1989 Edition

Administrative divisions

10 provinces (provincias, singular — provfncia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia

Capital

Maputo

Climate

tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)

tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); constantly high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator

tropical

cold marine; strong westerly winds, cloudy, humid; rain occurs on more than half of days in year; occasional snow all year, except in January and February, but does not accumulate

mild winters, cool summers; usually overcast; foggy, windy

tropical to subtropical

Coastline

340 km

169 km

22.2 km

1,288 km

764 km

2,470 km

Communists

about 60,000 FRELIMO members

Comparative area

slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC

slightly smaller than Montana

about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC

slightly smaller than Connecticut

slightly less than eight times the size of Washington, DC

slightly less than twice the size of California

Constitution

25 June 1975

Contiguous zone

12 nm

4 nm

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

100 meter depth

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Valeriano FERRAO; Chancery at Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 293-7146; US— Ambassador Melissa F. WELLS; Embassy at 3rd Floor, 35 Rua Da Mesquita, Maputo (mailing address is P. O. Box 783, Maputo); telephone 743167 or 744163

Disputes

claims French-administered Mayotte

long section with Zaire along the Congo River is indefinite (no division of the river or its islands has been made)

claimed by Madagascar

administered by the UK, claimed by Argentina

Elections

national elections are indirect and based on mass meetings throughout the country

Environment

soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; cyclones possible during rainy season

deforestation; about 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, or along the railroad between them

wildlife sanctuary

poor soil fertility and a short growing season

precipitous terrain limits habitation to small coastal lowlands; archipelago of 18 inhabited islands and a few uninhabited islets

severe drought and floods occur in south; desertification

Exclusive fishing zone

1 50 nm

200 nm

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Extended economic zone

200 nm

200 nm

200 nm

Independence

25 June 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch

People's Courts at all levels

Land boundaries

none

5,504 km total; Angola 201 km, Cameroon 523 km, Central African Republic 467 km, Gabon 1 ,903 km, Zaire 2,410 km

none

none

none

4,571 km total; Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland 105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km

Land use

35% arable land; 8% permanent crops; 7% meadows and pastures; 16% forest and woodland; 34% other

2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 29% meadows and pastures; 62% forest and woodland; 7% other

NA% arable land; NA% permanent crops; NA% meadows and pastures; NA% forest and woodland; NA% other; heavily wooded

0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 99% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 1% other

2% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 98% other

4% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 56% meadows and pastures; 20% forest and woodland; 20% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Leaders

Chief of State — President Joaqufm Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986); Head of Government — Prime Minister Mario da Graca MACHUNGO (since 17 July 1986) Political parties and leaders: Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) is the only legal party and is a Marxist organization with close ties to the USSR

Legal system

based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law

Legislative branch

unicameral People's Assembly (Assemble!;! Popular)

Member of

ACP, AfDB, CCC, FAO, G77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 June (1975)

Natural resources

negligible

petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, natural gas

negligible

fish and wildlife

fish

coal, titanium

Note

important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel

located in the Mozambique Channel 340 km west of Madagascar

deeply indented coast provides good natural harbors

strategically located along important sea lanes in northeastern Atlantic about midway between Iceland and Shetland Islands

Suffrage

universal adult at age 1 8

Terrain

volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills

coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin

NA

rocky, hilly, mountainous with some boggy, undulating plains

rugged, rocky, some low peaks; cliffs along most of coast

mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west

Territorial sea

1 2 nm

200 nm

12 nm

1 2 nm

3 nm

1 2 nm

Total area

2,170 km2; land area: 2,170 km2

342,000 km2; land area: 341,500km2

28 km2; land area: 28 km2

12,170 km2; land area: 12,170 km2; includes the two main islands of East and West Falkland and about 200 small islands

1 ,400 km2; land area: 1 ,400 km2

801,590 km2; land area: 784,090 km2

Type

people's republic

Birth rate

48 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

43 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

NA births/ 1,000 population (1990)

17 births/ 1,000 population (1990)

47 births/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Death rate

1 2 deaths/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

14 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

NA deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

8 deaths/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

18 deaths/ 1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava

about 1 5 ethnic groups divided into some 75 tribes, almost all Bantu; most important ethnic groups are Kongo (48%) in the south, Sangha (20%) and M'Bochi (12%) in the north, Teke (17%) in the center; about 8,500 Europeans, mostly French

almost totally British

majority from indigenous tribal groups; about 10,000 Europeans, 35,000 Euro-Africans, 15,000 Indians

Infant mortality rate

89 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

1 10 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

NA deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

9 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

138 deaths/ 1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

140,000 (1982); 80% agriculture, 3% government; 5 1 % of population of working age (1985)

