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Comoros People - 2024


SOURCE: 2024 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES  Spanish Simplified Chinese French German Russian Hindi Arabic Portuguese

Population

888,378 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Comoran(s)

adjective: Comoran

Ethnic groups

Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava

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.)

note: Sunni Islam is the state religion

Demographic profile

Comoros’ population is a melange of Arabs, Persians, Indonesians, Africans, and Indians, and the much smaller number of Europeans that settled on the islands between the 8th and 19th centuries, when they served as a regional trade hub. The Arab and Persian influence is most evident in the islands’ overwhelmingly Muslim majority – about 98% of Comorans are Sunni Muslims. The country is densely populated, averaging nearly 350 people per square mile, although this varies widely among the islands, with Anjouan being the most densely populated.

Given the large share of land dedicated to agriculture and Comoros’ growing population, habitable land is becoming increasingly crowded. The combination of increasing population pressure on limited land and resources, widespread poverty, and poor job prospects motivates thousands of Comorans each year to attempt to illegally migrate using small fishing boats to the neighboring island of Mayotte, which is a French territory. The majority of legal Comoran migration to France came after Comoros’ independence from France in 1975, with the flow peaking in the mid-1980s.

At least 150,000 to 200,000 people of Comoran citizenship or descent live abroad, mainly in France, where they have gone seeking a better quality of life, job opportunities, higher education (Comoros has no universities), advanced health care, and to finance elaborate traditional wedding ceremonies (aada). Remittances from the diaspora are an economic mainstay, in 2013 representing approximately 25% of Comoros’ GDP and significantly more than the value of its exports of goods and services (only 15% of GDP). Grand Comore, Comoros’ most populous island, is both the primary source of emigrants and the main recipient of remittances. Most remittances are spent on private consumption, but this often goes toward luxury goods and the aada and does not contribute to economic development or poverty reduction. Although the majority of the diaspora is now French-born with more distant ties to Comoros, it is unclear whether they will sustain the current level of remittances.

Age structure

0-14 years: 33.45% (male 148,485/female 148,651)

15-64 years: 62% (male 264,023/female 286,805)

65 years and over: 4.55% (2023 est.) (male 17,696/female 22,718)

2023 population pyramid:

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: 22.3 years (2023 est.)

male: 21.6 years

female: 22.9 years

Population growth rate

1.34% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

22.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 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

Urbanization

urban population: 30.1% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

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: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

23 years (2012 est.)

note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49

Maternal mortality ratio

217 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 66 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 45.7 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 67.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 65.2 years

female: 69.9 years

Total fertility rate

2.69 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.33 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

19.4% (2012)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 97.4% of population

rural: 88.5% of population

total: 91% of population

unimproved: urban: 2.6% of population

rural: 11.5% of population

total: 8.9% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure

5.4% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

0.26 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 62.4% of population

rural: 43.6% of population

total: 49% of population

unimproved: urban: 37.6% of population

rural: 56.4% of population

total: 51% of population (2017 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

7.8% (2016)

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.)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

61.2% (2023 est.)

Education expenditures

2.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 62%

male: 67%

female: 56.9% (2021)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 11 years

male: 11 years

female: 11 years (2014)

NOTE: The information regarding Comoros on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Comoros 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Comoros 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.

This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.