Comoros Facts

20 Facts about the Comoros

Comoros Facts: Beaches - YlangYlang Flower - Mosque

Here are some interesting Comoros facts which were chosen and researched especially for kids.

Comoros Flag

1. The Comoros are an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago of the Comoro islands consists of three main islands and numerous smaller islands. Not all islands of the the Comoros archipelago belong to Comoros. Mayotte, the fourth largest island, belongs to France.

Comoros is the third smallest country in Africa - after Seychelles and São Tomé and Príncipe.

2. The name of the country comes from the Arabic word for 'moon' which sounds like ‘qamar’. The moon is also depicted in the Comoros flag as you can see above.

Where are the Comoros?

3. The African country of the Comoros is located in the Mozambique channel off the coasts of Tanzania and Mozambique and north west of Madagascar.

Comoro Islands map

4. The three main islands are called Ngazidja (Grande Comore), Mwali (Moheli), and Nzwani (Anjouan).

The largest island is Grande Comore, the most densely populated is Anjouan. The smallest island is Mwali or Moheli.

Mwali island

5. The capital city of the Comoros is called Moroni which is also the largest city of the country with about 85,000 inhabitants.

Moroni is located on Grande Comore island.

Moroni - image by AltrendoImages

6. Omani traders called the Comoros, the 'perfume islands' already in the 10th century. Once a rich trading centre in the 15th century, the country suffered many centuries from colonisation.

After Vasco da Game explored the region, the Portuguese settled on the island in the 16th century without taking possession, but the islands had to fight with the Dutch and Portuguese colonisation attempts for many years. In the 18th century warriors from Madagascar raided the islands for slaves and also slaves from the African mainland were introduced to the islands. About 40% of the population on the island consisted of slaves at that time. British and American traders exploited the country for its natural resources and spices.

The Comoros were a French colony from 1908 and then included also the island of Mayotte. In 1914, the Comoros islands became part of the French Colony of Madagascar until 1958, but only became independent from France in 1975. The island of Mayotte remained with France and still today is the 101th department of France.

The president of Comoros is Azali Assoumani since 2016. He was president also between 2002 and 2006.

7. About 883 000 people live on the Comoros in 2025. Only about one third of the population lives in an urban area, most people live in rural settings.

8. The vast majority of the Comorians are Sunni-Muslims (98%).

The fascinating building of the Grand mosque, also called Old Friday or Badjanani mosque, goes back to 1427 when Moroni was still a powerful Swahili city. The old town centre of Moroni with the medina is still showing the Arab influence.

Grande Mosque or Old Friday Mosque in Moroni

9. The official languages of the Comoros are French, Arabic and Comorian which is referred to as Shikomoro by the locals.

Shikomoro is a blend of Arabic and Swahili (which is spoken in many countries in East Africa).

10. The Comoros islands belong to the poorest countries in Africa, as more than 40% of the population living under the poverty line which means they do not have enough money for the basic needs such as food, housing, water and clothing.

Many Comorians are unemployed or have no formal education. The life expectancy at birth still is very low, on average people only reach the age of 67 years. Only about 62% of the people can read and write.

Moroni Beach - image by Rostasedlacek

Comoros Facts | Geography

11. The Comoro islands are of volcanic origin. The highest peak of the Comoros is Karthala Peak with 2,361 m/ 7,746 ft on the Grand Comore Island.

The shield volcano is one of the most active in the world and erupts about once every ten years. The caldera is huge and measures about 3 km by 4 km/ 1.85 miles by 2.45 miles and is about 300 m deep.

Karthala Peak in the Comoros

12. There are many stunning white sandy beaches in Comoros.

Amongst the most popular beaches are Mitsamiouli Beach in the northwest of Grande Comoros or Chindini Beach in southern parts or Itsandra Beach in the western parts of the main island. Miringoni Beach and Nioumachoua Beach on Moheli are also amongst the best beaches of Comoros.

Beach on Grande Comoros - image by Rostasedlacek/shutterstock.com

13. There are no permanent rivers on the Comoros islands, but there is one salt lake, simply called Lac Salé on Grande Comoros. Lake Dziani Boundouni on Moheli is a crater lake and this freshwater lake is an important wetland site.

14. Comoros boosts a diverse flora and fauna. About 1000 different plants have been found on Comoros and half of all the plant species growing on the islands have been introduced by man. About one third of all the native plant species in Comoros is endemic, that means originates from there.

15. Wildlife is plentiful, but there are no large African mammals on the islands. There are more than 820 bird species with 22 species endemic to the islands including the Comoros Olive and the Comoros Blue pigeons. Mammals include fruit bats and two lemur species. The mongoose lemur is native to all the islands.

Mongoose lemur family

Marine mammals such as dugongs, dolphins and humpback whales can be seen off shore. Green sea turtles and hawksbill turtles nest at various beaches.

Comoros Facts | Economy

16. The main industries in Comoros are fishing, tourism and perfume destillation.

The main agricultural products also include vanilla, coconuts, bananas and cassava and various spices such as cloves.

Spices sold in the market - image by AltrendoImages

17. The main export partners are Indonesia, India, Turkey, UAE and USA while China, UAE, Tanzania and France are the main import partner of the Comoros. The most common exports are cloves, vanilla and essential oils as well as scrap iron and ships.

18. The ylang-ylang or perfume tree is endemic to the islands. Yang-Ylang is used to produce essential oils and perfume. The ylang-ylang flower is the national flower.

Ylang ylang flowers and essence

19. The Comoros have a tropical rainforest climate with two main seasons. The monsoon winds brings rain and hot temperatures from December to April while from May to November it is cooler and drier. The dry season in Comoros is generally the best time to visit the country.

20. Comorian food includes many different spices such as vanilla, cardamon, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Lobster with vanilla sauce (Langoustine à la vanilla) is considered by many the national dish of the Comoros. Another traditional Comorian dish is Mtsololoa, a stew that includes plantains and coconut mild and seafood or meat.

Comoros dish called Mtsolola

Comoros Facts: Resources

Sources for Comoros Facts page:

Vanilla Islands - Indian Ocean. "Comoros." The Vanilla Islands. Last accessed 18 August 2025
Jemuel Baniqued. "Comoros." The Comoros TechProjectYIS. Last accessed 18 August 2025
Central Intelligence Agency. "Comoros." WorldFact Book. Last updated 12 August 2025. Last accessed 18 August 2025
Jesse Friedman. "Meal 38:Comoros." United Noshes. Last accessed 18 August 2025
Afro Gist Media. "M'tsolola recipe: Comoros Cuisine." AfroGist. Last accessed 18 August 2025
Smithsonian Institute. "Karthala". Volcano.si.edu. Last accessed 18 August 2025

Image Credits on Comoros Facts: photo stock from shutterstock and wikicommons, if not otherwise stated.

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