# Demographics of the Comoros

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Demographics of the Comoros Population pyramid of the Comoros in 2020 Population 876,437 (2022 est.) Growth rate 1.37% (2022 est.) Birth rate 22.52 births/1,000 population (2022 est.) Death rate 6.55 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.) Life expectancy 67.2 years • male 64.93 years • female 69.54 years Fertility rate 2.78 children born/woman (2022 est.) Infant mortality 57.1 deaths/1,000 live births Net migration rate -2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.) Age structure 0–14 years 36.68% 65 and over 4.08% Sex ratio Total 0.94 male(s)/female (2022 est.) At birth 1.03 male(s)/female Under 15 1 male(s)/female 65 and over 0.76 male(s)/female Nationality Nationality Comorian Language Official Arabic, French, Shikomoro

Population, [fertility rate](/source/Fertility_rate) and [net reproduction rate](/source/Net_reproduction_rate), United Nations estimates

The [Comorians](/source/Comoros) ([Arabic](/source/Arabic_language): القمري) inhabiting [Grande Comore](/source/Grande_Comore), [Anjouan](/source/Anjouan), and [Mohéli](/source/Moh%C3%A9li) (86% of the population) share African-Arab origins. [Islam](/source/Islam) is the dominant religion, and [Quranic schools](/source/Quranic_school) for children reinforce its influence. Although Islamic culture is firmly established throughout, a small minority are [Christian](/source/Christians).

The most common language is [Comorian](/source/Comorian_language), related to [Swahili](/source/Swahili_language). [French](/source/French_language) and [Arabic](/source/Arabic) also are spoken. About 89% of the population is [literate](/source/Literate).

The Comoros have had eight censuses since World War II:[1][2]

- 1951

- 1956

- 7 September 1958: 183,133

- 6 July 1966[3]

- 15 September 1980: 335,150

- 15 September 1991: 446,817

- 15 September 2003: 575,660

- 15 December 2017: 758,316

The official estimate as of 1 July 2020 is 897,219.[4]

[Population density](/source/Population_density) figures conceal a great disparity between the republic's most crowded island, [Anjouan](/source/Anjouan), which had a density of 772 persons per square kilometer in 2017; [Grande Comore](/source/Grande_Comore), which had a density of 331 persons per square kilometer in 2017; and [Mohéli](/source/Moh%C3%A9li), where the 2017 population density figure was 178 persons per square kilometer. By comparison, estimates of the population density per square kilometer of the Indian Ocean's other island microstates ranged from 241 ([Seychelles](/source/Seychelles)) to 690 ([Maldives](/source/Maldives)) in 1993. Given the rugged terrain of Grande Comore and Anjouan, and the dedication of extensive tracts to agriculture on all three islands, population pressures on the Comoros are becoming increasingly critical.

The age structure of the population of the Comoros is similar to that of many developing countries, in that the republic has a very large proportion of young people. In 1989, 46.4 percent of the population was under fifteen years of age, an above-average proportion even for [sub-Saharan Africa](/source/Sub-Saharan_Africa). The population's rate of growth was a relatively high 3.5 percent per annum in the mid-1980s, up substantially from 2.0 percent in the mid-1970s and 2.1 percent in the mid-1960s.

In 1983 the Abdallah regime borrowed US$2.85 million from the [International Development Association](/source/International_Development_Association) to devise a national [family planning](/source/Family_planning) program. However, Islamic reservations about [contraception](/source/Contraception) made forthright advocacy and implementation of [birth control](/source/Birth_control) programs politically hazardous, and consequently little was done in the way of public policy.

The Comorian population has become increasingly [urbanized](/source/Urbanisation) in recent years. In 1991 the percentage of Comorians residing in cities and towns of more than 5,000 persons was about 30 percent, up from 25 percent in 1985 and 23 percent in 1980. The Comoros' largest cities were the capital, [Moroni](/source/Moroni%2C_Comoros), with about 30,000 people, and the port city of [Mutsamudu](/source/Mutsamudu), on the island of Anjouan, with about 20,000 people.

Migration among the various islands is important. Natives of Anjouan have settled in significant numbers on less crowded [Mohéli](/source/Moh%C3%A9li), causing social tensions, and many Anjouan also migrate to [Mayotte](/source/Mayotte), a [French territory](/source/Overseas_France). In 1977 Mayotte, then called Maori, expelled peasants from Grande Comore and Anjouan who had recently settled in large numbers on the island. Some were allowed to reenter starting in 1981 but solely as migrant labor.

The number of Comorians living abroad has been estimated at between 80,000 and 100,000; during the colonial period, most of them lived in [Tanzania](/source/Tanzania), [Madagascar](/source/Madagascar), and other parts of [Southeast Africa](/source/Southeast_Africa). The number of Comorians residing in Madagascar was drastically reduced after anti-Comorian rioting in December 1976 in [Mahajanga](/source/Mahajanga), in which at least 1,400 Comorians were killed. As many as 17,000 Comorians left Madagascar to seek refuge in their native land in 1977 alone. About 100,000 Comorians live in France; many of them had gone there for a university education and never returned. Small numbers of [Indians](/source/Non-resident_Indian_and_person_of_Indian_origin), [Malagasy](/source/Malagasy_people), [South Africans](/source/South_Africa), and Europeans (mostly [French](/source/French_people)) live on the islands and play an important role in the economy. Most French left after independence in 1975.

