Union of Comoros

The Comoros ⁱ/ˈkɒməroʊz/ (Arabic: جزر القمر‎, Ǧuzur al-Qumur/Qamar), officially the Union of the Comoros(Comorian: Udzima wa Komori, French: Union des Comores, Arabic: الاتحاد القمري‎ al-Ittiḥād al-Qumurī/Qamarī) is a sovereign,archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of theMozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar. HP Pavilion DV9344EU Battery Other countries near to the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast. The capital is Moroni on Grande Comore. At 1,862 km² (719 sq mi) (excluding Mayotte),^[4] the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area. HP Pavilion DV9344XX Battery The population (excluding Mayotte) is estimated at 798,000. Its name derives from the Arabic word قمر qamar ("moon").^[5]The archipelago is notable for its diverse culture and history, as a nation formed at the crossroads of many civilizations. It is the southernmost member state of the Arab League. HP Pavilion DV9345EU Battery Though in the contested island of Mayotte the sole official language is French, the "Union of the Comoros" has three official languages: Comorian, Arabic, and French. The country officially consists of the four major islands in the volcanic Comoros archipelago: HP Pavilion DV9345XX Battery northwesternmost Grande Comore or Ngazidja, Mohéli or Mwali, Anjouan or Nzwani, and southeasternmost Mayotte or Maore, as well as many smaller islands. However, the government of the Comoros (or its predecessors, since independence) has never administered the island of Mayotte, which France administers as an overseas department. HP Pavilion DV9346EU Battery Mayotte was the only island in the archipelago that voted against independence from France in 1974; the latter has vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that would affirm Comorian sovereignty over the island. In addition, a 29 March 2009 referendum on Mayotte's becoming an overseas department of France in 2011 was passed overwhelmingly by the people of Mayotte. HP Pavilion DV9346XX Battery The Comoros is the only state to be a member of all of the following: African Union, Francophonie, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, and Indian Ocean Commission. The country has had a history marked by numerouscoups d'état since independence in 1975. As of 2008 about half the population lives below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day. HP Pavilion DV9347CL Battery Precolonial inhabitation The first human inhabitants of the Comoros Islands are thought to have beenAfrican and Austronesian settlers who traveled to the islands by boat. These people arrived no later than the sixth century AD, the date of the earliest known archaeological site, HP Pavilion DV9347XX Battery found on Nzwani, although settlement beginning as early as the first century has been postulated.^[11] The islands of Comoros became populated by a succession of diverse groups from the coast of Africa, thePersian Gulf, the Malay Archipelago, and Madagascar. Swahili settlers first reached the islands as a part of the greater Bantu expansion that took place in Africa throughout the first millennium. HP Pavilion DV9348EA Battery According to a famous pre-Islamic mythology: A jinni (possibly Spirit) dropped ajewel, which formed a great circular inferno. This became the Kartala volcano which, created the island of Comoros. The early inhabitants of the islands worshiped nature and most probably the moon which they believed controlled the tides, these beliefs unified the islands. HP Pavilion DV9348XX Battery Development of the Comoros is divided into phases, beginning with Swahili influence and settlement in the Dembeni phase (ninth to tenth centuries), during which each island maintained a single, central village.^[12] From the eleventh to the fifteenth centuries, trade with the island of Madagascar and merchants from the Middle East flourished, smaller villages emerged, and existing towns expanded. HP Pavilion DV9350EA Battery The citizens and historians of the Comoros state that early Arab settlements date to even before their known arrival to the archipelago, and Swahili historians frequently trace genealogies back to Arab ancestors who had traveled from Yemen mainly Hadhramawt and Oman. In the year 933 Al-Masudi mentions Omani sailors, HP Pavilion DV9350XX Battery who call the Comoros islands "The Perfume Islands" and sing of waves that break rhythmically along broad, pearl-sand beaches, the light breezes scented with ylang-ylang, a component in many perfumes. In 1154, Arab geographer al-Idrisi depicted the Comoros on a map and mentioned how its sailors sold metal tools for gold andivory in East Africa; HP Pavilion DV9351EA Battery he considered the island more stable and individually prosperous than the busy coastal ports ofMombasa, Zanzibar, Kilwa and Kitao. In the 15th century, the Arab seafarer Ahmad ibn Majid drew the individual routes among these islands. Medieval Comoros According to legend, in 632, upon hearing of Islam, islanders are said to have dispatched an emissary, HP Pavilion DV9351XX Battery the navigator Qumralu, toMecca—but by the time he arrived there, the Prophet Muhammad had died. Nonetheless, after a stay in Mecca, he returned to Qanbalu and led the gradual conversion of his islanders to Islam. Some of the earliest accounts on the island of Comoros were derived from the works of Al-Masudi, HP Pavilion DV9361EA Battery that mentions the importance of the Comoro Islands, like other coastal areas in the region, along early Islamic trade routes and how the islands were frequently visited by Muslims including Persian and Arab merchants and sailors from Basra in search of coral, ylang-ylang, ivory, beads, spices, gold, they also brought Islam to the people of the Zanj including Comoros. HP Pavilion DV9361XX Battery As the importance of Comoros grew along the East African coast small mosques and large mosques were constructed. Despite its distance from the coast, Comoros is situated along the Swahili Coastin East Africa. It was a major hub of trade and an important location in the sea route between Kilwa (an outlet for Zimbabwean gold) in Mozambique and Mombasa in Kenya.^[13] HP Pavilion DV9362EA Battery After the arrival of the Portuguese and the collapse of East African sultanates, the powerful Omani Sultan Saif bin Sultan began to defeat the Dutch and the Portuguese. His successor Said bin Sultan increased Omani Arab influence in region especially when nearbyZanzibar came under Omani rule, and Comorian culture, especially architecture and religion also inhibited features that were unique to the plurality of the region. HP Pavilion DV9362XX Battery Sultans on the Comoros a large community of rival rulers controlled much of the islands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.^[14] By the time Europeans showed interest in the Comoros, the traditional Muslim, Swahili and Arab heritage islands began to adopt to the changes introduced byEuropean colonization. HP Pavilion DV9363EA Battery More recent western scholarship by Thomas Spear and Randall Pouwells emphasizes black African historical predominance over the diffusionist perspective.^[15] European contact and French colonization Portuguese explorers first visited the archipelago in 1505. By the year 1506 the Portuguese landed on the islands and began to challenge the Bajas (Bantu Muslim chiefs) and Fanis(lesser chiefs). HP Pavilion DV9363XX Battery In the years that followed the islands were sacked by the forces of Afonso de Albuquerque in the year 1514 by the Portuguese. The ruler of the Comoran Muslims barely survived after hiding in an extinct volcanic crater and despite the inadequacy of their cover, the Portuguese miraculously never found them. HP Pavilion DV9372EU Battery In the year 1648 the islands were raided by theMalagasy pirates, they sacked Iconi, a coastal trading hub near Ngazidja after defeating the weak Sultan. In 1793, Malagasy warriors from Madagascar first started raiding the islands for slaves, and later settled and seized control in many locations. HP Pavilion DV9372XX Battery On Comoros, it was estimated in 1865 that as much as 40% of the population consisted of slaves.^[16] France first established colonial rule in the Comoros in 1841. The first French colonists landed in Mayotte, and Andrian Tsouli, the Malagasy King of Mayotte, signed the Treaty of April 1841, which ceded the island to the French authorities.^[17] HP Pavilion DV9374EU Battery In 1886, Mohéli was placed under French protection by its Queen Salima Machimba. That same year, after consolidating his authority over all of Grande Comore, Sultan Said Ali agreed to French protection of his island, though he retained sovereignty until 1909. Also in 1909, Sultan Said Muhamed of Anjouan abdicated in favor of French rule. HP Pavilion DV9374XX Battery The Comoros (or Les Comores) was officially made a French colony in 1912, and the islands were placed under the administration of the French colonial governor general of Madagascar in 1914.