The location of the Comoros An enlargeable map of the Union of the Comoros The following

outline Outline or outlining may refer to: * Outline (list), a document summary, in hierarchical list format * Code folding, a method of hiding or collapsing code or text to see content in outline form * Outline drawing, a sketch depicting the outer edge ...

is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Comoros:

Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

–

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

island nation An island country, island state or an island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

located in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

off the eastern coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

on the northern end of the

Mozambique Channel The Mozambique Channel (french: Canal du Mozambique, mg, Lakandranon'i Mozambika, pt, Canal de Moçambique) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long ...

between northern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and northeastern

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The nearest countries to the Comoros are Mozambique,

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

, Madagascar, and the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

. At 2,235 km² (863 sq mi) the Comoros is the third smallest African nation by area; and with a population estimated at 798,000 it is the sixth smallest African nation by population (though it has one of the highest population densities in Africa), and is the southernmost member state of the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

. Its name derives from the Arabic word ("moon"). The country is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It has three official languages— Comorian (''Shikomor''),

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, and it is the only state to be a member of each of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

Francophonie Francophonie is the quality of speaking French. The term designates the ensemble of people, organisations and governments that share the use of French on a daily basis and as administrative language, teaching language or chosen language. The ...

, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,

, and Indian Ocean Commission, among other international organizations. However it has had a troubled history since independence in 1975, marked by an inordinate number of ''coups d'état''.

General reference

image:Comoros-CIA WFB Map.png, An enlargeable basic map of the

* International Phonetic Alphabet, Pronunciation: * Common English country name: The

* Official English country name: The Union of the Comoros * Common

endonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

(s): * Official endonym(s): * Adjectival(s): Comorian *

Demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

(s): * ISO country codes: KM, COM, 174 * ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:KM *

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all t ...

.km .km is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, lo ...

Geography of the Comoros

Geography of the Comoros * Comoros is: a Nation state, country * Location: ** Eastern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere **

(off its east coast) ***

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

***

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

Time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...

East Africa Time East Africa Time, or EAT, is a time zone used in eastern Africa. The time zone is three hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+03:00), which is the same as Moscow Time, Arabia Standard Time, Further-eastern European Time and Eastern European Summer Time. As ...

(

UTC+03 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wri ...

) ** Extreme points of the Comoros *** High: Le Kartala *** Low:

0 m ** Land boundaries: ''none'' ** Coastline: 340 km * Population of the Comoros: 682,000 (July 2007) - 160th most populous country * * Area of the Comoros: 2,235 km² * Atlas of the Comoros

Environment of the Comoros

image:Satellite image of Comoros in April 2002.jpg, An enlargeable satellite image of the

* Climate of the Comoros * Wildlife of the Comoros ** Fauna of the Comoros *** List of birds of the Comoros, Birds of the Comoros *** List of mammals of the Comoros, Mammals of the Comoros

Natural geographic features of the Comoros

* Glaciers in the Comoros: none The only List of glaciers in Africa, glaciers in Africa are on Mt Kenya (in Kenya), on Kilimanjaro (in Tanzania), and in the Ruwenzori Mountains (which are located in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

). Se
Proceedings of the Riederalp Workshop, September 1978; Actes de l'Atelier de Riederalp, septembre 1978: IAHS-AISH Publ. no. 126, 1980.
/ref> *

Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros ( Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northw ...

* Islands of the Comoros * Mountains of the Comoros ** Volcanoes in the Comoros * Rivers of the Comoros * World Heritage Sites in the Comoros: None

Regions of the Comoros

Ecoregions of the Comoros

List of ecoregions in the Comoros

Administrative divisions of the Comoros

None

= Municipalities of the Comoros

= *

Capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the Comoros: Moroni * Cities of the Comoros

Demography of the Comoros

Demographics of the Comoros

Government and politics of the Comoros

Politics of the Comoros The Union of the Comoros consists of the three islands Njazidja (Grande Comoros), Mwali (Moheli) and Nzwani (Anjouan) while the island of Mayotte remains under French administration. The Politics of the Union of the Comoros take place in a framewo ...

Form of government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

presidential President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

of the Comoros: Moroni * Elections in the Comoros *

Political parties in the Comoros Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

Branches of government

Government of the Comoros

Executive branch of the government of the Comoros

Head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

: President of the Comoros *

Head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

: Prime Minister of the Comoros

Legislative branch of the government of the Comoros

* Assembly of the Union of the Comoros (

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

)

Judicial branch of the government of the Comoros

Court system of the Comoros

Foreign relations of the Comoros

Foreign relations of the Comoros In November 1975, Comoros became the 143rd member of the United Nations. The new nation was defined as consisting of the entire archipelago, despite the fact that France maintains control over Mayotte. Overview Comoros also is a member of the ...

* Diplomatic missions in the Comoros * Diplomatic missions of the Comoros

International organization membership

The Union of the Comoros is a member of: * African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP) *

African Development Bank Group The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies in ...

(AfDB) *

(AU) * Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) *

Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a regional economic community in Africa with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. COMESA was formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area whic ...

(COMESA) *'' Conference des Ministres des Finances des Pays de la Zone Franc'' (FZ) *

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) *

Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 fou ...

(G77) * Indian Ocean Commission (InOC) *

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, that is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers l ...

(IBRD) *

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...

(ICAO) *

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...

(ICCt) *

International Criminal Police Organization The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

(Interpol) *

International Development Association The International Development Association (IDA) (french: link=no, Association internationale de développement) is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world's poorest developing countries. Th ...

