Comoros is an island state in the Indian Ocean, with (2019) 850 900 residents according to ejinhua; The capital is Moroni.
The island state includes the islands of Njazidja (French Grande Comore; 1 147 km 2), Nzwani (French Anjouan; 424 km 2), Mwali (French Mohéli; 290 km 2) and numerous smaller islands (the island of Maoré [French Mayotte ] is behind as before under French administration).
Business
With an average gross national income (GNI) of (2017) US $ 760 per resident, the Comoros are among the developing countries with low incomes. Around 40% of the population live below the poverty line, 19.7% are unemployed. Economic development is hampered by a poorly developed infrastructure and a lack of raw materials. A large part of the national budget is financed by foreign aid, mainly from France. The most important source of foreign exchange is the remittances of the Comorians living abroad (20% of the gross domestic product ). In order to reduce the foreign debt (2017: US $ 181 million) to a long-term sustainable level, the Comorian government was granted access to debt relief initiatives by the IMF and World Bank. Associated with this are strict requirements for budget consolidation, streamlining of state structures and the fight against corruption, inflation and poverty.
Foreign trade: The trade balance has been chronically negative since independence in 1975 (import value 2017: US $ 194.8 million, export value: US $ 18.4 million). Vanilla, ylang-ylang and cloves are mainly exported, while petroleum products, rice, meat, machinery and cement are imported. The main trading partners are France, Pakistan, India and China.
Agriculture
Around 68% of the population work in the agricultural sector, which generates 33.6% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and makes a significant contribution to the export business. Manioc, sweet potatoes, rice, coconuts and bananas are mainly grown as staple foods; they have to be supplemented by large-scale food imports. Vanilla, cloves and ylang-ylang trees are grown for export. The Comoros are the main producer of ylang-ylang oil, an odor stabilizer used in the perfume industry.
Fisheries: The main purpose of fishing is to provide for the population to be self-sufficient. It is still underdeveloped due to inadequate infrastructure and equipment, but it is being expanded. In 2016, fishermen (around 6% of the workforce) generated 6.6% of GDP.
Industry
The commercial and industrial sector is hardly developed and mainly concentrates on the processing of the export products vanilla and ylang-ylang. The craft mainly includes weaving, carving and pottery.
Tourism
Beautiful beaches and a fascinating underwater world offer incentives for tourism, but the unstable political situation as well as the poor infrastructure could not give it a significant upturn despite various measures. In 2016, 26,000 foreign visitors came (mostly from France), the income from this represented 10.5% of GDP.
Transportation
The isolated geographical location and the great distances between the islands (between 100 and 300 km) make it difficult to develop an efficient infrastructure. The road network has a total length of almost 900 km, of which 673 km are paved roads. There are no railroads. The main sea ports are Moroni, Fomboni and Mutsamudu. There are local airports on all three islands. Hahaya International Airport is located near the capital Moroni.
National symbols
The national flag was fundamentally changed in 2003. It is divided horizontally into four equally wide stripes in yellow over white, red and blue, with a green triangle on the leech. In this there is a white crescent, the ends of which are connected by four vertically positioned five-pointed stars. The stars and stripes symbolize the main islands of the Comoros, yellow stands for Mwali, white for Mayotte (which is still French overseas territory), red for Nzwani and blue for Njazidja. Green is reminiscent of Islam.
The coat of arms, adopted in 1978, is in black and white and shows a crescent moon that is open at the top and is covered with four stars symbolizing the islands. The moon lies on the so-called star of Tadjourahne; the whole is surrounded by the official state name in French and Arabic; Laurel branches and the motto »Unité, Justice, Progrès« (unity, justice, progress) form the framework.
The national holiday is July 6th. It commemorates the gaining of independence in 1975.
Media
Free reporting is not always guaranteed. State media are government announcement organs.
Press: The daily newspapers are the government paper Al-Watwan (French, Arabic) and »La Gazette de Comores«. The independent »L’Archipel« appears irregular.
News agency: Agence Comores Presse (state).
Broadcasting: The state operates Télévision Nationale Comorienne (TNC) and »Radio Comoros«, which broadcasts in Swahili, Arabic and French. The regional governments each have their own stations. There are also a few independent radio stations; French channels are also received.
Comoros (archipelago)
Comoros, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, between the northern tip of Madagascar and the east coast of Africa, at the northern entrance to the Mozambique Strait, includes the French island of Mayotte and three other main islands, which together with the numerous minor islands form the state of Comoros.
The Comoros sit on a submarine threshold and are of volcanic origin. The highest point, the Kartala (2,361 m above sea level) on Njazidja, is a still active volcano. The mountain landscape is cut up by deep valleys. Coral reefs stretch off the coast; the reef off the south coast of Mwali is rich in aquatic animals, some of which are rare. The fish species Latimeria chalumnae, one of the two remaining species of the coelacanth, lives at depths of 150 to 400 m.
The islands have a tropical climate; the temperatures decrease noticeably with increasing altitude. From November to April equatorial westerly winds at high temperatures (monthly mean up to 30 ° C) bring rich precipitation (up to 4,000 mm on the west side, up to 1,200 mm on the east side); The dry southeast trade wind blows from May to October (monthly mean around 20 ° C).
