| Country (long form) |
Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros |
| Capital |
Moroni |
| Total Area |
837.84 sq mi
2,170.00 sq km
(slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC) |
| Population |
578,400 (July 2000 est.) |
| Estimated Population in 2050 |
1,835,099 |
| Languages |
Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend
of Swahili and Arabic) |
| Literacy |
57.3% total, 64.2% male, 50.4% female (1995 est.) |
| Religions |
Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman Catholic 2% |
| Life Expectancy |
57.85 male, 62.28 female (2000 est.) |
| Government Type |
independent republic |
| Currency |
1 Comoran franc (CF) = 100 centimes |
| GDP (per capita) |
$725 (1998 est.) |
| Labor Force (by occupation) |
agriculture 80%, government 3% |
| Industry |
tourism, perfume distillation, textiles, furniture,
jewelry, construction materials, soft drinks |
| Agriculture |
vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, coconuts,
bananas, cassava (tapioca) |
| Arable Land |
35% |
| Exports |
vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra |
| Imports |
rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods; petroleum
products, cement, transport equipment |
| Natural Resources |
negligible |
| Current Environmental Issues |
soil degradation and erosion results from crop
cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation |
| Telephones (main lines in use) |
5,000 (1995) |
| Telephones (mobile cellular) |
0 (1995) |