Country Name
Comoros, officially the Union of Comoros.
Location
Comoros is an island country in the Indian Ocean located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa. It shares maritime borders with Madagascar and the French region of Mayotte to the southeast, Tanzania to the northwest, Mozambique to the west, and Seychelles to the northeast.
Capital
Moroni.
Reason for naming the country
The name "Comoros" derives from the Arabic word Qamar which means "moon".
Flag
The Comoros flag was adopted in 2003, making it one of the world's newest flags. Comoros gained its independence from France in 1975. The flag consists of four horizontal stripes of equal width, The top stripe is yellow; the next stripe is white; the next is red, and the bottom stripe is blue. On the left side of the flag is a green horizontal triangle that reaches the center of the flag. Inside the triangle, there is a white crescent with four, five-pointed flags lined up vertically. The four colored stripes represent the islands of Comoros, the yellow represents Mohéli island, the white represents Mayotte island, the red represents Anjouan island and the blue represents Grand Comore island. The 4 stars also represent these islands and the crescent stands for Islam, the country's major religion.
Language
Arabic and French are official languages, along with Comorian. French has been adopted as the official administrative and educational language used in most formal and official situations. The language was introduced to the island by French colonialists. Arabic is widely known as a second language, being the language of Quranic teaching. It is also taught in schools, but French remains the primary method of education on the island. Comorian also referred to as Shikomori, the Comorian language is one of the official languages, as well as one of the most spoken languages of the country. About 97% of the population of Comoros uses Comorian as their first language.
Religion
Sunni Islam is the dominant religion, 98% of the total population in Comoros adheres to it. Islam in Comoros was introduced by the Arab merchants and Shirazi Princes exiled from Persia. Roman Catholics make up the largest minority religious group in Comoros. Adherents of the religion form a small part of the population at less than 1% of the total population, both Catholic and Protestant denominations are represented. Hinduism is practiced by less than 1% of the total population in Comoros, it was introduced to the Islands by Indian immigrants. A majority of the Indians are part of the overall working population.
Currency
Comorian franc (KMF).
Time Zone
+03:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Federal presidential republic.
Climate
The climate of the Comoros Islands is tropical with a hot and rainy season from December to April when the northwest monsoon prevails, and a relatively cool and dry season from May to November, when the southeast trade winds blow. The warmest period is from January to April, with an average daily temperature of around 27 °C (81 °F), while the coolest months are July, August, and September when the average drops to around 23 °C (73 °F).
International Phone Code
+269
Internet Code
.km
Comments