Island country, western Indian Ocean.
Area: 719 sq mi (1,862 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 614,000. Capital: Moroni. The people are a mixture of Malay immigrants, Arab traders, and peoples from Madagascar and continental Africa. Languages: Comorian (a Bantu language), Arabic, French (all official). Religion: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni). Currency: Comorian franc. Comoros comprises a group of islands between Madagascar and the eastern African mainland that includes Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), and Nzwani (Anjouan) but excludes Mayotte. They are generally rocky, with shallow soils and poor harbours, though Mwali, the smallest, has fertile valleys and forested hillsides. Mount Karthala, an active volcano, is the highest point, at 7,746 ft (2,361 m). The climate is tropical. One of the world’s poorest nations, Comoros has an economy based on subsistence agriculture. It is a republic with one legislative house. The head of state and government is the president, assisted by vice presidents. Beginning in the 16th century, Comoros was known to European navigators, but the dominant influence on the islands was then and for long afterward Arab. In 1843 France officially took possession of Mayotte and in 1886 placed the other three islands under protection. Subordinated to Madagascar in 1912, the Comoros became an overseas territory of France in 1947. In 1961 they were granted internal autonomy. In 1974 majorities on three of the islands voted for independence, which was declared in 1975. The following decade saw several coup attempts, culminating in the assassination of the president in 1989. French intervention permitted multiparty elections in 1990, but the country remained in a state of chronic instability, including secessionist movements on Nzwani and Mwali. In 1999 the army took control of the government and negotiated a constitution in 2001.
Official name | L’Union des Comores (French); Udzima wa Komori (Comorian); (Union of the Comoros)1 |
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Form of government | republic2 with one legislative house (Assembly of the Union [333]) |
Head of state and government | President assisted by Vice Presidents |
Capital | Moroni |
Official languages | Comorian (Shikomor); Arabic; French |
Official religion | Islam |
Monetary unit | Comorian franc4 (CF) |
Population estimate | (2008) 645,0005 |
Total area (sq mi) | 7196 |
Total area (sq km) | 1,8626 |
an independent state comprising three of the islands of the Comorian archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa. A fourth island of the Comorian archipelago, Mayotte, is claimed by the country of Comoros but administered by France.
The volcanic islands of the Comorian archipelago have been called the “perfumed islands” for their fragrant plant life and are known for their great scenic beauty. The four main islands of the archipelago —“four small effervescent stones, wedged between the nearby large red island [Madagascar] and the Mozambican coast,” in the words of the Comorian writer Sitti Saïd Youssouf—combine African, Arabic, Malagasy, and French influences and were once important in the significant Indian Ocean trade between East Africa and Asian ports such as India and Japan.
Although the early history of the islands is uncertain, they are thought to have been explored by Arab and Persian traders in antiquity and, like Madagascar, settled by small numbers of Malayo-Indonesian peoples, gaining a sizable population only when Bantu-speaking peoples from the African mainland settled there. Shīrāzi Persians are thought to have arrived later, establishing Sunni Islam as the dominant religion. The ensuing Shīrāzi sultanates established trade relations with other countries along the Indian Ocean and developed a thriving economy based on the sale of spices and slaves. The opening of the Suez Canal substantially lessened the islands’ importance as an entrepôt, though not their strategic value. European colonial powers agreed that the Comorian archipelago would come under French rule in 1886–87, and it became an overseas territory of France in 1947. Three of the islands gained independence in 1975.
Comoros is poor, witnessing an ongoing exodus of educated and skilled workers to France and a steady decline in gross domestic product. The capital, Moroni, located on the island of Ngazidja, has most of the modern commercial and manufacturing facilities located in the country; in the absence of other possibilities, most islanders must rely on subsistence farming. With miles of beautiful beaches, tourists have always been drawn to Comoros. The islands’ history of political unrest, however, has hampered efforts to promote tourism.
The Comoros are a group of islands at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean, between Madagascar and the southeast African mainland, about 180 miles (290 km) off the eastern coast of Africa. The islands from northwest to southeast include Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), Nzwani (Anjouan), and Mayotte (Maoré).
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