^[18] HP Pavilion DV9375EU Battery The Comoros served as a way station for merchants sailing to the Far East and India until the opening of the Suez Canalsignificantly reduced traffic passing through the Mozambique Channel. The native commodities exported by the Comoros werecoconuts, cattle and tortoiseshell. HP Pavilion DV9375XX Battery French settlers, French-owned companies, and wealthy Arab merchants established a plantation-based economy that now uses about one-third of the land for export crops. After its annexation, France converted Mayotte into a sugar plantation colony. The other islands were soon transformed as well, and the major crops of ylang-ylang,vanilla, coffee, cocoa bean, and sisal were introduced.^[19] HP Pavilion DV9377EA Battery Agreement was reached with France in 1973 for Comoros to become independent in 1978. The deputies of Mayotte abstained. Referendums were held on all four of the islands. Three voted for independence by large margins, while Mayotte voted against, and remains under French administration. On 6 July 1975, however, the Comorian parliament passed a unilateral resolution declaring independence. HP Pavilion DV9377XX Battery Ahmed Abdallah proclaimed the independence of the Comorian State (État comorien; دولة القمر) and became its first president. Independence The next 30 years were a period of political turmoil. On 3 August 1975, mercenary Bob Denard, HP Pavilion DV9378EA Battery with clandestine support fromJacques Foccart and the French government, removed president Ahmed Abdallah from office in an armed coup and replaced him with United National Front of the Comoros (UNF) member Prince Said Mohammed Jaffar. Months later, in January 1976, Jaffar was ousted in favor of his Minister of Defense Ali Soilih.^[20] HP Pavilion DV9378XX Battery At this time, the population of Mayotte voted against independence from France in two referenda. The first, held in December 1974, won 63.8% support for maintaining ties with France, while the second, held in February 1976, confirmed that vote with an overwhelming 99.4%. HP Pavilion DV9379EA Battery The three remaining islands, ruled by President Soilih, instituted a number of socialist and isolationist policies that soon strained relations with France. On 13 May 1978, Bob Denard returned to overthrow President Soilih and reinstate Abdallah with the support of the French, Rhodesian and South African governments. HP Pavilion DV9379XX Battery During Soilih's brief rule, he faced seven additional coup attempts until he was finally forced from office and killed.^[20][21] In contrast to Soilih, Abdallah's presidency was marked by authoritarian rule and increased adherence to traditional Islam^[22] and the country was renamed theFederal Islamic Republic of Comoros (République Fédérale Islamique des Comores; جمهورية القمر الإتحادية الإسلامية ). HP Pavilion DV9380CA Battery Abdallah continued as president until 1989 when, fearing a probable coup d'état, he signed a decree ordering the Presidential Guard, led by Bob Denard, to disarm the armed forces. Shortly after the signing of the decree, Abdallah was allegedly shot dead in his office by a disgruntled military officer, though later sources claim an antitank missile was launched into his bedroom and killed him.^[23] HP Pavilion DV9380EA Battery Although Denard was also injured, it is suspected that Abdallah's killer was a soldier under his command.^[24] A few days later, Bob Denard was evacuated to South Africa by French paratroopers. Said Mohamed Djohar, Soilih's older half-brother, then became president, and served until September 1995, when Bob Denard returned and attempted another coup. HP Pavilion DV9381EA Battery This time France intervened with paratroopers and forced Denard to surrender.^[25][26] The French removed Djohar to Reunion, and the Paris-backed Mohamed Taki Abdulkarim became president by election. He led the country from 1996, during a time of labor crises, government suppression, and secessionist conflicts, until his death November 1998. HP Pavilion DV9381XX Battery He was succeeded by Interim PresidentTadjidine Ben Said Massounde.^[27] The islands of Anjouan and Mohéli declared their independence from the Comoros in 1997, in an attempt to restore French rule. But France rejected their request, leading to bloody confrontations between federal troops and rebels.^[28] HP Pavilion DV9385EA Battery In April 1999, Colonel Azali Assoumani, Army Chief of Staff, seized power in a bloodless coup, overthrowing the Interim President Massounde, citing weak leadership in the face of the crisis. This was the Comoros' 18th coup d'état since independence in 1975.^[29]  HP Pavilion DV9385XX Battery Azali, however, failed to consolidate power and reestablish control over the islands, which was the subject of international criticism. The African Union, under the auspices of President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, imposed sanctions on Anjouan to help broker negotiations and effect reconciliation.^[30][31] HP Pavilion DV9391EU Battery The official name of the country was changed to the Union of the Comoros and a new system of political autonomy was instituted for each island, plus a union government for the three islands was added. Azali stepped down in 2002 to run in the democratic election of the President of the Comoros, which he won. HP Pavilion DV9391XX Battery Under ongoing international pressure, as a military ruler who had originally come to power by force, and was not always democratic while in office, Azali led the Comoros through constitutional changes that enabled new elections.^[32] A Loi des compétences law was passed in early 2005 that defines the responsibilities of each governmental body, and is in the process of implementation. HP Pavilion DV9392EA Battery The elections in 2006 were won by Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, a Sunni Muslim cleric nicknamed the "Ayatollah" for his time spent studying Islam in Iran. Azali honored the election results, thus allowing the first peaceful and democratic exchange of power for the archipelago.^[33] HP Pavilion DV9392XX Battery Colonel Mohammed Bacar, a French-trained former gendarme, seized power as President in Anjouan in 2001. He staged a vote in June 2007 to confirm his leadership that was rejected as illegal by the Comoros federal government and the African Union. On 25 March 2008 hundreds of soldiers from the African Union and Comoros seized rebel-held Anjouan, generally welcomed by the population: HP Pavilion DV9393EA Battery there have been reports of hundreds, if not thousands, of people tortured during Bacar’s tenure.^[34] Some rebels were killed and injured, but there are no official figures. At least 11 civilians were wounded. Some officials were imprisoned. Bacar fled in a speedboat to the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte to seek asylum. Anti-French protests followed in Comoros (see 2008 invasion of Anjouan). HP Pavilion DV9393XX Battery Since independence from France, the Comoros experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups.^[35] Following elections in late 2010, former Vice-President Ikililou Dhoinine was inaugurated as President on 26 May 2011. A member of the ruling party, Dhoinine was supported in the election by the incumbent President Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi. HP Pavilion DV9396EA Battery Dhoinine, a pharmacist by training, is the first President of Comoros from the island of Mohéli. Geography The Comoros is formed by Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), Nzwani (Anjouan), and Maore (Mayotte), the major islands in the Comoros Archipelago, as well as many minor islets. HP Pavilion DV9396XX Battery The islands are officially known by their Comorian language names, though international sources still use their French names (given in parentheses above). The capital and largest city, Moroni, is located on Ngazidja. The archipelago is situated in the Indian Ocean, in the Mozambique Channel, between the African coast (nearest to Mozambique and Tanzania) and Madagascar, with no land borders. HP Pavilion DV9397EA Battery At 2,235 km² (863 sq mi), it is one of the smallest countries in the world. The Comoros also has claim to 320 km² (120 sq mi) of territorial seas. The interiors of the islands vary from steep mountains to low hills. The climate is generally tropical and mild, and the two major seasons are distinguishable by their relative raininess. HP Pavilion DV9397XX Battery The temperature reaches an average of 29–30 °C (84–86 °F) in March, the hottest month in the rainy season (called kashkazi, December to April), and an average low of 19 °C (66 °F) in the cool, dry season (kusi, May to November).