(IDA) *

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is a worldwide humanitarian aid organization that reaches 160 million people each year through its 192-member National Societies. It acts before, during and after disas ...

(IFRCS) * International Finance Corporation (IFC) *

International Fund for Agricultural Development The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD; french: link=no, Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA)) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address ...

(IFAD) *

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

(ILO) *

International Maritime Organization The International Maritime Organization (IMO, French: ''Organisation maritime internationale'') is a specialised agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping. The IMO was established following agreement at a UN conference ...

(IMO) *

International Mobile Satellite Organization The International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites. Some of these services concern: ...

(IMSO) *

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF) *

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) *

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

(ICRM) *

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

(ITU) *

International Telecommunications Satellite Organization The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (ITSO) is an intergovernmental organization charged with overseeing the public service obligations of Intelsat, which was privatized in 2001. It incorporates the principle set forth i ...

(ITSO) * International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) *

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an inter-parliamentary institution, international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and coop ...

(IPU) * Islamic Development Bank (IDB) *

League of Arab States League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

(LAS) *

Nonaligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath ...

(NAM) *''

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

'' (OIF) * Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) *

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member ...

(OPCW) *

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN) *

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

(UNCTAD) *

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

(UNESCO) *

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

(UNIDO) *

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...

(UPU) * World Customs Organization (WCO) *

World Federation of Trade Unions The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) is an international federation of trade unions established in 1945. Founded in the immediate aftermath of World War Two, the organization built on the pre-war legacy of the International Federation of ...

(WFTU) *

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO) *

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, 15 specialized agencies of the United Nation ...

(WIPO) *

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internati ...

(WMO) *

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

(WTO) (observer)

Law and order in the Comoros

Law of the Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...

Human rights in the Comoros Historically, Comoros has had a relatively poor human rights record. In early 1979, Comorian authorities arrested some 300 supporters of the Soilih's regime and imprisoned them without trial in Moroni. Four of Soilih's former ministers also disa ...

LGBT rights in the Comoros Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Comoros face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. LGBT persons are regularly prosecuted by the government and additionally face stigmatization among the broader populat ...

** Freedom of religion in the Comoros *Law Enforcement in Comoros *

Military of the Comoros

Military of the Comoros The Comorian Armed Forces (french: Armée nationale de développement; ) consist of a small standing army and a 500-member police force, as well as a 500-member defense force. A defense treaty with France provides naval resources for protection of ...

* Command ** Commander-in-chief * Forces ** Army of the Comoros ** Air Force of the Comoros

Local government in the Comoros

History of the Comoros

History of the Comoros *Current events of the Comoros

History by subject

* History of rail transport in the Comoros *

Postage stamps and postal history of the Comoros The postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of the Comoro Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago located on the south-east side of Africa. The postal service was linked to Franc ...

Culture of the Comoros

Culture of the Comoros *

Languages of the Comoros The official languages of the Comoros are Comorian, French and Arabic, as recognized under its 2001 constitution. Although each language holds equal recognition under the constitution, language use varies across Comorian society.Walker, Iain (2011 ...

** Comorian language *

Mass media in the Comoros As recently as the early 1980s, the Comoros had no national media. State-run Radio Comoros, transmitting from Grande Comore, Grand Comore, was not strong enough to send clear signals to the republic's other two islands. In 1984 France agreed to ...

* National symbols of the Comoros ** National seal of the Comoros ** Flag of the Comoros ** National anthem of the Comoros * People of the Comoros *

Public holidays in the Comoros :This is an incomplete list of holidays in the Comoros *January 1: New Year's Day *March 18: Cheikh Al Maarouf Day, birthday of an Islamic preacher *May 1: Labour Day *July 6: National Day, celebrates independence from France in 1975. *Novemb ...

* Religion in the Comoros **

Christianity in the Comoros Christianity in the Comoros is a minority religion. Roman Catholics in the Comoros number about 4,300 persons (0.5% of the population); Protestants number about 1,678 (0.25% of the population). The constitution guarantees religious liberty but Chr ...

** Islam in the Comoros ** Judaism in the Comoros * World Heritage Sites in the Comoros: None

Art in the Comoros

* Music of the Comoros

Sports in the Comoros

Sports in the Comoros * Football in the Comoros * Comoros at the Olympics

Economy and infrastructure of the Comoros

Economy of the Comoros The economy of the Comoros is based on subsistence agriculture and fishing. Comoros has inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contribut ...

* Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 179th (one hundred and seventy ninth) * Agriculture in the Comoros * Communications in the Comoros ** Internet in the Comoros * Companies of the Comoros * Currency of the Comoros: Franc **

ISO 4217 ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that defines alpha codes and numeric codes for the representation of currencies and provides information about the relationships between individual cu ...

: KMF * Health care in the Comoros * Mining in the Comoros * Tourism in the Comoros ** Visa policy of the Comoros * Transport in the Comoros **

Airports in the Comoros An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

** Rail transport in the Comoros

Education in the Comoros

Education in the Comoros Practically all children attend Quranic school for two or three years, starting around age five; there they learn the rudiments of the Islamic faith and some classical Arabic. When rural children attend these schools, they sometimes move away from ...

Health in the Comoros

References

External links

Official site of the President of the ComorosBBC News - ''Country Profile: Comores''CIA World Factbook - ''Comoros''US State Department - ''Comoros''
includes Background Notes, Country Study and major reports

directory category

directory category of the WWW-VL

directory category
The Index on Africa - ''Comoros''
directory category * {{DEFAULTSORT:Comoros