Mayotte

Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France in the Mozambique Channel, between Madagascar and the coast of Mozambique. Mamoudzou on Grande-Terre is the largest city and seat of the prefecture, French is the official language, and most people speak Shimaore or the Malagasy language Kibushi at home.

The territory consists of the main island of Grande-Terre, also called Maore, the smaller Petite-Terre, where the airport lies, and several islets. A coral reef 160 km (99 mi) long encloses a lagoon of about 1,100 km² (420 sq mi), one of the largest and deepest anywhere. People from nearby East Africa settled the islands first, and Arab traders later brought Islam, which most of the population follows. A sultanate was founded in 1500.

In the 19th century Andriantsoly, the former king of Iboina on Madagascar, conquered Mayotte and in 1841 sold it to France, which brought in laborers for the plantations. When the neighboring Comoros voted for independence in 1974, Mayotte chose to stay French, and after a referendum in March 2009 it became the 101st department of France on 31 March 2011.

Mayotte became an outermost region of the European Union on 1 January 2014 and uses the euro. It is one of the most densely populated parts of France, its population grows quickly, and half of the residents were under 17 in 2019. Mount Bénara on Grande-Terre, the highest point, reaches 660 m (2,165 ft), and a forest reserve protects the last primary forest on its peaks. Vanilla, coffee and fragrant plants such as ylang-ylang replaced sugar on the old plantations.