^[36] The islands are rarely subject to cyclones. HP Pavilion DV9398EA Battery Ngazidja is the largest of the Comoros Archipelago, approximately equal in area to the other islands combined. It is also the most recent island, and therefore has rocky soil. The island's two volcanoes, Karthala (active) and La Grille (dormant), and the lack of good harbors are distinctive characteristics of its terrain. Mwali, with its capital at Fomboni, is the smallest of the four major islands. HP Pavilion DV9398EU Battery Nzwani, whose capital is Mutsamudu, has a distinctive triangular shape caused by three mountain chains, Sima, Nioumakele, and Jimilime, emanating from a central peak, Ntringi (1,575 m or 5,167 ft). The oldest of the islands, Maore has the richest soil as well as good harbors and local fish populations, due to its ring of coral reefs. HP Pavilion DV9399EA Battery Dzaoudzi, the previous capital of all the colonial Comoros, is located on Pamanzi, (French: Petite-Terre), the largest islet of Maore. Maore's current capital is at Mamoudzou. The term Mayotte (or Maore) may also refer to the group of islands, of which the largest is known as Maore (French: Grande-Terre), and it includes Maore's surrounding islands, most notably Pamanzi (Petite-Terre). HP Pavilion DV9399XX Battery The islands of the Comoros Archipelago were formed by volcanic activity. Mount Karthala, an active shield volcano located on Ngazidja, is the country's highest point, at 2,361 m or 7,748 ft (2,362 m) It contains the Comoros' largest patch of its disappearing rainforest. Karthala is currently one of the most active volcanoes in the world, with a minor eruption in May 2006, and prior eruptions as recently as April 2005 and 1991. HP Pavilion DV9400 Battery In the 2005 eruption, which lasted from 17 to 19 April, 40,000 citizens were evacuated, and the crater lake in the volcano's 3 by 4 km (1.9 by 2.5 mi) caldera was destroyed. The Comoros also lays claim to the Glorioso Islands, comprising Grande Glorieuse, Île du Lys, Wreck Rock, South Rock, Verte Rocks (three islets), HP Pavilion DV9408CA Battery and three unnamed islets, one of France's Îles Éparses or Îles éparses de l'océan indien (Scattered islands in the Indian Ocean) possessions. The Glorioso Islands were administered by the colonial Comoros before 1975, and are therefore sometimes considered part of the Comoros Archipelago. HP Pavilion DV9408NR Battery Banc du Geyser, a former island in the Comoros Archipelago, now submerged, is geographically located in the Îles Éparses, but was annexed by Madagascar in 1976 as an unclaimed territory. The Comoros now claims it as part of its exclusive economic zone. The Comoros constitute an ecoregion in their own right, Comoros forests. HP Pavilion DV9410CA Battery Government Politics of the Comoros takes place in a framework of a federal presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. HP Pavilion DV9410US Battery The Constitution of the Union of the Comoros was ratified by referendum on 23 December 2001, and the islands' constitutions and executives were elected in the following months. It had previously been considered a military dictatorship, and the transfer of power from Azali Assoumani to Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi in May 2006 was the first peaceful transfer in Comorian history. HP Pavilion DV9413CL Battery Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. The preamble of the constitution guarantees an Islamic inspiration in governance, a commitment to human rights, and several specific enumerated rights, democracy, "a common destiny" for all Comorians. HP Pavilion DV9413XX Battery Each of the islands (according to Title II of the Constitution) has a great amount of autonomy in the Union, including having their own constitutions (or Fundamental Law), president, and Parliament. The presidency and Assembly of the Union are distinct from each of the Islands' governments. HP Pavilion DV9417CA Battery The presidency of the Union rotates between the islands.^[37] Mohéli holds the current presidency rotation, and so Ikililou Dhoinine is President of the Union; Grand Comore and Anjouan follow in four year terms.^[38] The Comorian legal system rests on Islamic law, an inherited French (Napoleonic code) legal code, and customary law (mila na ntsi). HP Pavilion DV9417CL Battery Village elders, kadis or civilian courts settle most disputes. The judiciary is independent of the legislative and the executive. The Supreme Court acts as a Constitutional Council in resolving constitutional questions and supervising presidential elections. HP Pavilion DV9418CA Battery As High Court of Justice, the Supreme Court also arbitrates in cases where the government is accused of malpractice. The Supreme Court consists of two members selected by the president, two elected by the Federal Assembly, and one by the council of each island.^[37] HP Pavilion DV9418US Battery Around 80 percent of the central government's annual budget is spent on the country’s complex electoral system which provides for a semi-autonomous government and president for each of the three islands and a rotating presidency for the over-arching Union government.^[39] HP Pavilion DV9420CA Battery A referendum took place on 16 May 2009 to decide whether to cut down the government's unwieldy political bureaucracy. 52.7% of those eligible voted, and 93.8% of votes were cast in approval of the referendum. The referendum would cause each island's president to become a governor and the ministers to become councilors.^[40] HP Pavilion DV9420US Battery As of 2008, Comoros and Mauritania are considered by US-based organization Freedom House as the only real “electoral democracies” of the Arab World.^[41] Also in 2008, the Comoros were ranked 14th out of 48 sub-Saharan African countries in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. HP Pavilion DV9424US Battery The Ibrahim Index is a comprehensive measure of African governance, based on a number of different variables which reflect the success with which governments deliver essential political goods to its citizens.^[42] Military The military resources of the Comoros consist of a small standing army and a 500-member police force, as well as a 500-member defense force. HP Pavilion DV9424XX Battery A defense treaty with France provides naval resources for protection of territorial waters, training of Comorian military personnel, and air surveillance. France maintains few senior officers presence in Comoros at government request. France maintains a small maritime base and a Foreign Legion Detachment (DLEM) on Mayotte. HP Pavilion DV9428CA Battery Foreign relations In November 1975, Comoros became the 143rd member of the United Nations. The new nation was defined as comprising the entire archipelago, although France continues to maintain control over the island of Mayotte as an overseas department.^[43] HP Pavilion DV9428NR Battery Comoros has repeatedly pressed its claim to the island before the United Nations General Assembly, which adopted a series of resolutions under the caption "Question of the Comorian Island of Mayotte", opining that Mayotte belongs to Comoros under the principle that the territorial integrity of colonial territories should be preserved upon independence. HP Pavilion DV9429US Battery As a practical matter, however, these resolutions have little effect and there is no foreseeable likelihood that Mayotte will become de facto part of Comoros without its people's consent. More recently, the Assembly has maintained this item on its agenda but deferred it from year to year without taking action. HP Pavilion DV9429XX Battery Other bodies, including the UN General Assembly, the Organization of African Unity, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, have similarly questioned French sovereignty over Mayotte.^[6][44] Comoros also is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, HP Pavilion DV9438CA Battery the European Development Fund, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Indian Ocean Commission, and the African Development Bank. On 10 April 2008 Comoros became the 179th nation to accept the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.^[45] HP Pavilion DV9438XX Battery Economy Comoros is one of the world's poorest countries. Economic growth and poverty reduction are major priorities for the government. With a rate of 14.3%, unemployment is considered very high. HP Pavilion DV9443CA Battery Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, andforestry, is the leading sector of the economy, and 38.4% of the working population is employed in the primary sector. High population densities, as much as 1000 per square kilometer in the densest agricultural zones, for what is still a mostly rural, HP Pavilion DV9443XX Battery agricultural economy may lead to an environmental crisis in the near future, especially considering the high rate of population growth. In 2004 Comoros' real GDP growth was a low 1.9% and real GDP per capita continued to decline. HP Pavilion DV9500 Battery These declines are explained by factors including declining investment, drops in consumption, rising inflation, and an increase in trade imbalance due in part to lowered cash crop prices, especially vanilla.