79,100 wage earners; 75% agriculture, 25% commerce, industry, and government; 51% of population of working age; 40% of population economically active (1985)

1,100 (est.); about 95% in agriculture, mostly sheepherding

NA, but 90% engaged in agriculture

Language

Shaati Islam (a Swahili dialect), Malagasy, French

French (official); many African languages with Lingala and Kikongo most widely used

English

Portuguese (official); many indigenous dialects

Life expectancy at birth

54 years male, 58 years female (1990)

52 years male, 55 years female (1990)

NA years male, NA years female (1990)

74 years male, 81 years female (1990)

45 years male, 49 years female (1990)

Literacy

15%

62.9%

NA%, but compulsory education up to age 1 5

38%

Nationality

noun — Comoran(s); adjective— Comoran

noun — Congolese (sing., pi.); adjective— Congolese or Congo

noun — Falkland Islanders); adjective — Falkland Island

noun — Mozambican(s); adjective— Mozambican

Net migration rate

0 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

0 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

N A migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

0 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

— 3 migrants/ 1 ,000 population (1990)

Note

there are 800,000 Mozambican refugees in Malawi (1989 est.)

Organized labor

NA

20% of labor force (1979 est.)

Falkland Islands General Employees Union, 400 members

225,000 workers belong to a single union, the Mozambique Workers' Organization (OTM)

Population

460,188 (July 1990), growth rate 3.5% (1990)

2,242,274 (July 1990), growth rate 3.0% (1990)

uninhabited

1,958 (July 1990), growth rate 0.5% (1990)

47,715 (July 1990), growth rate 0.9% (1990)

14,565,656 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Religion

86% Sunni Muslim, 14% Roman Catholic

50% Christian, 48% animist, 2% Muslim

primarily Anglican, Roman Catholic, and United Free Church; Evangelist Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Lutheran, Seventh-Day Adventist

60% indigenous beliefs, 30% Christian, 10% Muslim

Total fertility rate

7.0 children born/ woman (1990)

5.8 children born/ woman (1990)

NA children born/ woman (1990)

2.2 children born/ woman (1990)

6.5 children born/ woman (1990)

Administrative divisions

3 islands; Anjouan, Grande Comore, Moheli; note — there may also be 4 municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Mutsamudu

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Capital

Moroni

Stanley

Constitution

1 October 1978, amended October 1982 and January 1985

3 October 1985

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Amini AH MOUMIN; Chancery (temporary) at the Comoran Permanent Mission to the UN, 336 East 45th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 972-8010; US— Ambassador Howard K. WALKER, resides in Antananarivo (Madagascar); Embassy at address NA, Moroni (mailing address B. P. 1318, Moroni); telephone 73-12-03

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Elections

President — last held 1 1 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996); results—Said Mohamed Djohar (Udzima) 55%; Mohamed Taki Abdulkarim (UNDC) 45%; Federal Assembly — last held 22 March 1987 (next to be held March 1992); results— percent of vote by party NA; seats — (42 total) Udzima 42

Legislative Council — last held 3 October 1985 (next to be held October 1990); results — percent of vote by party NA; seats — (10 total, 8 elected) number of seats by party NA

Executive branch

president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

British monarch, governor, Executive Council

Flag

green with a white crescent placed diagonally (closed side of the crescent points to the upper hoist-side corner of the flag); there are four white five-pointed stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago — Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (which is a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by the Comoros)

blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Falkland Island coat of arms in a white disk centered on the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms contains a white ram (sheep raising is the major economic activity) above the sailing ship Desire (whose crew discovered the islands) with a scroll at the bottom bearing the motto DESIRE THE RIGHT

Independence

6 July 1975 (from France)

none (dependent territory of the UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government— President Said Mohamed DJOHAR (since 11 March 1990)

Chief of State — Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Head of Government — Governor William Hugh FULLERTON (since NA 1988)

Legal system

French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code

English common law

Legislative branch

unicameral Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federate)

unicameral Legislative Council

Long-form name

Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros

People's Republic of the

none

Colony of the Falkland Islands

People's Republic of

Member of

ACP, AfDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, IDA, IDB — Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, QIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 July (1975)

Liberation Day, 14 June (1982)

Political parties

Comoran Union for Progress (Udzima), Said Mohamed Djohar, president; National Union for Democracy (UNDC), Mohamed Taki

NA

Suffrage

universal at age 18

universal at age 18

Type

independent republic

French possession administered by Commissioner of the Republic Daniel CONSTANTIN, resident in Reunion

dependent territory of the UK

Agriculture

accounts for 40% of GDP; most of population works in subsistence ComorOS (continued) Congo agriculture and fishing; plantations produce cash crops for export — vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, and copra; principal food crops — coconuts, bananas, cassava; world's leading producer of essence of ylang-ylang (for perfumes) and secondlargest producer of vanilla; large net food importer

predominantly sheep farming; small dairy herds and fodder crops

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-88), $9 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $371 million; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $22 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $18 million

Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (197087), $102 million

Budget

revenues $75.2 million; expenditures $77.9 million, including capital expenditures of $4.8 million (1988 est.)

revenues $11 million; expenditures $1 1.8 million, including capital expenditures of $1.2 million (FY87)

Currency

Comoran franc (plural — francs); 1 Comoran franc (CF) = 100 centimes

Falkland pound (plural — pounds); 1 Falkland pound (£F) = 100 pence

Electricity

16,000 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced, 55 kWh per capita (1989)

9,200 kW capacity; 17 million kWh produced, 8,700 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

Comoran francs (CF) per US$1— 287.99 (January 1990), 319.01 (1989), 297.85 (1988), 300.54 (1987), 346.30 (1986), 449.26 (1985); note— linked to the French franc at 50 to 1 French franc Fiscal yean calendar year

Falkland pound (£F) per US$1— 0.6055 (January 1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985); note— the Falkland pound is at par with the British pound

Exports

$12 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities— vanilla, cloves, perfume oil, copra; partners— US 53%, France 41%, Africa 4%, FRG 2%

at least $14.7 million; commodities— wool, hides and skins, and other; partners — UK, Netherlands, Japan (1987 est.)

External debt

$238 million (December 1988)

SNA

Fiscal year

1 April-3 1 March

GDP

$207 million, per capita $475; real growth rate 0.1% (1988 est.)

GNP

SNA, per capita SNA; real growth rate NA%

Imports

$52 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities— rice and other foodstuffs, cement, petroleum products, consumer goods; partners — Europe 62% (France 22%, other 40%), Africa 5%, Pakistan, China

at least $13.9 million; commodities— food, clothing, fuels, and machinery; partners — UK, Netherlands Antilles (Curapao), Japan (1987 est.)

Industrial production

growth rate 3.4% (1988 est.)

growth rate NA%

Industries

perfume distillation

wool processing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

8.3% (1986)

NA%

Overview

One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of several islands that have poor transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a low level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign technical assistance. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes about 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production, and rice, the main staple, accounts for 90% of imports. During the period 1982-86 the industrial sector grew at an annual average rate of 5.3%, but its contribution to GDP was less than 4% in 1 986. Despite major investment in the tourist industry, which accounts for about 25% of GDP, growth has stagnated since 1983.

no economic activity Europa Island (continued)

The economy is based on sheep farming, which directly or indirectly employs most of the work force. A few dairy herds are kept to meet domestic consumpFaroe Islands (part of the Danish realm) tion of milk and milk products, and crops grown are primarily those for providing winter fodder. Major sources of income are from the export of high-grade wool to the UK and the sale of stamps and coins. Rich stocks of fish in the surrounding waters are not presently exploited by the islanders, but development plans called for the islands to have six trawlers by 1989. In 1987 the government began to sell fishing licenses to foreign trawlers operating within the Falklands exclusive fishing zone. These license fees amount to more than $25 million per year. To encourage tourism, the Falkland Islands Development Corporation has built three lodges for visitors who are attracted by the abundant wildlife and trout fishing.

Unemployment rate

over 16% (1988 est.)

0%

Airports

4 total, 4 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 3 with runways 1, 220-2,439 m

1 with runway 1 ,220 to 2,439 m

5 total, 5 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220 to 2,439 m

Branches

Army, Presidential Guard, Gendarmerie

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Defense expenditures

3% of GDP (1981) 200 fcm BRAZZAVILLE Noire

Highways

750 km total; about 210 km bituminous, remainder crushed stone or gravel

510 km total; 30 km paved, 80 km gravel, and 400 km unimproved earth

Military manpower

males 15-49, 97,504; 58,274 fit for military service

Note

defense is the responsibility of France Falkland Islands i Islas Malvinas) (dependent territory of the UK) South At/antic Ocean West Falkland Administered by U K claimed bv Argentina East Falkland Scone Sea

defense is the responsibility of the UK North At /antic Ocean Set rt gionil map V fe,^ iv or we yi- \ tSandoy ;VOV& ^ Sudhuroy

Ports

Mutsamudu, Moroni Civil air 4 major transport aircraft

none; offshore anchorage only

Port Stanley

Telecommunications

sparse system of radio relay and high-frequency radio communication stations for interisland and external communications to Madagascar and Reunion; over 1 ,800 telephones; stations—2 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV Defense Forces

1 meteorological station Defense Forces

government-operated radiotelephone and private VHF/CB radio networks provide effective service to almost all points on both islands; 590 telephones; stations — 2 AM, 3 FM, no TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station with links through London to other countries Defense Forces