Comoros: Difference between revisions

| legislature = {{nowrap|[[Assembly of the Union of the Comoros|Assembly of the Union]]}}

| area_rank = 170th <!-- Should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->

| area_sq_mi = 719 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->

| percent_water = negligible

The sovereign state consists of three major islands and numerous smaller islands, all of the volcanic [[Comoro Islands]] with the exception of [[Mayotte]]. Mayotte voted against independence from France in [[1974 Comorian independence referendum|a referendum in 1974]], and continues to be administered by France as an [[overseas department]]. France has [[List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions|vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions]] that would affirm Comorian sovereignty over the island.<ref name="GA31_first-resolution">The first UN General Assembly Resolution regarding the matter, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20080408191407/http://un.cti.depaul.edu/Countries/Comoros/1156213396.pdf Question of the Comorian island of Mayotte] (PDF)", United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/31/4, (21 October 1976) states "the occupation by France of the Comorian island of Mayotte constitutes a flagrant encroachment on the national unity of the Comorian State, a Member of the United Nations," rejecting the French-administered referendums and condemning French presence in Mayotte.</ref><ref>As defined by the [[Organization of African Unity]], the [[Non-Aligned Movement|Movement of Non-Aligned Countries]], the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], and the [[United Nations General Assembly]]: the most recent UN General Assembly Resolution regarding the matter, "Question of the Comorian island of Mayotte," United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/49/18, (6 December 1994) states "the results of the referendum of 22 December 1974 were to be considered on a global basis and not island by island,...Reaffirms the sovereignty of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros over the island of Mayotte". [https://web.archive.org/web/20080106080523/http://un.cti.depaul.edu/public/Comoros/10/English/ Several resolutions expressing similar sentiments were passed between 1977 (31/4) and 1994 (49/18).]</ref><ref name="GlobalPolicy_SC-Vetoes">{{cite web |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/membship/veto/vetosubj.htm |title=Subjects of UN Security Council Vetoes |publisher=Global Policy Forum |access-date=27 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080317010910/http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/membship/veto/vetosubj.htm |archive-date=17 March 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="article33">{{cite web |url=http://legal.un.org/repertory/art33/english/rep_supp5_vol2-art33_e.pdf |title=Article 33, Repertory, Supplement 5, vol. II (1970–1978) |work=United Nations, Office of Legal Affairs (OLA)|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006084240/http://legal.un.org/repertory/art33/english/rep_supp5_vol2-art33_e.pdf |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> Mayotte became an overseas department and a region of France in 2011 following a referendum which was passed overwhelmingly.

 

 

The Comoros were likely first settled by [[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]]/[[Malagasy people]]s, followed by [[Bantu language|Bantu]] speakers from [[East Africa]], and seafaring Arab traders.<ref>{{cite journal |publisher=American Society of Human Genetics |date=4 January 2018 |title=The Comoros Show the Earliest Austronesian Gene Flow into the Swahili Corridor |author=Nicolas Brucato, Veronica Fernandes, Stéphane Mazières, Pradiptajati Kusuma, Murray P. Cox, Joseph Wainaina Ng’ang’a, Mohammed Omar, Marie-Claude Simeone-Senelle, Coralie Frassati, Farida Alshamali, Bertrand Fin, Anne Boland, Jean-Francois Deleuze, Mark Stoneking, Alexander Adelaar, Alison Crowther, Nicole Boivin, Luisa Pereira, Pascal Bailly, Jacques Chiaroni, François-Xavier Ricaut |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=102 |issue=1 |pages=58–68 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.11.011 |pmid=29304377 |pmc=5777450}}</ref> It became part of the [[French colonial empire]] during the 19th century, before its independence in 1975. It has experienced more than 20 coups or attempted coups, with various heads of state assassinated.<ref name="20Coups" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Intrigue in the world's most coup-prone island paradise |url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/12/22/intrigue-in-the-worlds-most-coup-prone-island-paradise |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=25 January 2019 |ref=print issue: 22 Dec. 2018, p. 75 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125081810/https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2018/12/22/intrigue-in-the-worlds-most-coup-prone-island-paradise |archive-date=25 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Along with this constant political instability, it has one of the worst levels of [[List of countries by income equality|income inequality]] of any nation, and ranks in the [[List of countries by Human Development Index#Low human development|lowest quartile]] on the [[Human Development Index]]. {{As of|2008}}, about half the population lived below the [[international poverty line]] of US$1.25 a day.<ref>[http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf ''Human Development Indices''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219191319/http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDI_2008_EN_Tables.pdf |date=19 December 2008 }}, Table 3: Human and income poverty, p. 35. Retrieved on 1 June 2009</ref>

The Comoros is formed by [[Grande Comore|Ngazidja]] (Grande Comore), [[Mohéli|Mwali]] (Mohéli) and [[Anjouan|Ndzwani]] (Anjouan), three major islands in the Comoros Archipelago, as well as many minor islets. 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, Comoros|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.

 

 

The areas and populations (at the 2017 Census) of the main islands are as follows:<ref name="ReferenceA">Institut Nationale de la Statistique et Études Économiques et Démographiques, Comoros (web).</ref>

! Name || Area <br />km²|| Population<br />Census 2017<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

|-

|-

|-

| Ndzwani ||align="right"|424||align="right"|327,382

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|}