^[46] Fiscal policy is constrained by erratic fiscal revenues, a bloated civil service wage bill, and an external debt that is far above the HIPC threshold. HP Pavilion DV9500EA Battery Membership in the franc zone, the main anchor of stability, has nevertheless helped contain pressures on domestic prices.^[47] Comoros has an inadequate transportation system, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. HP Pavilion DV9500EF Battery The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. HP Pavilion DV9500EM Battery Comoros is the world's largest producer of ylang-ylang, and a large producer of vanilla.^[48] The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population growth rate. HP Pavilion DV9500EW Battery The Comoros claims the Banc du Geyser and the Glorioso Islands as part of its exclusive economic zone. Comoros is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA).^[49] HP Pavilion DV9500T Battery Demographics With fewer than a million people, the Comoros is one of the least populous countries in the world, but is also one of the most densely populated, with an average of 275 inhabitants per square kilometre (710 /sq mi). HP Pavilion DV9500Z Battery In 2001, 34% of the population was considered urban, but that is expected to grow, since rural population growth is negative, while overall population growth is still relatively high.^[50] Almost half the population of Comoros is under the age of 15.^[51] Major urban centers include Moroni, Mutsamudu, Domoni, Fomboni, and Tsémbéhou. HP Pavilion DV9501AU Battery There are between 200,000 and 350,000 Comorians in France.^[52] The islands of the Comoros share mostly African-Arab origins. Sunni Islam is the dominant religion, representing as much as 98% of the population. Although Arab culture is firmly established throughout the archipelago, a minority of the populationof Mayotte, HP Pavilion DV9501EA Battery mostly immigrants from metropolitan France, are Roman Catholic.^[53] Malagasy (Christian) and Indian (mostly Ismaili) minorities also exist, as well as minorities mostly descended from early French settlers. Chinese people are also present on Mayotte and parts of Grande Comore (especially Moroni). HP Pavilion DV9501TX Battery A small white minority of French with other European (i.e. Dutch, British and Portuguese) ancestry lives in Comoros. Most French left after independence in 1975. The most common language in Comoros is Comorian, or Shikomor, a language related to Swahili and with heavy Arabic influence, HP Pavilion DV9501XX Battery with four different variants (Shingazidja, Shimwali, Shinzwani, and Shimaore) being spoken on each of the four islands. French and Arabic are also official languages, along with Comorian. Arabic is widely known as a second language, being the language of Quranic teaching. HP Pavilion DV9502AU Battery French is the administrative language and the language of all non-Quranic formal education. AMalagasy language, Shibushi, is spoken by approximately a third of the population of Maore.^[54] About fifty-seven percent of the population is literate in the Latin script while more than 90% are literate in the Arabic script; HP Pavilion DV9502EA Battery total literacy is incorrectly estimated at 62.5%.^[55] Comorian has no native script, but both Arabic and Latin scripts are used. There are 15 physicians per 100,000 persons. The fertility rate was 4.7 per adult woman in 2004. Life expectancy at birth is 67 for females and 62 for males..^[56] HP Pavilion DV9502TX Battery Media and culture Comorian (Shikomori) is the most widely used language on the Comoros. It is a close relative of Swahili; and much of its vocabulary is derived from Arabic. It is one of the three official languages of the Comoros, next to French and Arabic. HP Pavilion DV9502XX Battery Each island has a slightly different dialect; that of Anjouan is calledShindzwani, that of Moheli Shimwali, that of Mayotte Shimaore, and that of Grande Comore Shingazidja. No official alphabet existed in 1992, but Arabic and Latinscripts are both used. There is a government-owned national newspaper in Comoros, Al-Watwan,^[57] published in Moroni; HP Pavilion DV9503AU Battery Kwezi is also published on Mayotte. Radio Comoros is the national radio service and Comoros National TV is the television service. Education Almost all of the educated populace of the Comoros have attended Quranic schools at some point in their lives, often before regular schooling. HP Pavilion DV9503ES Battery Here, boys and girls are taught about the Qur'an, and memorize it. Some parents specifically choose this early schooling to offset French schools children usually attend later. Since independence and the ejection of French teachers, the education system has been plagued by poor teacher training and poor results, though recent stability may allow for substantial improvements.^[22] HP Pavilion DV9503TX Battery In 2000, 44.2 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were attending school. There is a general lack of facilities, equipment, qualified teachers, textbooks and other resources. Salaries for teachers are often so far in arrears that many refuse to work. HP Pavilion DV9503XX Battery The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands aligned along a northwest-southeast axis at the north end of the Mozambique Channel, between Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. Still widely known by their French names, the islands officially have been called by their Swahili names by the Comorian government. HP Pavilion DV9504TX Battery They are Njazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Mohéli), Nzwani (Anjouan), and Mahoré (Mayotte). The islands' distance from each other—Njazidja is some 200 kilometers from Mahoré, forty kilometers from Mwali, and eighty kilometers from Nzwani—along with a lack of good harbor facilities, make transportation and communication difficult. HP Pavilion DV9504XX Battery The islands have a total land area of 2,236 square kilometers (including Mahoré), and claim territorial waters of 320 square kilometers. Le Karthala (2316 m) on Grande Comore is an active volcano. From April 17 to 19, 2005, the volcano began spewing ash and gas, forcing as many as 10,000 people to flee. HP Pavilion DV9505EF Battery Njazidja Njazidja is the largest island, sixty-seven kilometers long and twenty-seven kilometers wide, with a total area of 1,146 square kilometers. The most recently formed of the four islands in the archipelago, it is also of volcanic origin. HP Pavilion DV9505EO Battery Two volcanoes form the island's most prominent topographic features: La Grille in the north, with an elevation of 1,000 meters, is extinct and largely eroded; Kartala in the south, rising to a height of 2,361 meters, last erupted in 1977. A plateau averaging 600 to 700 meters high connects the two mountains. HP Pavilion DV9505TX Battery Because Njazidja is geologically a relatively new island, its soil is thin and rocky and cannot hold water. As a result, water from the island's heavy rainfall must be stored in catchment tanks. There are no coral reefs along the coast, and the island lacks a good harbor for ships. HP Pavilion DV9505XX Battery One of the largest remnants of Comoros' once-extensive rain forests is on the slopes of Kartala. The national capital has been at Moroni since 1962. Nzwani Nzwani, triangular shaped and forty kilometers from apex to base, has an area of 424 square kilometers. HP Pavilion DV9506TX Battery Three mountain chains—Sima, Nioumakele, and Jimilime—emanate from a central peak, Mtingui (1,575 m), giving the island its distinctive shape. Older than Njazidja, Nzwani has deeper soil cover, but overcultivation has caused serious erosion. A coral reef lies close to shore; the island's capital of Mutsamudu is also its main port. HP Pavilion DV9506XX Battery Mwali Mwali is thirty kilometers long and twelve kilometers wide, with an area of 290 square kilometers. It is the smallest of the four islands and has a central mountain chain reaching 860 meters at its highest. Like Njazidja, it retains stands of rain forest. Mwali's capital is Fomboni. HP Pavilion DV9507EF Battery Mahoré Mahoré, geologically the oldest of the four islands, is thirty-nine kilometers long and twenty-two kilometers wide, totaling 375 square kilometers, and its highest points are between 500 and 600 meters above sea level. Because of greater weathering of the volcanic rock, the soil is relatively rich in some areas. HP Pavilion DV9507ES Battery A well-developed coral reef that encircles much of the island ensures protection for ships and a habitat for