Country of the World Comoro Islands

About the country Comoro Islands, its location, size, population, leaders and rulers.

NATIONS AND THEIR RULER

COMORO ISLANDS

Size: 838 sq. mi. (2,170 sq. km.).

Population: 331,000.

The Comoros consist of four islands--Grande Comore, Anjouan, Mayotte, and Moheli--north of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Most of the people are subsistence farmers. With a per capita income of about $65, the Comoros claim to be the poorest nation in the world. As a result, there are about 25,000 Comorian emigrants in the Malagasy Republic. Job competition with Malagasy citizens has led to bloody riots there. In 1974 France staged a referendum in which the predominantly Christian residents of Mayotte voted to remain with France, while the remaining islands--largely Muslim--voted for independence. Even though Mayotte has remained a French possession, the three other islands gained their independence in 1975.