Overview

One of the world's poorest countries, 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. Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, is the leading sector of the economy. It contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. The government is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, to privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, to improve health services, to diversify exports, to promote tourism, and to reduce the high population growth rate. Continued foreign support is essential if the goal of 4% annual GDP growth is to be met. Species References ITIS 41975 2002-09-22 Rice (genus Oryza) is a plant of the grass family which is a dietary staple of more than half of the worlds human population. ...

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. In economics, the gross domestic product (GDP) is a measure of the amount of the economic production of a particular territory in financial capital terms during a specific time period. ... The per capita income for a group of people may be defined as their total personal income, divided by the number of people. ... Lava is molten rock that a volcano expels during an eruption. ... Fishing from a Pier Fishing is a term applied to any activity which aims to capture fish or shellfish for subsistence, scientific, commercial or recreational purposes. ...

Agriculture, involving more than 80% of the population and 40% of the gross domestic product, provides virtually all foreign exchange earnings. Services including tourism, construction, and commercial activities constitute the remainder of the GDP. Plantations engage a large proportion of the population in producing the islands' major cash crops for export: vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, and copra. Comoros is the world's leading producer of essence of ylang-ylang, used in manufacturing perfume. It also is the world's second-largest producer of vanilla, after Madagascar. Principal food crops are coconuts, bananas, and cassava. Foodstuffs constitute 32% of total imports. Vanilla is a flavoring, in its pure form known as vanillin, derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla. ... This article is about spices, the word clove is also used to describe a segment of a head of garlic and a clove hitch is a useful kind of knot. ... Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, a fixative, and alcohol used to give parts of the human body and sometimes other objects a long-lasting and pleasant smell. ... Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. ... Binomial nomenclature Cananga odorata Ylang-ylang is the flower of the cananga tree. ... Binomial name Cocos nucifera L. Also a song by Harry Nilsson The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). ... Species Hybrid origin; see text A banana is a tree-like plant (though strictly a herb) of the genus Musa in the family Musaceae, closely related to plantains. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz Cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta; also yuca in Spanish, and mandioca, aipim, or macaxeira in Portuguese) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. ...

The country lacks the infrastructure necessary for development. Some villages are not linked to the main road system or at best are connected by tracks usable only by four-wheel-drive vehicles. The islands' ports are rudimentary, although a deepwater facility was recently completed on Anjouan. Only small vessels can approach the existing quays in Moroni on Grande Comore, despite recent improvements. Long-distance, ocean-going ships must lie offshore and be unloaded by smaller boats; during the cyclone season, this procedure is dangerous, and ships are reluctant to call at the island. Most freight is sent first to Mombasa or Réunion and transshipped from there. Moroni is the largest city of the Comores and since 1962 has also been its capital. ... Map of Grande Comore. ... In meteorology, a cyclone is the rotation of a volume of air about an area of low atmospheric pressure. ... Mombasa is the second largest city in Kenya. ...

France, Comoros' major trading partner, finances small projects only. The United States receives a growing percentage of Comoros' exports but supplies only a negligible fraction of its imports (less than 1%).

Comoros has an international airport at Hahaya on Grande Comore. It is a member of the franc zone with an exchange rate of 491.9677 Comorian francs (KMF) = 1 [Euro]. The Comorian franc (ISO 4217 currency code KMF) is the official currency of the nation of Comoros. ...

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity - $410 million (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0% (1998 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $725 (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 5%
services: 55% (1997 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4% (1998)

Labor force: 144,500 (1996 est.)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 80%, government 3%

Unemployment rate: 20% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $48 million
expenditures: $53 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997)

Industries: tourism, perfume distillation, textiles, furniture, jewelry, construction materials, soft drinks

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - production: 15 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 86.67%
hydro: 13.33%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 14 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: vanilla, cloves, perfume essences, copra, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca) Vanilla is a flavoring, in its pure form known as vanillin, derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla. ... Binomial name Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill & Perry Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree (Syzygium aromaticum, sometimes included in the genus Eugenia) in the family Myrtaceae. ... Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. ... Binomial name Cocos nucifera L. Also a song by Harry Nilsson The Coconut Palm (Cocos nucifera), is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). ... Species Hybrid origin; see text A banana is a tree-like plant (though strictly a herb) of the genus Musa in the family Musaceae, closely related to plantains. ... Binomial name Manihot esculenta Crantz Cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta; also yuca in Spanish, and mandioca, aipim, or macaxeira in Portuguese) is a woody perennial shrub of the spurge family, that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop for its edible starchy tuberous root. ... Tapioca is an essentially flavourless starchy ingredient, or fecula, produced from treated and dried cassava (manioc) root and used in cooking. ...

Exports: $9.3 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports - commodities: vanilla, ylang-ylang, cloves, perfume oil, copra Vanilla is a flavoring, in its pure form known as vanillin, derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla. ... Binomial nomenclature Cananga odorata Ylang-ylang is the flower of the cananga tree. ... Binomial name Syzygium aromaticum (L.) Merrill & Perry Cloves are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree (Syzygium aromaticum, sometimes included in the genus Eugenia) in the family Myrtaceae. ... Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. ...

Exports - partners: France 43%, United States 43%, Germany 7% (1997)

Imports: $49.5 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Imports - commodities: rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods; petroleum products, cement, transport equipment Species References ITIS 41975 2002-09-22 Rice (genus Oryza) is a plant of the grass family which is a dietary staple of more than half of the worlds human population. ... In the general sense, a cement (Latin caementum) is any material with adhesive properties. ...

Imports - partners: France 59%, South Africa 15%, Kenya 6% (1997)

Debt - external: $197 million (1997 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $28.1 million (1997)

Currency: 1 Comorian franc (CF) The Comorian franc (ISO 4217 currency code KMF) is the official currency of the nation of Comoros. ...

Exchange rates: Comorian francs (CF) per US$1 - 485.44 (January 2000), 461.77 (1999), 442.46 (1998), 437.75 (1997), 383.66 (1996), 374.36 (1995)
note: prior to January 1999, the official rate was pegged to the French franc at 75 CFs per French franc; since January 1, 1999, the CF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comorian francs per euro January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Fiscal year: calendar year

External links

• Letter of Intent and a Memorandum of Economic Policies of the government of Union of the Comoros PDF file