fish. Dzaoudzi, capital of Comoros until 1962 and now Mahoré's administrative center, is situated on a rocky outcropping off the east shore of the main island. HP Pavilion DV9507TX Battery Dzaoudzi is linked by a causeway to le Pamanzi, which at ten kilometers in area is the largest of several islets adjacent to Mahoré. Islets are also scattered in the coastal waters of Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mwali. HP Pavilion DV9507XX Battery Flora and fauna Comorian waters are the habitat of the coelacanth, a rare fish with limblike fins and a cartilaginous skeleton, the fossil remains of which date as far back as 400 million years and which was once thought to have become extinct about 70 million years ago. HP Pavilion DV9508TX Battery A live specimen was caught in 1938 off southern Africa; other coelacanths have since been found in the vicinity of the Comoro Islands. Several mammals are unique to the islands themselves. The Macao, a lemur found only on Mahoré, is protected by French law and by local tradition. HP Pavilion DV9508XX Battery Another, Livingstone's fruit bat, although plentiful when discovered by explorer David Livingstone in 1863, has been reduced to a population of about 120, entirely on Nzwani. The world's largest bat, the jet-black Livingstone fruit bat has a wingspan of nearly two meters. A British preservation group sent an expedition to Comoros in 1992 to bring some of the bats to Britain to establish a breeding population. HP Pavilion DV9509TX Battery 22 species of bird are unique to the archipelago and 17 of these are restricted to the Union of the Comoros. These include the Karthala Scops-owl, Anjouan Scops-owl and Humblot's Flycatcher. Partly in response to international pressures, Comorians in the 1990s have become more concerned about the environment. HP Pavilion DV9509XX Battery Steps are being taken not only to preserve the rare fauna, but also to counteract degradation of the environment, especially on densely populated Nzwani. Specifically, to minimize the cutting down of trees for fuel, kerosene is being subsidized, and efforts are being made to replace the loss of the forest cover caused by ylang-ylang distillation for perfume. HP Pavilion DV9510EA Battery The Community Development Support Fund, sponsored by the International Development Association (IDA, a World Bank affiliate) and the Comorian government, is working to improve water supply on the islands as well. Climate The climate is marine tropical, with two seasons: hot and humid from November to April, HP Pavilion DV9510EO Battery the result of the northeastern monsoon, and a cooler, drier season the rest of the year. Average monthly temperatures range from 23 to 28 °C (73.4 to 82.4 °F) along the coasts. Although the average annual precipitation is 2,000 millimeters (78.7 in), water is a scarce commodity in many parts of Comoros. HP Pavilion DV9510TX Battery Mwali and Mahoré possess streams and other natural sources of water, but Njazidja and Nzwani, whose mountainous landscapes retain water poorly, are almost devoid of naturally occurring running water. Cyclones, occurring during the hot and wet season, can cause extensive damage, especially in coastal areas. HP Pavilion DV9510XX Battery On the average, at least twice each decade houses, farms, and harbor facilities are devastated by these great storms. Politics of the Union of the Comoros takes place in a framework of a federal presidential republic, HP Pavilion DV9511TX Battery whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. As of 2008, Comoros and Mauritania are considered by US-based organization Freedom House as the only real “electoral democracies” of the Arab World. HP Pavilion DV9511XX Battery Political background The Union of the Comoros, known as the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros until 2003, is ruled by Ahmed Abdallah Sambi. The political situation in Comoros has been extremely fluid since the country's independence in 1975, subject to the volatility of coups and political insurrection. HP Pavilion DV9512TX Battery Colonel Azali Assoumani seized power in a bloodless coup in April 1999, overthrowing Interim President Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde, who himself had held the office since the death of democratically elected President Mohamed Taki Abdoulkarim in November, 1998. In May 1999, Azali decreed a constitution that gave him both executive and legislative powers. HP Pavilion DV9512XX Battery Bowing somewhat to international criticism, Azali appointed a civilian Prime Minister, Bainrifi Tarmidi, in December 1999; however, Azali retained the mantle of Head of State and army Commander. In December 2000, Azali named a new civilian Prime Minister, Hamada Madi, and formed a new civilian Cabinet. HP Pavilion DV9513TX Battery When Azali took power he also pledged to step down in April 2000 and relinquish control to a democratically elected president—a pledge with mixed results. In a separate nod to pressure to restore civilian rule, the government organized several committees to compose a new constitution, including the August 2000 National Congress and November 2000 Tripartite Commission. HP Pavilion DV9513XX Battery The opposition parties initially refused to participate in the Tripartite Commission, but on 17 February, representatives of the government, the Anjouan separatists, the political opposition, and civil society organizations signed a "Framework Accord for Reconciliation in Comoros," brokered by theOrganization for African Unity. HP Pavilion DV9514TX Battery The accord called for the creation of a new Tripartite Commission for National Reconciliation to develop a "New Comorian Entity" with a new constitution. The new federal Constitution came into effect in 2002; it included elements of consociationalism, HP Pavilion DV9514XX Battery including a presidency that rotates every four years among the islands and extensive autonomy for each island. Presidential elections were held in 2002, at which Azali Assoumani was elected President. In April 2004legislative elections were held, completing the implementation of the new constitution. HP Pavilion DV9515CA Battery The new Union of the Comoros consists of three islands, Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli. Each island has a president, who shares the presidency of the Union on a rotating basis. The president and his vice-presidents are elected for a term of four years. The constitution states that, "the islands enjoy financial autonomy, freely draw up and manage their budgets".HP Pavilion DV9515EA Battery President Assoumani Azali of Grande Comore is the first Union president. President Mohamed Bacar of Anjouan formed his 13-member government at the end of April, 2003. On 15 May 2006, Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, a cleric and successful businessman educated in Iran, HP Pavilion DV9515EF Battery Saudi Arabia and Sudan, was declared the winner of elections for President of the Republic. He is considered a moderate Islamist and is called Ayatollah by his supporters. He beat out retired French air force officer Mohamed Djaanfari and long-time politician Ibrahim Halidi, whose candidacy was backed by Azali Assoumani, the outgoing president.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9515EO Battery A referendum took place on May 16, 2009 to decide whether to cut down the government's unwieldy political bureaucracy. 52.7% of those eligible voted, and 93.8% of votes were cast in approval of the referendum. The referendum would cause each island's president to become a governor and the ministers to become councilors.^[3] HP Pavilion DV9515TX Battery Autonomous islands The constitution gives Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli the right to govern most of their own affairs with their own presidents, except the activities assigned to the Union of the Comoros like Foreign Policy, Defense, Nationality, Banking and others. HP Pavilion DV9515XX Battery Comoros considers Mayotte, an overseas collectivity of France, to be part of its territory, with an autonomous status In November 1975, Comoros became the 143rd member of the United Nations. The new nation was defined as consisting of the entirearchipelago, despite the fact that France maintains control over Mayotte. HP Pavilion DV9516TX Battery Overview Comoros also is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, the European Development Fund, the World Bank, theInternational Monetary Fund, the Indian Ocean Commission, and the African Development Bank. HP Pavilion DV9516XX Battery The government fostered close relationships with the more conservative (and oil-rich) Arab states, such as Saudi Arabia andKuwait.^[1] It frequently received aid from those countries and the regional financial institutions they influenced, such as theArab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development.