Population:
846,281
(July 2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
163
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Comoran(s)
adjective:
Comoran
Ethnic groups:
Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Languages:
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (official; a blend of Swahili and Arabic) (Comorian)
Religions:
Sunni Muslim 98%, other (including Shia Muslim, Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant) 2%
note: Sunni Islam is the state religion
Demographic profile:
Comoros’ population is a melange of Arabs, Persians, Indonesians, Africans, and Indians, and the much smaller number of Europeans that settled on the islands between the 8th and 19th centuries, when they served as a regional trade hub. The Arab and Persian influence is most evident in the islands’ overwhelmingly Muslim majority – about 98% of Comorans are Sunni Muslims. The country is densely populated, averaging nearly 350 people per square mile, although this varies widely among the islands, with Anjouan being the most densely populated.
Given the large share of land dedicated to agriculture and Comoros’ growing population, habitable land is becoming increasingly crowded. The combination of increasing population pressure on limited land and resources, widespread poverty, and poor job prospects motivates thousands of Comorans each year to attempt to illegally migrate using small fishing boats to the neighboring island of Mayotte, which is a French territory. The majority of legal Comoran migration to France came after Comoros’ independence from France in 1975, with the flow peaking in the mid-1980s.
At least 150,000 to 200,000 people of Comoran citizenship or descent live abroad, mainly in France, where they have gone seeking a better quality of life, job opportunities, higher education (Comoros has no universities), advanced health care, and to finance elaborate traditional wedding ceremonies (aada). Remittances from the diaspora are an economic mainstay, in 2013 representing approximately 25% of Comoros’ GDP and significantly more than the value of its exports of goods and services (only 15% of GDP). Grand Comore, Comoros’ most populous island, is both the primary source of emigrants and the main recipient of remittances. Most remittances are spent on private consumption, but this often goes toward luxury goods and the aada and does not contribute to economic development or poverty reduction. Although the majority of the diaspora is now French-born with more distant ties to Comoros, it is unclear whether they will sustain the current level of remittances.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 36.68%
(male 154,853/female 155,602)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 20.75%
(male 85,208/female 90,422)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 33.99%
(male 136,484/female 151,178)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 4.49%
(male 17,237/female 20,781)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 4.08%
(male 15,437/female 19,079)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Comoros. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 75.5
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 70.5
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.1
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 19.7
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 20.9 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 20.2 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 21.5 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
189
Population growth rate:
1.47%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
73
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
23.6 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
52
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
6.9 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
130
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
-2.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
169
[see also: Net migration rate 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
Urbanization:
urban population: 29.2% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.87% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
62,000 MORONI (capital)
(2018)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.9 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.83 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 93.6 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
24.6 years
(2012 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
273 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
40
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 55 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 64.8 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 45.1 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
17
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.7 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 63.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 68.1 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
191
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
2.95 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
53
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
19.4%
(2012)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 92.6% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 89.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 90.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 7.4% of population
rural: 10.9% of population
total: 9.9% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
7.6%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.17 physicians/1,000 population
(2012)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
2.2 beds/1,000 population
(2010)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 48.3% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 30.9% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 35.8% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 51.7% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 69.1% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 64.2% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
<.1%
(2018 est.)
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
<200
(2018 est.)
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
<100
(2018 est.)
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
7.8%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
157
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
16.9%
(2012)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
35
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
2.5% of GDP
(2015)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
160
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77.8%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 81.8%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 73.7%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
(2014)
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 People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Comoros People 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