888,378 (2023 est.)
noun: Comoran(s)
adjective: Comoran
Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (official; similar to Swahili) (Comorian)
Muslim 98.1% (overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, small Shia Muslim and Ahmadiyya Muslim populations), ethnic religionist 1.1%, Christian 0.6%, other 0.3% (2020 est.)
note: Sunni Islam is the state religion
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.
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)
2023 population pyramid: 
total dependency ratio: 74.1
youth dependency ratio: 66.6
elderly dependency ratio: 7.5
potential support ratio: 13.3 (2021 est.)
total: 22.3 years (2023 est.)
male: 21.6 years
female: 22.9 years
1.34% (2023 est.)
22.1 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
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 
urban population: 30.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 2.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
62,000 MORONI (capital) (2018)
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.)
23 years (2012 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
217 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 56 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 66 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 45.7 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 67.5 years (2023 est.)
male: 65.2 years
female: 69.9 years
2.69 children born/woman (2023 est.)
1.33 (2023 est.)
19.4% (2012)
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.)
5.4% of GDP (2020)
0.26 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
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.)
7.8% (2016)
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.)
total: 20.3% (2020 est.)
male: 29.5% (2020 est.)
female: 11.1% (2020 est.)
61.2% (2023 est.)
2.6% of GDP (2015 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62%
male: 67%
female: 56.9% (2021)
total: 11 years
male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2014)
NOTE: The information regarding Comoros on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Comoros 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Comoros 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 04 May 24, Copyright © 2024 ITA all rights reserved.
