The history of the Comoros goes back some 1,500 years. The Comoros have been inhabited by various groups throughout this time. France colonised the islands in the 19th century, and they became independent in 1975.
Politics of the Union of the Comoros takes place in a framework of a federal presidential republic, whereby the President of the Comoros is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.
Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France officially named the Department of Mayotte. It consists of a main island, Grande-Terre, a smaller island, Petite-Terre, and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeast Africa, between northwestern Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique. The department status of Mayotte is recent and the region remains, by a significant margin, the poorest in France. Mayotte is nevertheless much more prosperous than the other countries of the Mozambique Channel, making it a major destination for illegal immigration.
The Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. The Comoros, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) per capita income of about $700, is among the world's poorest and least developed nations. Although the quality of the land differs from island to island, most of the widespread lava-encrusted soil formations are unsuited to agriculture. As a result, most of the inhabitants make their living from subsistence agriculture and fishing. Average wages in 2007 hover around $3–4 per day.
Anjouan is an autonomous high island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the Union of the Comoros. Its chief town is Mutsamudu and, as of 2006, its population is around 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 square kilometers.
Moroni is the largest city, federal capital and seat of the government of the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. In Comorian, Moroni translates as "in the heart of the fire", perhaps alluding to the city's location at the foot of Mount Karthala, an active volcano. Moroni is the capital of the semi-autonomous island Grande Comore, the largest of the three main islands of the republic. The city's estimated population in 2003 was 41,557 residents. Moroni, which lies along the Route Nationale 1, has a port and several mosques such as the Badjanani Mosque.
Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was a scheduled flight serving the route Addis Ababa–Nairobi–Brazzaville–Lagos–Abidjan. On 23 November 1996, the aircraft serving the flight, a Boeing 767-200ER, was hijacked en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi by three Ethiopians seeking asylum in Australia. The plane crash-landed in the Indian Ocean near Grande Comore, Comoros Islands, due to fuel exhaustion; 125 of the 175 passengers and crew on board, including the three hijackers, died. The only (partially) successful ditching of a wide-body airliner in history, the crash was captured on video.
The Comoro Islands or Comoros form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the south-east coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and north-west of Madagascar. The islet of Banc du Geyser and the Glorioso Islands are part of the archipelago. The islands are politically divided between Union of the Comoros and two territories of France : the region of Mayotte and the Glorioso Islands, a part of the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.
The Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean consist of four small coral islands, an atoll, and a reef in the Indian Ocean, and have constituted the 5th district of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF) since February 2007. They have never had a permanent population. Two of the islands—Juan de Nova and Europa—and the Bassas da India atoll lie in the Mozambique Channel west of Madagascar, while a third island, Tromelin, lies about 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Madagascar and the Glorioso Islands lies about 200 kilometres (120 mi) northwest of Madagascar. Also in the Mozambique Channel is the Banc du Geyser, a reef under French control claimed by Madagascar since 1976. France and the Comoros view the Banc du Geyser as part of the Glorioso Islands.
Aïssa Djabir Saïd-Guerni is a retired Algerian athlete who competed in the 800 metres. He competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics in the 800 metres, He was also the flag bearer for Algeria at both these games.
The Comoros national football team is the national football team of Comoros, which is controlled by the Comoros Football Federation. It was formed in 1979, joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2003, and became a FIFA member in 2005.
The unicameral Assembly of the Union of the Comoros is the country's legislative body.
The association football tournament at the Indian Ocean Island Games which is organised every 4 years for the Islands in the Indian Ocean.
Christianity in the Comoros is a minority religion. Roman Catholics in the Comoros number about 4,300 persons ; Protestants number about 1,678. In 2006 four persons were detained in the town of Moroni in the Comoros. The constitution guarantees religious liberty, although Christians are not allowed to witness publicly, and are subject to the denial of many civil rights, putting them at a societal disadvantage. There are foreign religious groups that take part in humanitarian action in the Comoros. They do not engage in proselytizing there, however. Religious groups do not have a duty to register.
Presidential elections were held in the Comoros on 7 November 2010, with a second round on 26 December, alongside gubernatorial elections for the three main islands. The result was a victory for Ikililou Dhoinine, who received 61% of the vote.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Comoros on 8 and 15 December 1978, following the adoption of a new constitution in a referendum in October. All candidates ran as independents. Following the election, Salim Ben Ali was appointed Prime Minister on 22 December, and a government was formed on 28 December.