^[1] HP Pavilion DV9517TX Battery In October 1993, Comoros joined the League of Arab States, after having been rejected when it applied for membership initially in 1977.^[1] Regional relations generally were good.^[1] In 1985 Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles agreed to admit Comoros as the fourth member of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), HP Pavilion DV9517XX Battery an organization established in 1982 to encourage regional cooperation.^[1] In 1993 Mauritius and Seychelles had two of the five embassies in Moroni, and Mauritius and Madagascar were connected to the republic by regularly scheduled commercial flights.^[1] In November 1975, Comoros became the 143d member of the UN. HP Pavilion DV9518EM Battery In the 1990s, the republic continued to represent Mahoré in the UN.^[1] Comoros was also a member of the OAU, the EDF, the World Bank, the IMF, the IOC, and the African Development Bank.^[1] Comoros thus cultivated relations with various nations, both East and West, seeking to increase trade and obtain financial assistance.^[1] HP Pavilion DV9518TX Battery In 1994, however, it was increasingly facing the need to control its expenditures and reorganize its economy so that it would be viewed as a sounder recipient of investment.^[1]Comoros also confronted domestically the problem of the degree of democracy the government was prepared to grant to its citizens, a consideration that related to its standing in the world community. HP Pavilion DV9519TX Battery Comoros also hosted an embassy of China, which established relations during the Soilih regime.^[1] The Chinese had long been a source of aid and apparently wished to maintain contact with Comoros to counterbalance Indian and Soviet (later Russian) influence in the Indian Ocean.^[1] HP Pavilion DV9519XX Battery In August 2008, a Comorian delegation visited China on a good-will visit. Together with the Chinese defense minister Liang Guanglie, and Chief of Staff of the Comoros armed forces Salimou Mohamed Amiri, pledged to increase cooperation between the military of the two nations. Amiri stated that Comoros will continue to adhere to the One-China policy.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9520EB Battery A comprehensive Chinese-assisted treatment campaign has apparently eliminated malaria from the Comorian island of Moheli (population 36,000). Administered by Li Guoqiao at the Tropical Medicine Institute, the program relies on hybrid Artemisia annua of hybrid ancestry, HP Pavilion DV9520EG Battery which was used for a drug regimen by which all residents of the island, whether or not visibly ill, took two doses at a 40-day interval. This eliminated the human reservoir of the disease and reduced hospital admissions to 1% or less of January 2008 levels. Visitors to Moheli are now required to take a antimalarial drugs, a mix of artemisinin, primaquine andpyrimethamine that China provides for free. HP Pavilion DV9521EA Battery When asked about Artemisia exports, Li was quoted, "We want to grow them in China and whatever we export depends on bilateral relationships." Comoros has requested a similar program for Grande Comore and Anjouan, total population 760,000, and Li said that Beijing has agreed in principle. HP Pavilion DV9521EI Battery Comoros' most significant international relationship is that with France.^[1] The three years of estrangement following the unilateral declaration of independence and the nationalistic Soilih regime were followed during the conservative Abdallah and Djohar regimes by a period of growing trade, aid, cultural, HP Pavilion DV9521TX Battery and defense links between the former colony and France, punctuated by frequent visits to Paris by the head of state and occasional visits by the French president toMoroni.^[1] The leading military power in the region, France has detachments on Mahoré and Réunion, and its Indian Ocean fleet sails the waters around the islands.^[1] HP Pavilion DV9521XX Battery France and Comoros signed a mutual security treaty in 1978; following the mercenary coup against Abdallah in 1989, French troops restored order and took responsibility for reorganizing and training the Comorian army.^[1] With Mahoré continuing to gravitate politically and economically toward France, HP Pavilion DV9522TX Battery and Comoros increasingly dependent on the French for help with its own considerable social, political, and economic problems, the issue of Mahoré diminished somewhat in urgency.^[1] Comoros claims French-administered Mayotte & the Glorioso Islands. Georgia The Comoros and Georgia established full diplomatic relations on 26 March 2010.^[5] HP Pavilion DV9522XX Battery Japan Comorian relations with Japan were also significant because Japan was the second largest provider of aid, consisting of funding for fisheries, food, and highway development.^[1] South Africa The close relationship Comoros developed with South Africa in the 1980s was much less significant to both countries in the 1990s.^[1] HP Pavilion DV9523TX Battery With the reform of itsapartheid government, South Africa no longer needed Comoros as evidence of its ostensible ability to enjoy good relations with a black African state; the end of the Cold War had also diminished Comoros' strategic value to Pretoria.^[1] Although South Africa continued to provide developmental aid, HP Pavilion DV9523XX Battery it closed its consulate in Moroni in 1992.^[1] Since the 1989 coup and subsequent expulsion of South African-financed mercenaries, Comoros likewise turned away from South Africa and toward France for assistance with its security needs.^[1] United States The United States established diplomatic relations in 1977 but in September 1993 closed its embassy in Moroni. HP Pavilion DV9525EN Battery The two countries enjoy friendly relations.^[1] The historic under-commitment by the US within France's sphere of interest in the Indian Ocean looks set to continue after a November 2009 meeting between heads of state.^[6] Future friendly relations continue to look promising between the Comoros and America. HP Pavilion DV9525EO Battery Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. HP Pavilion DV9525US Battery Comoros, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) per capita income of about $700, is among the world's poorest and least developed nations. Although the quality of the land differs from island to island, most of the widespread lava-encrusted soil formations are unsuited to agriculture. HP Pavilion DV9525XX Battery As a result, most of the inhabitants make their living from subsistence agriculture and fishing. Average wages in 2007 hover around $3–4 per day. Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. HP Pavilion DV9530EB Battery The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, HP Pavilion DV9530EF Battery to improve health services, to diversify exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population growth rate. Continued foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be met. At 24 percent of GDP, remittances constitute an important source of inflows for the Comorian economy.^[1] HP Pavilion DV9530EG Battery Current GDP per capita of Comoros grew 55% in the Eighties. But this proved unsustainable and it consequently shrank by 42% in the Nineties. Economic History During the colonial period, the French and local leading citizens established plantations to grow cash crops for export. HP Pavilion DV9530EM Battery Even after independence, French companies, such as Société Bambao and Établissements Grimaldi—and other concerns, such as Kalfane and Company and later, President Abdallah's Établissements Abdallah et Fils—dominated the Comoran economy. These firms diverted most of their profits overseas, HP Pavilion DV9532EF Battery investing little in the infrastructure of the islands beyond what was needed for profitable management of the plantations, or what could benefit these businesses' associates or related concerns. A serious consequence of this approach has been the languishing of the food-crop agricultural sector and the resultant dependence on overseas food imports, particularly rice. HP Pavilion DV9532XX Battery In 1993 Comoros remained hostage to fluctuating prices on the international market for such crops as vanilla, ylang-ylang, and cloves.^[2] Comoros is one of the world's poorest countries; its per capita gross national product (GNP—see Glossary) was estimated at US$400 in 1994, HP Pavilion DV9533EF Battery following the January devaluation of the Comorian franc. Although GNP increased in real terms at an average annual rate of 3.1 percent during the 1980s, rapid population growth effaced these gains and caused an average annual decrease in per capita GNP of 0.6 percent. HP Pavilion DV9533EG Battery Gross domestic product (GDP—see Glossary) grew in real terms by 4.2 percent per year from 1980 to 1985, 1.8 percent from 1985 to 1988, and 1.5 percent in 1990. In 1991, because of its balance of payments difficulties, Comoros became eligible for the IDA's Special Program of Assistance for debt-distressed countries of sub-Saharan Africa.