Comoros

Overview

The Comoros is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast of East Africa, between Madagascar and Mozambique, made up of three main islands: Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli. France administered the territory as a colony until 1975, and since then the country's political history has been marked by extraordinary instability, with dozens of successful or attempted military coups, making the Comoros one of the most coup-prone nations in the world. The official languages are French, Arabic, and Comorian, and the majority of the population is Muslim, reflecting a blend of East African, Arab, and Malagasy cultural influences.

Note: The Comoros archipelago consists of four main islands, three of which (Grande Comore, Anjouan, and Mohéli) make up the independent Union of the Comoros, while the fourth, Mayotte, forms a separate administrative unit as a French overseas department, which the Union of the Comoros continues to claim as its own territory.

Moroni, the capital on Grande Comore, with its Arab-style old town and the Ancienne Mosquée, one of the country's oldest mosques, serves as the archipelago's commercial and cultural center. Mount Karthala, on Grande Comore, is one of the largest active volcanoes in Africa, and the trail leading to its crater is one of the island's main natural attractions. Anjouan, with its terraced hillside plantations growing mainly ylang-ylang, cloves, and vanilla, is a center of the country's agricultural heritage. Mohéli, the smallest and least developed of the three main islands, with its unspoiled marine protected area, is one of the least-visited yet ecologically richest regions of the Comoros.

The Comoros' coral reefs and clear waters offer excellent diving opportunities, and the coastal waters are home to sea turtles as well as the coelacanth, a rare living fossil fish long believed extinct before being rediscovered near the Comoros in 1938. Mohéli Marine Park, the country's first marine protected area, is known as a nesting site for sea turtles and a habitat for dolphins. The rainforests around Mount Karthala are home to endemic bird species, including the Comoro flying fox. Local cuisine blends French, Arab, African, and Indian influences, with lobster dishes and spiced coconut milk stews as signature items, while Comorian ylang-ylang and vanilla remain internationally known exports.