2 seats
remained unfilled
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
Political parties and leaders: over 20 political parties are currently
active, the most important of which are; Comoran Union for Progress
(UDZIMA), Omar TAMOU; Islands' Fraternity and Unity Party (CHUMA),
Said Ali KEMAL; Comoran Party for Democracy and Progress (PCDP), Ali
MROUDJAE; Realizing Freedom's Capability (UWEZO), Mouazair ABDALLAH;
Democratic Front of the Comoros (FDR), Moustapha CHELKH; Dialogue
Proposition Action (DPA/MWANGAZA), Said MCHAWGAMA; Rally for Change
and Democracy (RACHADE), Hassan HACHIM; Union for Democracy and
Decentralization (UNDC), Mohamed Taki Halidi IBRAHAM; Rally for
Democracy and Renewal (RDR); Comoran Popular Front (FPC), Mohamed
HASSANALI, Mohamed El Arif OUKACHA, Abdou MOUSTAKIM (Secretary
General)
Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AL, CCC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, INTELSAT
(nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mohamed Ahamadu DJIMBANAO (ambassador to
the US and Canada)
chancery: (temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Federal and
Islamic Republic of the Comoros to the United Nations, 336 East 45th
Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017
telephone: [1] (212) 972-8010
FAX: [1] (212) 983-4712
US diplomatic representation: none; ambassador to Port Louis,
Mauritius, is accredited to Comoros
Flag: green with a white crescent in the center of the field, its
points facing upward; 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 (a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by
Comoros); the design, the most recent of several, is described in the
constitution approved by referendum on 7 June 1992
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 subsistence
level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence
on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture, including
fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy.
It contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and
provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in
food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for 90% of imports.
The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical
training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, to
improve health services, to diversify exports, and to reduce the high
population growth rate. Continued foreign support is essential if the
goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be reached in the late 1990s.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $370 million (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 0.9% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $700 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate: 15.8% (1989)
Budget:
revenues: $83 million
expenditures: $92 million, including capital expenditures of $32
million (1992)
Exports: $13.7 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra
partners: US 44%, France 40%, Germany 6%, Africa 5% (1992)
Imports: $40.9 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: rice and other foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement,
consumer goods
partners: France 34%, South Africa 14%, Kenya 8%, Japan 4% (1992)
External debt: $160 million (1992 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -6.5% (1989 est.); accounts for 6%
of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 16,000 kW
production: 17 million kWh
consumption per capita: 27 kWh (1993)
Industries: perfume distillation, textiles, furniture, jewelry,
construction materials, soft drinks
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, 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:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-89), $10 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $435 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $22 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $18 million
Currency: 1 Comoran franc (CF) = 100 centimes
Exchange rates: Comoran francs (CF) per US$1 - 297.07 (January 1995),
416.40 (1994), 254.57 (1993), 264.69 (1992), 282.11 (1991), 272.26
(1990)
note: beginning 12 January 1994, the Comoran franc was devalued to 75
per French franc from 50 per French franc at which it had been fixed
since 1948
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Comoros:Transportation
Railroads: 0 km
Highways:
total: 750 km
paved: bituminous 210 km
unpaved: crushed stone, gravel 540 km
Ports: Fomboni, Moroni, Mutsamudo
Merchant marine: none
Airports:
total: 4
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
@Comoros:Communications
Telephone system: over 1,800 telephones; sparse system of radio relay
and high-frequency radio communication stations for interisland and
external communications to Madagascar and Reunion
local: NA
intercity: high frequency radio and microwave radio relay
international: high frequency radio
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 0
televisions: NA
@Comoros:Defense Forces
Branches: Comoran Security Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 117,349; males fit for military
service 70,178 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
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