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9534EF Battery The economy is based on private ownership, frequently by foreign investors. Nationalization, even during the Soilih years, has been limited. Soilih did expropriate the facilities of a foreign oil company, but only after the government of Madagascar took over the company's plants in that country. HP Pavilion DV9534XX Battery The Abdallah government, despite its openness to foreign participation in the economy, nationalized the Société Bambao and another Frenchcapitalized firm, the Comoran Meat Company (Société Comorienne des Viandes—Socovia), which specialized in sales of meat and other foods in the islands. HP Pavilion DV9535EA Battery The nationalization was short-lived, however, because Socovia and other government-held enterprises were either liquidated or privatized as part of economic restructuring efforts in 1992.^[2] Following the Abdallah regime's rapprochement with France in 1978, HP Pavilion DV9535EF Battery the Comoran economy became increasingly dependent on infusions of French aid, along with assistance from other governments and international organizations. By 1990, the year Comoros concluded negotiations with the IMF for an economic restructuring program, the republic's total external public debt was US$162.4 million, HP Pavilion DV9535EG Battery an amount equal to about three-quarters of GNP. The government delayed implementing the structural adjustment plan and was directed by the World Bank and the IMF to do so by September 1992. The plan recommendations entailed discharging about 2,800 of 9,000 civil servants, among other unpopular measures. HP Pavilion DV9535EO Battery The IMF granted Comoros a new credit for US$1.9 million in March 1994 under the Structural Adjustment Facility. For the period 1994-96, Comoros sought an economic growth rate of 4 percent as well as an inflation rate of 4 percent for 1995-96. The growth rate for 1994, however, was estimated only at 0.7 percent and the inflation rate at 15 percent. HP Pavilion DV9535NR Battery Meanwhile, in a move designed to encourage private enterprise and reduce unemployment, in May 1993 the UN Development Programme had given Comoros a credit of US$2 million for programs in these areas. In January 1994, the European Development Fund (EDF) granted 1.3 million European Currency Units (ECUs; for value, see Glossary) to Comoros to develop small businesses. HP Pavilion DV9535US Battery Comoros also received 5.7 million French francs from the French Aid and Cooperation Fund for agriculture and rural development.^[2] The results of foreign aid to Comoros have been mixed at best. The purposes of the aid ranged from helping the government cover its payroll for such huge, HP Pavilion DV9536EF Battery seemingly endless projects as expanding the seaport at Moroni and developing a new port at Mutsamuda on Nzwani. Neither project had shown much promise by early 1994. Meanwhile, the islands have been unable to develop local resources or create the infrastructure needed for economic development. HP Pavilion DV9536EM Battery The few successes included the creation of national news media and limited improvements in public health, education, and telecommunications. Developmental assistance from the United States, which totaled US$700,000 in fiscal year (FY—see Glossary) 1991, was administered by CARE, HP Pavilion DV9540EB Battery the nongovernmental organization, and focused primarily on reforestation, soil conservation, and sustainable agriculture.^[2] Comoros has officially participated in the African Franc Zone (Communauté Financière Africaine—CFA; see Glossary) since 1979. HP Pavilion DV9540EO Battery The CFA franc was devalued by 50 percent on January 12, 1994, causing the exchange rate to become 100 CFA francs for one French franc. Subsequently, the Comoran franc was devalued so that instead of being directly aligned with the CFA franc, seventyfive Comoran francs equaled one French franc.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9540US Battery A national labor organization, the Union of Comoran Workers (Union des Travailleurs des Comores), also had headquarters in Moroni. Strikes and worker demonstrations often occurred in response to political crises, economic restructuring mandated by international financial organizations, and the failure of the government—occasionally for months at a time—to pay civil servants.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9540XX Battery Mean wages were $0.80 per manhour in 2009. Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry Agriculture, involving more than 80% of the population and 40% of the gross domestic product, provides virtually all foreign exchange earnings. Services including tourism, construction, and commercial activities constitute the remainder of the GDP. HP Pavilion DV9541EV Battery Plantations engage a large proportion of the population in producing the islands' major cash crops for export: vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, and copra. Comoros is the world's leading producer of essence of ylang-ylang, used in manufacturing perfume. It also is the world's second-largest producer of vanilla, after Madagascar. Principal food crops are coconuts, bananas, and cassava. Foodstuffs constitute 32% of total imports. HP Pavilion DV9541XX Battery HP Pavilion DV9542EV Battery Agriculture and livestock Agriculture supported about 80 percent of the population and supplied about 95 percent of exports in the early 1990s. Two agricultural zones are generally defined: the coastal area, which ranges in elevation from sea level to 400 meters and which supports cash crops such as vanilla, HP Pavilion DV9542XX Battery ylang-ylang, and cloves; and the highlands, which support cultivation of crops for domestic consumption, such as cassava, bananas, rain rice, and sweet potatoes. As the population increased, food grown for domestic use met fewer and fewer of Comorans' needs. Data collected by the World Bank showed that food production per capita fell about 12 percent from 1980 to 1987. HP Pavilion DV9543CL Battery The republic imported virtually all its meat and vegetables; rice imports alone often accounted for up to 30 percent of the value of all imports.^[2] Comoros is the world's principal producer of ylang-ylang essence, an essence derived from the flowers of a tree originally brought from Indonesia that is used in manufacturing perfumes and soaps. HP Pavilion DV9543EA Battery Ylang-ylang essence is a major component of Chanel No. 5, the popular scent for women. The republic is the world's second largest producer of vanilla, after Madagascar. Cloves are also an important cash crop. A total of 237 tons of vanilla was exported in 1991, at a price of about CF19 per kilogram. HP Pavilion DV9543EV Battery A total of 2,750 tons of cloves was exported in 1991, at a price of CF397 per kilogram. That year forty-three tons of ylang-ylang essence were exported at a price of about CF23,000 per kilogram. The production of all three commodities fluctuates wildly, mainly in response to changes in global demand and natural disasters such as cyclones. HP Pavilion DV9543XX Battery Profits—and therefore, government receipts—likewise skyrocket and plummet, wreaking havoc with government efforts to predict revenues and plan expenditures. Stabex (Stabilization of Export Earnings—see Glossary), a system of the EC, provides aid to Comoros and other developing countries to mitigate the effects of fluctuations in the prices of export commodities.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9545EO Battery Long-term prospects for the growth and stabilization of the markets for vanilla and ylang-ylang did not appear strong in the early 1990s. Vanilla faced increased competition from synthetic flavorings, and the preferences of perfume users were moving away from the sweet fragrance provided by ylang-ylang essence. HP Pavilion DV9545XX Battery Copra, the dried coconut meat that yields coconut oil, once an important Comoran export, had ceased to be a significant factor in the economy by the late 1980s, when the world's tastes shifted from high-fat coconut oil toward "leaner" substances such as palm oil. Although clove production and revenues also experienced swings, HP Pavilion DV9547CL Battery in the early 1990s cloves did not appear to face the same sorts of challenges confronting vanilla and ylang-ylang. Most Comoran vanilla is grown on Njazidja; Nzwani is the source of most ylangylang .