]! ^! Unstable Comoros has endured 19 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared their 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 of 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 `I 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% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^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 _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `L none of the selected agreements ^2 important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel 
]# ^3 671,247 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 42.8% (male 144,075/female 143,175) `+ 54.2% (male 179,541/female 184,488) `, 3% (male 9,407/female 10,561) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.61 years `- 18.35 years `. 18.87 years (2005 est.) ^6 2.91% (2005 est.) ^7 37.52 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.01 male(s)/female `+ 0.97 male(s)/female `, 0.89 male(s)/female `1 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 74.93 deaths/1,000 live births `- 83.48 deaths/1,000 live births `. 66.13 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 61.96 years `- 59.65 years `. 64.33 years (2005 est.) ^= 5.09 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.12% (2001 est.) ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Comoran(s) `3 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 `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 56.5% `- 63.6% `. 49.3% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Union of the Comoros `5 Comoros `V Union des Comores `W Comores ^H independent republic ^I Moroni ^J 3 islands; Grande Comore (Njazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Moheli (Mwali); note - there are also four municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Moutsamoudou ^K 6 July 1975 (from France) ^L Independence Day, 6 July (1975) ^M 23 December 2001 ^N French and Sharia (Islamic) law in a new consolidated code ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President AZALI Assoumani (since 26 May 2002); note - following a 1999 coup AZALI was appointed president; in January 2002 he resigned his position to run in the 14 April 2002 presidential elections; Prime Minister Hamada Madi BOLERO was appointed interim president until replaced again by AZALI in May 2002 when BOLERO was appointed Minister of External Defense and Territorial Security; the president is both the chief of state and the head of government `7 President AZALI Assoumani (since 26 May 2002); note - following a 1999 coup AZALI was appointed president; in January 2002 he resigned his position to run in the 14 April 2002 presidential elections; Prime Minister Hamada Madi BOLERO was appointed interim president until replaced again by AZALI in May 2002 when BOLERO was appointed Minister of External Defense and Territorial Security; the president is both the chief of state and the head of government `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the president `9 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 April 2002 (next to be held April 2007); prime minister appointed by the president; note - AZALI has not appointed a Prime Minister since he was sworn into office in May 2002 `: President AZALI Assoumani elected president with 75% of the vote ^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); `9 last held 18 and 25 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2009) `: NA ^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 Forces pour l'Action Republicaine or FAR [Col. Abdourazak ABDULHAMID]; Forum pour la Redressement National or FRN (alliance of 12 parties); Front Democratique or FD [Moustoifa Said CHEIKH]; Front National pour la Justice or FNJ (Islamic party in opposition) [Ahmed RACHID]; Movement des Citoyens pour la Republique or MCR [Mahamoud MRADABI]; Mouvement Populaire Anjouanais or MPA (Anjouan separatist movement) [leader NA]; Mouvement pour la Democratie et le Progress or MDP-NGDC [Abbas DJOUSSOUF]; Movement pour le Socialisme et la Democratie or MSD (splinter group of FD) [Abdou SOEFOU]; Parti Comorien pour la Democratie et le Progress or PCDP [Ali MROUDJAE]; Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND (party of the government) [Omar TAMOU, Abdoulhamid AFFRAITANE] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AMF, AU, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (observer), ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAS, NAM, OIC, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WMO ^V `N Ambassador Mahmoud M. ABOUD (ambassador to the US and Canada and permanent representative to the UN) `O (temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Union of the Comoros to the United Nations, 420 East 50th Street, New York, NY 10022 `P [1] (212) 972-8010 and 223-2711 `Q [1] (212) 983-4712 and 715-0699 ^W the US does not have an embassy in Comoros; the ambassador to Mauritius 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.) ^[ 2% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $700 (2002 est.) ^] `; 40% `< 4% `= 56% (2001 est.) ^^ 144,500 (1996 est.) ^_ agriculture 80% ^` 20% (1996 est.) ^a 60% (2002 est.) _! `> NA `? NA _" 3.5% (2001 est.) _# `@ $27.6 million `A NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2001 est.) _$ vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca) _% tourism, perfume distillation _& -2% (1999 est.) _' 23.84 million kWh (2002) _( 22.17 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 700 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $28 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) _0 vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra _1 US 43.8%, France 18.6%, Singapore 16.5%, Turkey 4.8%, Germany 4.5% (2004) _2 $88 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) _3 rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods; petroleum products, cement, transport equipment _4 France 23.5%, South Africa 11.1%, Kenya 7.5%, UAE 7.2%, Italy 4.9%, Pakistan 4.7%, Mauritius 4.2%, Singapore 4.1% (2004) _5 $232 million (2000 est.) _6 $10 million (2001 est.) _7 Comoran franc (KMF) _8 Comoran francs (KMF) per US dollar - 396.21 (2004), 435.9 (2003), 522.74 (2002), 549.78 (2001), 533.98 (2000) note: the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro _9 calendar year 
]& _: 13,200 (2003) _; 2,000 (2003) _< `B sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communication stations `C HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay `D country code - 269; HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and Reunion _= AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001) _> NA _? .km _@ 11 (2003) _A 5,000 (2003) 
]' _B `! 880 km `E 673 km `F 207 km (1999 est) _C Mayotte, Moutsamoudou _K `! 79 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 452,801 GRT/681,343 DWT by type: bulk carrier 9, cargo 55, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 1 `S 35 (Bulgaria 1, Germany 1, Greece 7, India 1, Jordan 1, Kenya 1, Lebanon 3, Nigeria 1, Norway 1, Pakistan 1, Philippines 1, Russia 2, Syria 3, Turkey 6, Ukraine 4, United Kingdom 1) (2005) _D 4 (2004 est.) _E `! 4 `G 1 `_ 3 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Comoran Security Force _] males age 18-49: 138,940 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 98,792 (2005 est.) _N $11.6 million (2004) _O 3% (2004) 
]) _H claims French-administered Mayotte 