marine: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 330,316 GRT/484,351 DWT; includes 23 cargo, 1 chemical tanker, 3 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8 bulk; note—2 naval tankers are sometimes used commercially
_#_Civil air: 106 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 1,165 total, 1,045 usable; 69 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 8 with runways 2,440–3,659 m; 192 with runways 1,220–2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: nationwide radio relay system; 1,890,000 telephones; stations—413 AM, no FM, 33 TV, 28 shortwave 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations with 2 antennas and 11 domestic satellite stations
_*Defense Forces #_Branches: Army (Ejercito Nacional), Navy (Armada Nacional), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de Colombia), National Police (Policia Nacional)
_#_Manpower availability: males 15–49, 8,998,759; 6,102,745 fit for military service; 353,122 reach military age (18) annually
_#Defense expenditures: $892 million, 2.2% of GDP (1990) % @Comoros *Geography #_Total area: 2,170 km2; land area: 2,170 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC
_#_Land boundaries: none
_#_Coastline: 340 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
_#_Disputes: claims French-administered Mayotte
_#_Climate: tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
_#_Terrain: volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills
_#_Natural resources: negligible
_#_Land use: arable land 35%; permanent crops 8%; meadows and pastures 7%; forest and woodland 16%; other 34%
_#_Environment: soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; cyclones possible during rainy season
_#_Note: important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel
_*People #_Population: 476,678 (July 1991), growth rate 3.5% (1991)
_#_Birth rate: 47 births/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Death rate: 12 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
_#_Infant mortality rate: 87 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
_#_Life expectancy at birth: 54 years male, 59 years female (1991)
_#_Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1991)
_#_Nationality: noun—Comoran(s); adjective—Comoran
_#_Ethnic divisions: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
_#_Religion: Sunni Muslim 86%, Roman Catholic 14%
_#_Language: Shaafi Islam (a Swahili dialect), Malagasy, French
_#_Literacy: 48% (male 56%, female 40%) age 15 and over can read and write (1980)
_#_Labor force: 140,000 (1982); agriculture 80%, government 3%; 51% of population of working age (1985)
_#_Organized labor: NA
_*Government #_Long-form name: Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros
_#_Type: independent republic
_#_Capital: Moroni
_#_Administrative divisions: 3 islands; Anjouan, Grande Comore, Moheli; note—there may also be 4 municipalities named Domoni, Fomboni, Moroni, and Mutsamudu
_#_Independence: 6 July 1975 (from France)
_#_Constitution: 1 October 1978, amended October 1982 and January 1985
_#_Legal system: French and Muslim law in a new consolidated code
_#_National holiday: Independence Day, 6 July (1975)
_#_Executive branch: president, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
_#_Legislative branch: unicameral Federal Assembly (Assemblee Federale)
_#_Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Cour Supreme)
_#_Leaders:
Chief of State and Head of Government—President Said
Mohamed DJOHAR (since 11 March 1990)
_#_Political parties:
Comoran Union for Progress (Udzima), Said Mohamed DJOHAR, president;
National Union for Democracy (UNDC), Mohamed TAKI
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
President—last held 11 March 1990 (next to be held March 1996); results—Said Mohamed DJOHAR (Udzima) 55%; Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim (UNDC) 45%;
Federal Assembly—last held 22 March 1987 (next to be held March 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(42 total) Udzima 42
_#_Member of: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Amini Ali MOUMIN; Chancery (temporary) at the Comoran Permanent Mission to the UN, 336 East 45th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017; telephone (212) 972–8010;
US—Ambassador Kenneth N. PELTIER; Embassy at address NA, Moroni (mailing address B. P. 1318, Moroni); telephone 73–22-03, 73–29-22
_#_Flag: green with a white crescent placed diagonally (closed side of the crescent points to the upper hoist-side corner of the flag); there are four white five-pointed stars placed in a line between the points of the crescent; the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam; the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago—Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mayotte (which is a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by the Comoros)
_*Economy #_Overview: One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of several islands that have poor transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a low level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes about 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production, and rice, the main staple, accounts for 90% of imports. During the period 1982–86 the industrial sector grew at an annual average rate of 5.3%, but its contribution to GDP was only 5% in 1988. Despite major investment in the tourist industry, which accounts