^[2] Numerous international programs have attempted to reduce the country's dependence on food imports, particularly of rice, a major drain on export earnings. HP Pavilion DV9547XX Battery Organizations initiating these rural development programs have included the EDF, the IFAD, the World Food Program, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the governments of France and the United States. HP Pavilion DV9548CA Battery Despite these international efforts, which numbered as many as seventeen in 1984, food production per capita actually declined in Comoros during the 1980s. The major clove and vanilla growers, whose plantations occupy the islands' fertile coastal lands, generally resisted these restructuring efforts, HP Pavilion DV9548US Battery as did rice-importing firms, including the country's largest, Établissements Abdallah et Fils.^[2] Crowded onto the mountain slopes by the cash crop plantations, food-crop farmers have caused deforestation and the erosion of the highlands' thin, fragile soil. In response, aid providers have dedicated an increasing amount of agricultural assistance to reforestation, HP Pavilion DV9550EO Battery soil restoration, and environmentally sensitive means of cultivation. For example, all United States agricultural aid in 1991 (US$700,000) was directed to such projects, as was a US$4 million loan from the IFAD to help initiate a small producers' support program on Nzwani.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9550EP Battery The livestock sector is small—some 47,000 cattle, 120,000 goats, 13,000 sheep, and 4,000 asses in 1990. Comoros continues to import most domestically consumed meat.^[2] Fishing Since the latter part of the 1980s, Comoros has made headway in developing fisheries as a source of export earnings. HP Pavilion DV9552ES Battery In 1988 the government concluded a three-year agreement with the EC by which forty French and Spanish vessels would be permitted to fish in Comoran waters, primarily for tuna. In return, Comoros would receive ECU300,000, and ECU50,000 would be invested in fisheries research. HP Pavilion DV9552XX Battery In addition, fishing vessel operators would pay ECU20 per ton of tuna netted. Although the deep waters outside the islands' reefs do not abound in fish, it has been estimated that up to 30,000 tons of fish could be taken per year from Comoran waters (which extend 320 kilometers offshore). HP Pavilion DV9555EG Battery The total catch in 1990 was 5,500 tons. Japan has also provided aid to the fishing industry. Fisheries development is overseen by a state agency, the Development Company for Small-Scale Fisheries of Comoros (Société de Développement de la Pêche Artisanale des Comores). HP Pavilion DV9555EO Battery Forestry Forested areas amounted to about 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) in 2000. Numerous fruit trees and tropical hardwoods are found. Some timber is produced, notably on the island of Grande Comore, which has about half the remaining forest. Roundwood production in 2003 amounted to 9,000 cu m (300,000 cu ft ). HP Pavilion DV9560EA Battery Industry Industrial activities are responsible for only a tiny portion of Comoran economic activity—about 5 percent of GDP in 1994. Principal industries are those that involve processing cash crops for export: preparing vanilla and distilling ylang-ylang into perfume essence. HP Pavilion DV9560EG Battery These activities were once controlled almost entirely by French companies, but as they closed unprofitable plantations, individual farmers set up many small, inefficient distilleries. Comorans also produce handicrafts for export. HP Pavilion DV9560ER Battery Other industries are small and geared to internal markets: sawmills, printing, carpentry, and the production of shoes, plastics, yogurt, handicrafts (such as the jewelry exchanged as part of the grand marriage), and small fishing boats. HP Pavilion DV9560XX Battery Several factors provide major obstacles to the growth of industry: the islands' geographically isolated position, their distance from each other, a scarcity of raw materials and skilled labor, and the high cost of electricity (energy is produced by hydropower, imported petroleum, and wood products) and transportation. HP Pavilion DV9562EA Battery Value added in industry slowly declined throughout the 1980s.^[2] Tourism Further information: Tourism in Comoros Perhaps the primary outcome of South African penetration of the Comoran economy during the Abdallah regime was the development of tourism. HP Pavilion DV9562EZ Battery Although South African investors built or renovated several hotels during the 1980s (with assistance from the South African and Comoran governments), only one resort, the 182-room Galawa Beach on Njazidja, was operating by late 1992. About 100 other hotel rooms were available on the islands. Political instability, HP Pavilion DV9565EA Battery a declining South African interest in the islands as the apartheid regime was disassembled and other tropical tourism venues became more welcoming, and the need to import most construction materials and consumable supplies inhibited the growth of tourism, despite the islands' physical beauty. HP Pavilion DV9565EG Battery Nonetheless, in large part thanks to Galawa Beach, which had been closed during 1990, tourism increased from 7,627 visitors in 1990 to 16,942 in 1991. Most of these tourists were Europeans, primarily French (see Historical Setting , this ch.).^[2] HP Pavilion DV9570EF Battery Infrastructure The country lacks the infrastructure necessary for development. Some villages are not linked to the main road system or at best are connected by tracks usable only by four-wheel-drive vehicles. HP Pavilion DV9570EL Battery The islands' ports are rudimentary, although a deepwater facility was recently completed on Anjouan. Only small vessels can approach the existing quays in Moroni on Grande Comore, despite recent improvements. Long-distance, ocean-going ships must lie offshore and be unloaded by smaller boats; HP Pavilion DV9570EO Battery during the cyclone season, this procedure is dangerous, and ships are reluctant to call at the island. Most freight is sent first to Mombasa orRéunion and transshipped from there. The banking system consists of the Central Bank of the Comoros (Banque Centrale des Comores) established in 1981 that had three offices (Moroni (Grande-Comore), HP Pavilion DV9570XX Battery Mutsamudu (Anjouan) and Fomboni (Mohéli)); the Bank for Industry and Commerce (Banque pour l'Industrie et le Commerce—BIC), a commercial bank established in 1990 that had six branches in 1993 and was a subsidiary of the National Bank of Paris—International (Banque Nationale de Paris—Internationale); HP Pavilion DV9571EO Battery the Development Bank of Comoros (Banque de Développement des Comores), established in 1982, which provided support for small and midsize development projects, the Federal Bank of Commerce (Banque Fédérale de Commerce) and the Exim Bank Comores Ltd. HP Pavilion DV9571XX Battery Most of the shares in the Development Bank of Comoros were held by the Comoran government and the central bank; the rest were held by the European Investment Bank and the Central Bank for Economic Cooperation (Caisse Centrale de Coopération Économique—CCCE), a development agency of the French government. HP Pavilion DV9572EA Battery All of these banks had headquarters in Moroni.^[2] External trade France, Comoros' major trading partner, finances small projects only. The United States receives a growing percentage of Comoros' exports but supplies only a negligible fraction of its imports (less than 1%).HP Pavilion DV9572EL Battery The overall effect of the republic's dependence on aid has been perennial trade deficits accompanied by chronic budget deficits. In 1992 total exports had a value of US$21 million, and total imports were valued at US$50 million. In 1991 receipts totaled about US$34.7 million (CF9.7 trillion; HP Pavilion DV9572EO Battery CF—Comoran franc; for value of the Comoran franc—see Glossary) whereas expenditures totaled about US$93.8 million (CF26.2 trillion). The shortfall, which equaled about 170 percent of receipts, was financed by international grants and loans, by draws upon existing lines of credit, and by debt rescheduling.^[2] HP Pavilion DV9572XX Battery In 1991 France received 55 percent of Comoran exports, followed by the United States (19 percent) and Germany (16 percent). The main export products were vanilla, ylang-ylang, and cloves. The republic's primary suppliers were France (56 percent of imports), HP Pavilion DV9574EA Battery the Belgium-Luxembourg economic union (11 percent), and Japan (5 percent). Imports consisted of basic foodstuffs (rice and meat), petroleum, and construction materials.^[2] Comoros has an international airport (Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport) at Hahaya on Grande Comore. HP Pavilion DV9574LA Battery It is a member of the franc zone with an exchange rate of 491.9677 Comorian francs (KMF) = 1 [Euro]. HP Pavilion DV9575EM Battery,HP Pavilion DV9575EN Battery,HP Pavilion DV9575EO Battery