Adjacent Words

Comoros definitions

	Tweet

Flags of the World

Flag of Comoros

CIA World Factbook, 2008

Background
Comoros has endured 19 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared independence from Comoros. In 1999, military chief Col. AZALI seized power in a bloodless coup, and helped negotiate the 2000 Fomboni Accords power-sharing agreement in which the federal presidency rotates among the three islands, and each island maintains its own local government. AZALI won the 2002 Presidential election, and each island in the archipelago elected its own president. AZALI stepped down in 2006 and President SAMBI took office. Since 2006, Anjouan's President Mohamed BACAR has refused to work effectively with the Union presidency. This year BACAR effected Anjouan's de-facto secession from the Union, refusing to step down in favor of fresh Anjouanais elections when Comoros' other islands held legitimate elections in July. The African Union (AU) has stepped in to assist in resolving the political crisis, including applying sanctions and a naval blockade on Anjouan, but the situation remains at an impasse.

Location
total: 2,170 sq km land: 2,170 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative
territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Le Kartala 2,360 m

Natural resources
arable land: 35.87% permanent crops: 23.32% other: 40.81% (2005)

Irrigated land
Total: 0.01 cu km/yr (48%/5%/47%) Per capita: 13 cu m/yr (1999)

Natural hazards
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note
0-14 years: 42.6% (male 151,920/female 150,851) 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 191,096/female 196,120) 65 years and over: 3% (male 9,933/female 11,497) (2007 est.)

Median age
total: 18.7 years male: 18.4 years female: 18.9 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.007 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.974 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.864 male(s)/female total population: 0.985 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 78.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 62.73 years male: 60.37 years female: 65.15 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate
noun: Comoran(s) adjective: Comoran

Ethnic groups
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 56.5% male: 63.6% female: 49.3% (2003 est.)

Country name
conventional long form: Union of the Comoros conventional short form: Comoros local long form: Union des Comores local short form: Comores

Government type
name: Moroni geographic coordinates: 11 42 S, 43 14 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions
chief of state: President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006) head of government: President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: as defined by the 2001 constitution, the presidency rotates every four years among the elected presidents from the three main islands in the Union; election last held 14 May 2006 (next to be held by May 2010); prime minister appointed by the president; note - the post of prime minister has been vacant since May 2002 election results: Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI elected president; percent of vote - Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI 58.0%, Ibrahim HALIDI 28.3%, Mohamed DJAANFAMI 13.7%

Legislative branch
elections: last held 18 and 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CdIA 12, CRC 6; note - 15 additional seats are filled by deputies from local island assemblies

Judicial branch
chief of mission: Representative to the US and Ambassador to the UN Mohamed TOIHIRI chancery: Mission to the US, 336 East 45th Street (2nd floor), New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 750-1637

Diplomatic representation from the US
agriculture: 40% industry: 4% services: 56% (2001 est.)

Labor force
agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate
lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)
revenues: $27.6 million expenditures: $NA (2001 est.)

Agriculture - products
note: the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro

Fiscal year
general assessment: sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communication stations; fixed-line connections only about 2 per 100 persons; mobile cellular usage about 2 per 100 persons domestic: HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay international: country code - 269; HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and Reunion

Radio broadcast stations
total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007)

Roadways
total: 880 km paved: 673 km unpaved: 207 km (1999)

Merchant marine
total: 144 ships (1000 GRT or over) 657,755 GRT/954,498 DWT by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 101, chemical tanker 3, container 1, livestock carrier 4, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 70 (Bangladesh 1, Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 1, Greece 8, India 2, Kenya 1, Kuwait 1, Lebanon 5, Norway 1, Pakistan 2, Philippines 1, Russia 9, Saudi Arabia 1, Syria 8, Turkey 8, Ukraine 13, UAE 5, US 2) (2007)

Ports and terminals
males age 18-49: 138,940 females age 18-49: 139,491 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49: 98,792 females age 18-49: 106,415 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.8% (2006)

Disputes - international
claims French-administered Mayotte

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a country on the Comoro Islands [syn: Comoros, Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros]

Merriam Webster's

geographical name group of islands forming a country off SE Africa between Mozambique & Madagascar; formerly a French possession; a republic (except for Mayotte Island, which remains French) since 1975 capital Moroni area 719 square miles (1862 square kilometers), population 519,527

Britannica Concise

Islamic republic off the E coast of Africa. Area: 863 sq mi (2,235 sq km). Population (1997): 514,000. 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). Currency: Comorian franc. Comoros comprises a group of islands between Madagascar and the mainland that includes Grande Comore (Njazidja), Mohé li (Mwali), and Anjouan (Nzwani) but excludes Mayotte. They are generally rocky, with shallow soils and poor harbors, though Mohé li, the smallest, has fertile valleys and forested hillsides. Mt. 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, its economy is based on subsistence agriculture. The usual head of state and government is the president. Known to European navigators since the 16th cent., 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 1914, the Comoros became an overseas territory of France in 1947. In 1961 they were granted autonomy. In 1974 majorities on three of the islands voted for independence, which was granted 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. In 1999 the army took control of the government.