Comoros

Union des Comores (French)

Political Status: Former French dependency; proclaimed independent July 6, 1975; Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros proclaimed in constitution approved by national referendum on October 1, 1978; constitution of October 20, 1996, suspended following military coup of April 30, 1999; new constitution providing for the Union of the Comoros adopted by national referendum on December 23, 2001.

Area: 718 sq. mi. (1,860 sq. km), excluding the island of Mahoré (Mayotte), which voted in 1976 to retain its affiliation with France as a “Territorial Collectivity,” subsequently became classified as a French “Overseas Collectivity,” and in 2009 voted to extend its relationship further by becoming an “Overseas Department” (achieved in March 2011).

Population: 897,000 (2020E—World Bank); 846,281 (2020E—U.S. Census). Excludes residents of Mayotte ...