A closer look at island nation of Comoros

African News, AP - 5 months ago

A passenger jet carrying 153 people en route to the island nation of Comoros crashed early Tuesday. Here is a closer look at the country:

___

GEOGRAPHY:

The Comoros archipelago lies in the Indian Ocean between the southeast African coast and the island of Madagascar. The largest island of Grand Comore was formed by a still active volcano. The country comprises two other main islands and numerous coral reefs and islets.

___

PEOPLE:

The 700,000 residents are a mix of African, Arab and Malay descent and are overwhelmingly Muslim. French, Arabic and Comorian, a mix of Arabic and Swahili, are the official languages.

___

HISTORY:

France controlled the islands for 130 years before the Comoros declared independence in 1975.

___

ECONOMY:

The vast majority of Comorans are subsistence farmers and annual per capita income is about $300, making it one of the world's poorest nations. Even the dietary staple, rice, has to be imported. There is virtually no manufacturing. The only exports are vanilla, cocoa and ylang-ylang flower extract, which is used in perfume.

The government has been working to develop tourism on the remote islands, which have been plagued over the years by political instability.

___

POLITICS:

Comoros' first president, Ahmed Abdallah Abderrahmane, was overthrown in 1975, restored to power in 1978 and weathered several coup attempts before his assassination in 1989.

The late Bob Denard, a notorious French mercenary, held true power in the country as leader of the national guard until Abdallah was shot and killed. The archipelago has suffered numerous successful and attempted coups since then.

In February 2001, a mediated agreement brought more political stability to Comoros by giving each island greater control over its own affairs. Each of the main islands now has a regional leader under President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, who won the May 2006 vote.