Location:
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
Geographic coordinates:
12 10 S, 44 15 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 2,235 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 2,235 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 0 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
180
Area - comparative:
slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC
Area comparison map:
slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
340 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
exclusive economic zone: 200
nm
[see also: Maritime claims - exclusive economic zone country ranks ]
Climate:
tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)
More Climate Details
Terrain:
volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills
Elevation:
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Karthala 2,360 m
Natural resources:
fish
Land use:
agricultural land: 84.4%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 46.7%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 29.6%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 8.1%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 1.4%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 14.2%
(2011 est.)
[see also: Land use country ranks ]
Irrigated land:
1.3 sq km
(2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]
Population distribution:
the capital city of Maroni, located on the western side of the island of Grande Comore, is the country's largest city; however, of the three islands that comprise Comoros, it is Anjouan that is the most densely populated
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
Environment - current issues:
deforestation; soil degradation and erosion results from forest loss and from crop cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; marine biodiversity affected as soil erosion leads to the silting of coral reefs
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Comoros on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Comoros Geography 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Comoros Geography 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20