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                      | Comoros Facts and Figures |  | from |  | Encarta |  |  |  | 
              
                | Basic Facts | 
              
                | Official name | Union of 
              Comoros | 
              
                |  | 
                | Capital | Moroni | 
              
                |  | 
                | Area | 1,862 sq km | 
              
                |  | 719 sq mi | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
              
                | People | 
              
                | Population | 632,948 (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Population 
              growth | 
              
                | Population growth rate | 2.96 percent (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Projected population in 
                2025 | 1,127,194 (2025 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Projected population in 
                2050 | 1,835,099 (2050 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Population density | 340 persons per sq 
                  km (2003 estimate) | 
              
                |  | 880 persons per sq 
                  mi (2003 estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Urban/rural 
                  distribution | 
              
                | Share urban | 34 percent (2001 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Share rural | 66 percent (2001 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Largest cities, with 
                  population | 
              
                | Moroni | 44,000 (1999 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Ethnic groups | 
              
                | Mixed African, Arab, and 
                  Malagasy descent | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Languages | 
              
                | Arabic (official), French 
                  (official), Shimasiwa (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Religious 
                affiliations | 
              
                | Muslim (largely Sunni) | 98 percent | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Roman Catholic | 1 percent | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Other | 1 percent | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Health and Education | 
              
                | Life expectancy | 
              
                | Total | 61.2 years (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Female | 63.5 years (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Male | 58.9 years (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Infant mortality rate | 80 deaths per 
                  1,000 live births (2003 estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Population per physician | 11,108 people 
                  (1999) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Population per hospital bed | 362 people 
                (1990) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Literacy rate | 
              
                | Total | 56.5 percent (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Female | 49.3 percent (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Male | 63.6 percent (2003 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Education expenditure as a 
                  share of gross national product (GNP) | 3.5 percent 
                  (1999-2000) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Number of years of compulsory 
                  schooling | 8 years 
              (2000) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Number of students per teacher, 
                  primary school | 35 students per 
                  teacher (1998-1999) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Government | 
              
                | Form of government | Republic | 
              
                |  | 
                | Voting qualifications | Universal at age 
                18 | 
              
                |  | 
                | Constitution | New constitution 
                  came into force 23 December 2001 | 
              
                |  | 
                | Armed forces | 
              
                | Total number of military 
                  personnel | Not 
available | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Military expenditures as a 
                  share of gross domestic product (GDP) | Not 
available | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Economy | 
              
                | Gross domestic product (GDP, in 
                  U.S.$) | $221 million 
                (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                | GDP per capita (U.S.$) | $390 (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                | GDP by economic 
                sector | 
              
                | Agriculture, forestry, 
                  fishing | 40.9 percent 
                (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Industry | 11.1 percent 
                (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Services | 48 percent 
                (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Employment | 
              
                | Number of workers | 262,268 
              (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Workforce share of 
                  economic sector | 
              
                | Agriculture, forestry, 
                  fishing | 77 percent 
                (1990) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Industry | 9 percent 
              (1990) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Services | 13 percent 
                (1990) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Unemployment rate | Not 
available | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | National budget 
                  (U.S.$) | 
              
                | Total revenue | $83 million (1992 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Total expenditure | $92 million (1992 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Monetary unit | 
              
                | 1 Comorian franc (CF), 
                  consisting of 100 centimes | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Major trade partners 
                  for exports | 
              
                | France, United States, 
                  Singapore, Netherlands, and Germany | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Major trade partners 
                  for imports | 
              
                | France, South Africa, United 
                  Arab Emirates, Kenya, and Thailand | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Energy, Communications, and 
                  Transportation | 
              
                | Electricity 
                production | 
              
                | Electricity from thermal 
                  sources | 90.60 percent 
                  (2001 estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Electricity from 
                  hydroelectric sources | 9.40 percent (2001 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Electricity from nuclear 
                  sources | 0 percent (2001 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Electricity from geothermal, 
                  solar, and wind sources | 0 percent (2001 
                  estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Number of radios per 1,000 
                  people | 141 (1997) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Number of telephones per 1,000 
                  people | 12 (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Number of televisions per 1,000 
                  people | 4.9 (1998 
                estimate) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Number of Internet hosts per 
                  10,000 people | 0.15 (2001) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Daily newspaper circulation per 
                  1,000 people | Not 
available | 
              
                |  | 
                | Number of motor vehicles per 
                  1,000 people | 28 (1997) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Paved road as a share of total 
                  roads | 77 percent 
                (1999) | 
              
                |  | 
                | Sources | 
              
                | Basic Facts and 
                  People sections | 
              
                | Area data are from the 
                  statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, 
                  population growth rate, and population projections are from 
                  the United States Census Bureau, International Programs 
                  Center, International Data Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban 
                  and rural population data are from the Food and Agriculture 
                  Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), FAOSTAT 
                  database (www.fao.org). Largest cities population data and 
                  political divisions data are from the statistical bureaus of 
                  individual countries. Ethnic divisions and religion data are 
                  largely from the latest Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) 
                  World Factbook and from various country censuses and 
                  reports. Language data are largely from the Ethnologue, 
                  Languages of the World, Summer Institute of Linguistics 
                  International (www.sil.org). | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Health and Education 
                  section | 
              
                | Life expectancy and infant 
                  mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau, 
                  International Programs Center, International database (IDB) 
                  (www.census.gov). Population per physician and population per 
                  hospital bed data are from the World Health Organization (WHO) 
                  (www.who.int). Education data are from the United Nations 
                  Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 
                  database (www.unesco.org). | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Government 
              section | 
              
                | Government, independence, 
                  legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting 
                  qualifications data are largely from various government Web 
                  sites, the latest Europa World Yearbook, and the latest 
                  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Factbook. The 
                  armed forces data is from Military Balance. | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Economy section | 
              
                | Gross domestic product (GDP), 
                  GDP per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and 
                  national budget data are from the World Bank database 
                  (www.worldbank.org). Monetary unit, agriculture, mining, 
                  manufacturing, exports, imports, and major trade partner 
                  information is from the latest Europa World Yearbook 
                  and various International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Energy, 
                  Communication, and Transportation section | 
              
                | Electricity information is from 
                  the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database 
                  (www.eia.doe.gov). Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper 
                  information is from the United Nations Educational, Scientific 
                  and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). 
                  Internet hosts, motor vehicles, and road data are from the 
                  World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). | 
              
                |  | 
                |  | 
                | Note | 
              
                | Figures may not total 100 
                  percent due to rounding. | 
              
                |  | 
                |  |