Comoros People - 2023
SOURCE: 2023 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Population
888,378 (2023 est.)
Nationality
noun: Comoran(s)
adjective: Comoran
Ethnic groups
Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Languages
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (official; similar to Swahili) (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: 33.45% (male 148,485/female 148,651)
15-64 years: 62% (male 264,023/female 286,805)
65 years and over: 4.55% (2023 est.) (male 17,696/female 22,718)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio: 74.1
youth dependency ratio: 66.6
elderly dependency ratio: 7.5
potential support ratio: 13.3 (2021 est.)
Median age
total: 20.9 years
male: 20.2 years
female: 21.5 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate
1.34% (2023 est.)
Birth rate
22.06 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate
6.49 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Net migration rate
-2.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
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 as shown in this population distribution map
Urbanization
urban population: 30.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas - population
62,000 MORONI (capital) (2018)
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth
23 years (2012 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Maternal mortality ratio
217 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 56.01 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 66.02 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 45.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 67.5 years
male: 65.2 years
female: 69.87 years (2023 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.69 children born/woman (2023 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.33 (2023 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
19.4% (2012)
Drinking water source
improved: urban: 97.4% of population
rural: 88.5% of population
total: 91% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.6% of population
rural: 11.5% of population
total: 8.9% of population (2017 est.)
Current health expenditure
5.4% of GDP (2020)
Physicians density
0.26 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban: 62.4% of population
rural: 43.6% of population
total: 49% of population
unimproved: urban: 37.6% of population
rural: 56.4% of population
total: 51% of population (2017 est.)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
7.8% (2016)
Alcohol consumption per capita
total: 0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
total: 20.3% (2020 est.)
male: 29.5% (2020 est.)
female: 11.1% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
16.9% (2012)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
61.2% (2023 est.)
Education expenditures
2.6% of GDP (2015 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62%
male: 67%
female: 56.9% (2021)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2014)
Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)
total: 21.7%
male: 21.8%
female: 21.5% (2021 est.)
NOTE: The information regarding Comoros on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Comoros 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Comoros 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 06 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.