Comoros

arable land:

35%

permanent crops:

10%

permanent pastures:

7%

forests and woodland :

18%

other:

30% (1993 est.)

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

Desertification

0-14 years:

42% (male 112,404; female 111,936)

15-64 years:

55% (male 142,604; female 146,382) 65 years and over : 3% (male 7,432; female 8,135) (July 1997 est.)

at birth :

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.91 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

total population:

59.88 years

male :

57.52 years

female:

62.32 years (1997 est.)

noun:

Comoran(s)

adjective:

Comoran

conventional long form :

Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros

conventional short form:

Comoros

local long form:

Republique Federale Islamique des Comores

local short form:

Comores

chief of state:

President Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim (since 16 March 1996)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ahmed ABDOU (since 27 December 1996)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the president

elections:

• president elected by popular vote to a five-year term;
• election last held 16 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2001);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim elected president; share of vote - 64%

• Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND [Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim], party of the government;
• Front National pour la Justice or FNJ, Islamic party in opposition

note: under a new constitution ratified in October 1996, a two party system was established; President Mohamed TAKI Abdulkarim called for all parties to dissolve and join him in creating the RND;

the Constitution stipulates that only parties that win six seats in the Federal Assembly (two from each island) are permitted to be in opposition, but if no party accomplishes that the second most successful party will be in opposition; in the elections of December 1996 the FNJ appeared to qualify as opposition

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant) Charge d'Affaires ad interim Mahmoud M. ABOUD (ambassador to the US and Canada)

chancery:

(temporary) care of the Permanent Mission of the Federal and Islamic Republic of the Comoros to the United Nations, 336 East 45th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10017

telephone:

[1] (212) 972-8010

• green with a white crescent in the center of the field, its points facing downward;
• 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 (a territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros);
• the design, the most recent of several, is described in the constitution approved by referendum on 7 June 1992

total value:

$11.2 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)

commodities:

vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra

partners:

France 54%, Germany 18%, US 18%

total value:

$40.9 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)

commodities:

rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods; petroleum products, cement, transport equipment

partners:

France 60%, South Africa 10%, Kenya 5%, Singapore 4%

total:

875 km

paved:

669 km

unpaved :

206 km (1995 est.)