Comoros

The Comoros are a volcanic island country in the Indian Ocean, at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel. Moroni on Grande Comore is the capital and largest city, Islam is the state religion, and Comorian, French and Arabic are the official languages.

Austronesian seafarers reached the islands no later than the 8th century, followed by Bantu speakers from East Africa and Arab traders. A local legend tells of an envoy, Mtswa-Mwindza, who traveled to Mecca and came home to build a mosque in Ntsaweni. From around 1500 the Sultanate of Anjouan led the islands, while rival sultans shared Grande Comore. France took Mayotte in 1841, placed Mohéli and Grande Comore under protection in 1886 and joined all four islands under the governor of Madagascar in 1908.

The parliament declared independence on 6 July 1975, with Ahmed Abdallah as first president, but Mayotte voted to stay French and France still governs it, while the Comoros keep their claim. It is a federal presidential republic whose president leads both state and government, and each island has its own governor.

The three islands cover 1,659 km² (641 sq mi), and Mount Karthala, an active volcano on Grande Comore, rises to 2,361 m (7,746 ft). Most people work on the land, and exports rest on vanilla, cinnamon, cloves and ylang-ylang, a flower whose oil goes into perfumes. In 1952 a coelacanth, a fish once thought long extinct, was caught off the coast, and the waters are now protected in a national park. The name comes from the Arabic for Islands of the Moon, and in 2026 the historic sultanates of the islands were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.