Monday, February 25, 2013

Country Profiles: Comoros

Comoros is located in Africa. Comoros has endured more than 20 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared independence from Comoros. In 1999, military chief Col. Azali seized power in a bloodless coup, and helped negotiate the 2000 Fomboni Accords power-sharing agreement in which the federal presidency rotates among the three islands, and each island maintains its local government. With an area of 2,235 sq km, it is slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC.

Comoros is an island in the Mozambique Channel. It is mostly volcanic islands and the interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills.



People who live in Comoros are called Comorans, which is also an adjective used to describe something from this country. As of July 2012, there are 737,284 people in Comoros. The ethnic groups that reside in Comoros are Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, and Sakalava. There are two official languages, Arabic and French, but Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) are spoken there too. Sunni Muslims make up approximately 98% of the population, while Roman Catholics make up an additional 2%.

The country's official name is Union of the Comoros. The capital is Moroni, and the country is made up of 3 islands and 4 municipalities. The constitution can be found here (in French) through Constitution Finder. The current president is Ikililou Dhoinine. Information about the leaders of Comoros' government can be found here. The currency is the Comoran francs (abbreviated KMF), which stands at 386.4 KMF per USD as of 2012.



All of this information was gathered from the CIA World Factbook. For more information, check out these resources...

COUTNRY Government Site

Comoros, CIA World Factbook

Background Notes: Comoros, U.S. Department of State

2011 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Comoros, U.S. Department of State.

You can also check out the Country Studies tab on our Fed Docs libguide here for more resources on all of the countries.


Sonnet Ireland
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