East Africa

Comoros

Southern Africa, group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique.

Muslim population98.1%of the population

Population944,388people (current)

CapitalMoroniUTC+3

Currency455 = $1Comoran francs (KMF) (2024)

Country basics

The Comoros is an archipelago republic in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar.

The Comoros is a union of three islands with Moroni as its capital and Comorian, Arabic and French as official languages, while France administers a fourth. The franc is pegged to the euro, and cloves and vanilla lead its exports.

Official name

Union of the Comoros

Region

Africa · Eastern Africa

Government

Federal presidential republic

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+03:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+269

Currency

Comorian franc (KMF, Fr)

Member of

Arab League; UN; African Union

Website

https://www.beit-salam.km

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim 98.1% (overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, small Shia Muslim and Ahmadiyya Muslim populations), ethnic religionist 1.1%, Christian 0.6%, other 0.3%

Languages

Arabic; French; Ngazidja Comorian

People and cities

Population

944,388 (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

23.1 years (2025)

Living in cities

30.1% (2023)

Largest cities

Moroni (capital) 62,000

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

455 Comoran francs (KMF) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$3,600 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

1% (2017)

Unemployment

3.9% (2024)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

67.8 years (2024)

Doctors

0.42 per 1,000 people (2022)

Safe drinking water

91% of people

Electricity

89.9% of people (2022)

Internet users

36% of people (2023)

Literacy

75.8% of adults (2021)

Land and climate

Climate

Tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)

SizeSlightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, D.C.

1,862 sq km

Natural hazards

Cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); volcanic activity on Grand Comore volcanism: Karthala (2,361 m) on Grand Comore Island last erupted in 2007; a 2005 eruption forced thousands of people to be evacuated and produced a large ash cloud

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 July (1975)