AN ARCHIPELAGO OF four islands in the Indian Ocean, the Comoros Islands have a land area of 838 sq mi. (2,235 sq. Ion.), with a population of 798,000 (2005 est.), and a population density of 710 people per sq. mi. (275 people per sq. km.), the highest population density of any African country. The Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros, formerly a French colony, has 3.5 percent arable land, with an additional 7 percent used for meadows and pasture. Some 16 percent of the land area is forested, with a timber industry operating on the island of Njazidja.

The country is relatively poor and undeveloped, and even though it has a burgeoning tourism industry, it has a very low carbon dioxide emissions, with less than 0.1 ...