Comoros - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Comoros. Important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel; the only Arab League country that lies entirely in the Southern Hemisphere. Mother's mean age at first birth is 23 years (2012 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 217 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Comoros
| Location | Southern Africa, group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 12 10 S, 44 15 E |
| Map references | Africa |
| Tarrain | volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills |
| Natural Resources | fish |
| Natural Hazards | cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); volcanic activity on Grand Comore volcanism: Karthala (2,361 m) on Grand Comore Island last erupted in 2007; a 2005 eruption forced thousands of people to be evacuated and produced a large ash cloud |
| Irrigated Land | 1.3 sq km (2012) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 0 km |
| Border Countries | |
| Coastline | 340 km |
| Climate | tropical marine; rainy season (November to May) |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 2,235 sq km |
| Water Area | 0 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, D.C. |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Exclusive economic zone | 200 nm |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Karthala 2,360 m |
| Lowest point | Indian Ocean 0 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 71.5% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 34.9% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 28.5% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 8.1% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 17.2% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 11.3% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
The capital city of Maroni, located on the western side of the island of Grande Comore, is the country's largest city; however, of the three islands that comprise Comoros, it is Anjouan that is the most densely populated as shown in this population distribution map
People and Society
In Comoros, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 1.3% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 21.6 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 6.3% of GDP (2021) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | |
| Total fertility rate | 2.61 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.28 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 19.4% (2012) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 61.2% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 2.6% of GDP (2015 est.) |
| Net Migration rate | -2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Comoran | Comoran(s) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (official; similar to Swahili), Comorian |
| Religions | Muslim 98.1% (overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, small Shia Muslim and Ahmadiyya Muslim populations), ethnic religionist 1.1%, Christian 0.6%, other 0.3% (2020 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 32.6% (male 146,480/female 146,626) |
| 15-64 years | 62.8% (male 271,139/female 294,231) |
| 65 years and over | 4.6% (2024 est.) (male 18,139/female 23,526) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 74.1 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 66.6 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 7.5 |
| Potential support ratio | 13.3 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 22.7 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 22.1 years |
| Female | 23.3 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 30.1% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 2.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 62,000 MORONI (capital) (2018). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.03 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 0.92 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.77 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.94 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 54.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 64.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 44.7 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 67.8 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 65.5 years |
| Female | 70.2 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 97.4% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 88.5% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 91% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 2.6% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 11.5% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 8.9% of population (2017 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 62.4% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 43.6% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 49% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 37.6% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 56.4% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 51% of population (2017 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 20.3% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 29.5% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 11.1% (2020 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Comoros
Want to know more about Comoros? Check all different factbooks for Comoros below.
