1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
1,170 km2; 4 main islands; forests 16%, pasture 7%, cultivable area 48%, noncultivable area 29% WATER
Coastline
340 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
12 nm (fishing 200 nm; 200 nm exclusive economic zone)
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
mixture of Arab, Malay, Negroid
Labor force
mainly agricultural
Language
French, Arabic, Swahili
Literacy
low; probably around 20%
Nationality
noun—Comoran(s); adjective—Comoran
Population
442,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.5%
Religion
predominantly Islamic
Government
Branches
Mohamed Abdallah elected President of the Comoros, 21 October 1978, having regained power May 1978 following a coup, led by French-born mercenary Bob Denard, which toppled Ali Soilih; Soilih had come to power in 1977 through a coup that ousted Abdallah; Soilih was killed in the second coup
Capital
Moroni
Communists
information not available
Elections
next presidential election scheduled to take place in 1984
Government leader
President Ahmed ABDALLAH
Legal system
French and Muslim law
Member of
ADB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, IDA, IFAD, ILO, IMF, ISCON, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Official name
Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
Political subdivisions
the three islands are organized into seven regions
Suffrage
universal adult
Type
three of the four islands comprise an independent republic, following local government's unilateral declaration of independence from France in July 1975; other island, Mayotte, disallowed declaration and is now a French territorial community
Economy
Agriculture
food crops—rice, manioc, maize, fruits, vegetables; export crops—essential oils for perfumes (mainly ylang-ylang), vanilla, copra, cloves
Aid
economic commitments—Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $110 million; OPEC, ODA (1974-80), $33 million
Budget
(1980) revenues $24.5 million, current expenditures, $38 million
Electric power
2,400 kW capacity (1980); 4 million kWh produced (1980); 11 kWh per capita
Exports
$11 million (f.o.b., 1980); perfume oils, vanilla, copra, cloves
GNP
$78.8 million (1980), about $210 per capita
Imports
$33 million (f.o.b., 1980); foodstuffs, cement, fuels, chemicals, textiles
Major trade partners
France, Madagascar, Kenya, Italy, FRG, Tanzania, and US
Monetary conversion rate
212.7 Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) francs=US$1 in 1979, floating
Communications
Airfields
5 total, 5 usable; 5 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
4 major transports, 1 leased
Highways
1,000 km total; approximately 295 km bituminous, remainder crushed stone or gravel
Ports
1 minor (Moroni on Grande Comore); Majunga, Madagascar, is used for major trade
Railroads
none
Telecommunications
sparse system of HF radiocommunication stations for interisland, island, and external communications to Malagasy and Reunion; 1,200 telephones (0.3 per 100 popl.); 2 AM stations and 1 FM station; no TV station
Military and Security
Military budget
for fiscal year ending 31 December 1981, $2.9 million; about 16% of the central government budget
Military manpower
males 15-49, 94,000; 57,000 fit for military service