The Comoros archipelago is situated at the northern entrance to the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, about 200 kilometres north-west of Madagascar and 300 kilometres from the coast of Africa. Three of the four islands in the archipelago, Njazidja, Nzwani and Mwali, constitute the Union of the Comoros, which has been an independent state since 1975. The status of the fourth island, Mayotte, is moot: in the 1974 referendum, the island voted to remain under French administration, but it is still claimed by the Union of the Comoros and the choice is not recognized by the United Nations or the African Union. According to the World Bank, the population of the Union of the Comoros was estimated at about 588,000 in 2004, with an annual growth rate of 2.1 per cent. The average population density is 264 per square kilometre, but it is unevenly distributed over the islands. Nzwani is by far the most densely populated, with some areas having 1,000 people per square kilometre. The average household size is 6.3 people.

The agricultural sector
The country’s economy is very much dominated by agriculture, which involves more than 70 per cent of the population and accounts for 41 per cent of the gross domestic product. The Comorians basically practise subsistence agriculture and their income comes mainly from three cash crops: ylang-ylang of which they are the world’s chief exporter, vanilla and cloves. Income from these crops has, however, declined in recent years as prices on the international market have fallen. Lastly, despite significant food crop production, only 60 per cent of the people’s needs are met, obliging the Government to import large quantities of foodstuffs and contributing to a severe nutritional imbalance among the rural poor.

The Comorian economy
Apart from the agricultural sector, the Comorian economy depends basically on commercial activities connected with importing and services. The costs of inter-island and international transport, geographical isolation and the restricted size of the domestic market are all handicaps for development of the economy. The tourism industry is still a hope for many Comorians, especially on Mwali, where protection of the land and sea environment severely restricts agricultural and fishing activities.

Until 2004 the country had a negative growth rate, but this has subsequently been reversed. According to World Bank estimates, the gross national income per capita was US$560 in 2004. Successive political crises have severely hampered the country’s economic development.

However, remittances from Comorians abroad, mainly in France, Mayotte and Réunion, have allowed consumption and savings expenditure to be maintained, especially on Njazidja and Nzwani, and play an important economic role. According to World Bank estimates, remittances were 30.5 million euros in 2002, equivalent to the total national budget or 15 per cent of the gross domestic product. About 200,000 Comorians live abroad.

Debt servicing is, however, still an obstacle to development. The net value of the national debt is almost 72 per cent of the gross domestic product and represents 573 per cent of the country’s export earnings. This percentage is much higher than the threshold of 150 per cent established by the World Bank’s Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Relief Initiative, and the completion point will certainly not be reached before mid-2007.

Source: IFAD

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