Mamoudzou (; ''Momojou'') is the capital of

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...

, a French overseas region and department 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 ...

. Mamoudzou is the most populated

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

(municipality) of

. It is located on Grande-Terre (or Maoré), the main island of Mayotte. The commune is composed of 6 villages in addition to Mamoudzou. These are: Kawéni, Mtsapéré, Passamainti, Vahibé, Tsoundzou I and Tsoundzou II. The commune is also subdivided into 3 cantons: Mamoudzou-1, Mamoudzou-2 and Mamoudzou-3. The government owns the radio station in Mamoudzou and broadcasts in French and

Mahorian Maore Comorian, or ''Shimaore'' ( French ''Mahorais''), is one of the two indigenous languages spoken in the French-ruled Comorian islands of Mayotte; Shimaore being a dialect of the Comorian language, while ShiBushi is an unrelated Malayo-P ...

. The government departments are all situated in the town.

History

The former capital of Mayotte was

Dzaoudzi Dzaoudzi is a commune in the French overseas department of Mayotte, in the Indian Ocean. The commune of Dzaoudzi (sometimes called Dzaoudzi-Labattoir), made up of the twin towns of Dzaoudzi and Labattoir, is located on the small island of Petite ...

, on the small island of Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), but Mamoudzou was chosen as the capital in 1977. In the 1985 census, 12,026 people were recorded in the main town. There have been environment concerns about

marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural and municipal solid waste, residential waste, particle (ecology), particles, noise, excess carbon dioxid ...

in the area; "important degradation in the quality of the coastal waters" between 1977 and 2007 has been reported in the Coral Reef Lagoon in the Mamoudzou–Dzaoudzi strait, and in the Mamoudzou–Majikavo conurbation.

Climate

Mamoudzou has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Aw''). The average annual temperature in Mamoudzou is . The average annual rainfall is with January as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in April, at around , and lowest in August, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Mamoudzou was on 21 April 2010; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 18 July 1999.

Administration

The commune is composed of 6 villages in addition to its central habitation, also called Mamoudzou. These are: Kawéni, Mtsapéré, Passamainti, Vahibé, Tsoundzou I and Tsoundzou II. The commune is also subdivided into 3 cantons: Mamoudzou-1, Mamoudzou-2 and Mamoudzou-3. The government owns the radio station in Mamoudzou and broadcasts in French and

. The government departments, including Agriculture and Forestry, Education, Health and Social Security, Public Works, Work, Employment and training and Youth and Sports are situated on the Rue Mariaze in the town. The government departments have been based in the town since before it became the capital, from World War II. France Télécom operates in the town.

Population

Economy

Mamoudzou has a bank and shopping centre. The economic centre of the town is the Place du Marche, where the bank,

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

and

Ewa Air Ewa Air is a French airline with its corporate head office on the property of Dzaoudzi Pamandzi International Airport in Pamandzi, Mayotte, near Dzaoudzi Dzaoudzi is a commune in the French overseas department of Mayotte, in the Indian Oce ...

offices, and the tourist office are located. The headquarters of the magazine ''

Jana na Leo Jana may refer to: Entertainment * ''Jana'' (film), a 2004 Tamil film by Shaji Kailas * Jana (singer) (born 1974), Serbian singer * Jana (Native American singer), née Jana Mashonee * ''Jana of the Jungle'', animated series created by Doug Wild ...

'', "primarily concerned with articles on social life of the island of Mahore", is published in Mamoudzou. Noteworthy restaurants in Mamoudzou include the ''Les Terrasses'', ''Hotel Restaurant Isijiva'', ''Le Barfly'' and ''Mamoudzou La Kaz. Mayotte Bac

A ferry service is provided for tourists to the island of Petite Terre.

Notable people

Manou Mansour Ben-Ousséni Mansour, ''alias'' Manou Mansour (Mamoudzou, Mayotte, 24 February 1980) is a French poet. He is the eldest of nine children of Ousséni Mansour (nurse) and Amina Angatahi (housewife). He grew up in the south of Mayotte island, in B ...

(born 1980), French poet

Religion

Churches

Our Lady of Fatima Church, Mamoudzou The Our Lady of Fatima Church (french: Église de Notre Dame de Fatima) is a religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church and is located in the town of Mamoudzou, the capital of the French overseas department of Mayotte in the Indian Oce ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Capitals in Africa Populated places in Mayotte Communes of Mayotte Prefectures in France