]! ^! Comoros has endured 19 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. He pledged to resolve the secessionist crisis through a confederal arrangement named the 2000 Fomboni Accord. In December 2001, voters approved a new constitution and presidential elections took place in the spring of 2002. Each island in the archipelago elected its own president and a new union president took office in May 2002. 
]" ^" 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 ^# 12 10 S, 44 15 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 2,170 sq km `" 2,170 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 340 km ^) `$ 12 nm `N 200 nm ^* tropical marine; rainy season (November to May) ^+ volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills ^, `% Indian Ocean 0 m `& Le Kartala 2,360 m ^- NEGL ^. `' 35.87% `( 23.32% `) 40.81% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); Le Kartala on Grand Comore is an active volcano ^1 soil degradation and erosion results from crop cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel 
]# ^3 711,417 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 42.6% (male 151,920/female 150,851) `, 54.4% (male 191,096/female 196,120) `- 3% (male 9,933/female 11,497) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 18.7 years `. 18.4 years `/ 18.9 years (2007 est.) ^6 2.84% (2007 est.) ^7 36.35 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 7.95 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.007 male(s)/female `, 0.974 male(s)/female `- 0.864 male(s)/female `2 0.985 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births `. 78.86 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 62.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 62.73 years `. 60.37 years `/ 65.15 years (2007 est.) ^= 4.97 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.12% (2001 est.) ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Comoran(s) `4 Comoran ^B Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava ^C Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman Catholic 2% ^D Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 56.5% `. 63.6% `/ 49.3% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Union of the Comoros `7 Comoros `Z Union des Comores `[ Comores ^H republic ^I `8 Moroni `9 11 41 S, 43 16 E `: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 3 islands and 4 municipalities*; Grande Comore, Anjouan, Domoni*, Fomboni*, Moheli, Moroni*, Moutsamoudou* ^K 6 July 1975 (from France) ^L Independence Day, 6 July (1975) ^M 23 December 2001 ^N French and Islamic law in a new consolidated code ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006) `< President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the president `> as defined by the 2001 constitution, the presidency rotates every four years among the elected presidents from the three main islands in the Union; election last held 14 May 2006 (next to be held by May 2010); prime minister appointed by the president; note - the post of prime minister has been vacant since May 2002 `? Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI elected president; percent of vote - Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI 58.0%, Ibrahim HALIDI 28.3%, Mohamed DJAANFAMI 13.7% ^Q unicameral Assembly of the Union (33 seats; 15 deputies are selected by the individual islands' local assemblies and the 18 by universal suffrage; deputies serve for five years); `> last held 18 and 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CdIA 12, CRC 6; note - 15 additional seats are filled by deputies from local island assemblies ^R Supreme Court or Cour Supremes (two members appointed by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one elected by the Council of each island, and others are former presidents of the republic) ^S Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros or CRC [AZALI Assowmani]; Camp of the Autonomous Islands or CdIA (a coalition of parties organized by the islands' presidents in opposition to the Union President); Front National pour la Justice or FNJ [Ahmed RACHID] (Islamic party in opposition); Mouvement pour la Democratie et le Progress or MDP-NGDC [Abbas DJOUSSOUF]; Parti Comorien pour la Democratie et le Progress or PCDP [Ali MROUDJAE]; Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND [Omar TAMOU, Abdoulhamid AFFRAITANE] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AMF, AU, COMESA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO ^V `R Representative to the US and Ambassador to the UN Mahmoud M. ABOUD `S Mission to the US, 336 East 45th Street (2nd floor), New York, NY 10017 `T [1] (212) 750-1637 ^W the US does not have an embassy in Comoros; the ambassador to Madagascar is accredited to Comoros ^X four equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), white, red, and blue with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist; centered within the triangle is a white crescent with the convex side facing the hoist and four white, five-pointed stars placed vertically in a line between the points of the crescent; the horizontal bands and the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros); the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam 
]% ^Y One of the world's poorest countries, 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. Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. The government - which is hampered by internal political disputes - is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, improve health services, diversify exports, promote tourism, and reduce the high population growth rate. Increased foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be met. Remittances from 150,000 Comorans abroad help supplement GDP. ^Z $441 million (2002 est.) ^[ $402 million (2005 est.) ^\ 3% (2005 est.) ^] $600 (2005 est.) ^^ `@ 40% `A 4% `B 56% (2001 est.) ^_ 144,500 (1996 est.) ^` `@ 80% industry and services: 20% ^a 20% (1996 est.) _! 60% (2002 est.) _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 3% (2005 est.) _$ `E $27.6 million `F $NA (2001 est.) _& vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca) _' fishing, tourism, perfume distillation _( -2% (1999 est.) _) 19 million kWh (2004) _* 17.67 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004) _. 720 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-17 million (2005 est.) _3 $34 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _4 vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), cloves, copra _5 France 26.8%, Singapore 16.3%, Japan 14.6%, Germany 13.2%, US 5.6%, Netherlands 4.9% (2005) _6 $115 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _7 rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, cement, transport equipment _8 France 22.2%, UAE 9.8%, South Africa 7.2%, Pakistan 6.4%, Kenya 5.1%, Belgium 4.6%, India 4.4%, Italy 4.2% (2005) _9 $232 million (2000 est.) _: $24 million (2003 est.) _; Comoran franc (KMF) _< Comoran francs (KMF) per US dollar - 392.03 (2006), 395.6 (2005), 396.21 (2004), 435.9 (2003), 522.74 (2002) `* the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro _= calendar year 
]& _> 16,900 (2005) _? 16,100 (2005) _@ `G sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communication stations `H HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay `I country code - 269; HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and Reunion _A AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) _B NA _C .km _D 5 (2006) _E 20,000 (2005) 
]' _F 4 (2006) _G `! 4 `J 1 `c 3 (2006) _H `! 880 km `K 673 km `L 207 km (1999) _S `! 121 ships (1000 GRT or over) 564,882 GRT/801,238 DWT by type: bulk carrier 10, cargo 85, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 5, specialized tanker 1 `X 72 (Bangladesh 1, Bulgaria 1, Greece 10, India 1, Kenya 1, Kuwait 1, Lebanon 6, Nigeria 2, Norway 1, Pakistan 2, Philippines 1, Russia 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Syria 4, Turkey 11, UAE 6, Ukraine 14, US 2) (2006) _I Mayotte, Moutsamoudou 
]( _J Comoran Defense Force: Comoran Security Force (includes Gendarmerie and Army), Comoran Federal Police (2006) _K males age 18-49: 138,940 females age 18-49: 139,491 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 98,792 females age 18-49: 106,415 (2005 est.) _U 2.2% (2006 est.) 
]) _N claims French-administered Mayotte 