Some [Persian Gulf](/source/Persian_Gulf) countries started buying Comorian [citizenship](/source/Citizenship) for their [stateless](/source/Statelessness) [Bedoon](/source/Bedoon) residents and deporting them to Comoros.[5][6][7]

## Population

Demographics of the Comoros, Data of [FAO](/source/Food_and_Agriculture_Organization), year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands.

### UN population projections

UN medium variant projections[8] Year Population 2010 734,750 2015 832,400 2020 933,330 2025 1,041,150 2030 1,160,260 2035 1,290,200 2040 1,425,970 2045 1,562,910 2050 1,700,130

## Vital statistics

Statistics as of 2010[\[update\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demographics_of_the_Comoros&action=edit):[9]

Period Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year CBR* CDR* NC* TFR* IMR* 1950–1955 8 000 4 000 4 000 46.8 24.0 22.8 6.00 178 1955–1960 9 000 4 000 5 000 48.9 22.9 26.0 6.60 167 1960–1965 10 000 4 000 6 000 48.0 20.8 27.2 6.91 154 1965–1970 11 000 4 000 6 000 46.8 18.9 27.9 7.05 141 1970–1975 12 000 4 000 8 000 46.8 16.9 29.8 7.05 127 1975–1980 14 000 5 000 10 000 47.9 15.6 32.3 7.05 116 1980–1985 17 000 5 000 12 000 48.6 14.3 34.4 7.05 106 1985–1990 16 000 5 000 11 000 39.6 12.1 27.5 6.00 95 1990–1995 17 000 5 000 12 000 36.6 11.0 25.6 5.30 89 1995–2000 20 000 6 000 15 000 38.6 10.6 28.0 5.30 83 2000–2005 24 000 6 000 18 000 40.2 10.1 30.0 5.30 78 2005–2010 27 000 7 000 20 000 39.0 9.4 29.5 5.08 72 * CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births; TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman)

### Demographic and Health Surveys

[Total Fertility Rate](/source/Total_fertility_rate) (TFR) (Wanted Fertility Rate) and [Crude Birth Rate](/source/Birth_rate) (CBR):[10]

Year Total Urban Rural CBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR 1996 33.9 5.1 (3.7) 28.9 4.1 (3.1) 35.8 5.5 (4.0) 2012 32.3 4.3 (3.2) 27.7 3.5 (2.5) 34.5 4.8 (3.5)

Structure of the population (DHS 2012) (Males 11 088, Females 12 284 = 23 373) :

Age group Male (%) Female (%) Total (%) 0–4 15.5 13.6 14.5 5–9 15.0 13.8 14.4 10–14 13.9 11.8 12.8 15–19 10.1 11.2 10.7 20–24 6.8 8.6 7.8 25–29 5.4 7.8 6.7 30–34 5.8 6.5 6.2 35–39 6.0 5.4 5.7 40–44 4.5 4.0 4.2 45–49 3.2 2.5 2.9 50–54 2.9 4.9 3.9 55–59 1.7 2.2 2.0 60–64 3.3 2.6 2.9 65–69 1.5 1.3 1.4 70–74 2.3 1.7 2.0 75–79 0.8 0.8 0.8 80+ 1.2 1.3 1.3 Unknown 0.1 0.1 0.1

Age group Male (%) Female (%) Total (%) 0–14 44.4 39.2 41.7 15–64 49.7 55.6 52.7 65+ 5.8 5.1 5.5

Fertility data as of 2012 (DHS Program):[11]

Region Total fertility rate Percentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnant Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49 Mohéli 5.0 6.8 6.3 Anjouan 5.2 6.7 5.8 Grande Comore 3.5 6.5 4.6

## Languages

Main article: [Languages of the Comoros](/source/Languages_of_the_Comoros)

- [Arabic](/source/Arabic_language) (official), [French](/source/French_language) (official), [Comorian](/source/Comorian_language) (official)[12]

## Religion

Sunni Muslims make up 98% of the population while other groups make up 2% (including Shia Muslims, Roman Catholics, Jehovah's Witness, Protestants) Sunni Islam is the official religion of the Comoros.

## See also

- [Demographics of Mayotte](/source/Demographics_of_Mayotte)

- [Islam in the Comoros](/source/Islam_in_the_Comoros)

## References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Demographics of the Comoros](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Demographics_of_the_Comoros).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Comoros population statistics"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110610165225/http://www.geohive.com/cntry/comoros.aspx). GeoHive. Archived from [the original](http://www.geohive.com/cntry/comoros.aspx) on 10 June 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** *Population census of the Comoro Islands, 1951, 1956 and 1958* (mircofilm). New Haven, Connecticut: Research Publications. 1977. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [3659638](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/3659638).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (1966). *Recensement de la population des Comores 1966: résultats par village, sexe et groupe d'âge*. Paris: Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [13015378](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/13015378).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Institut Nationale de la Statistique et Etudes Economiques et Démographiques, Comoros (web).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Stateless and for Sale in the Gulf"](http://icfuae.org.uk/research-and-publications/stateless-and-sale-gulf). 11 July 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Kuwait trying to sell its Bidoon population to Comoros"](https://stepfeed.com/kuwait-trying-to-sell-its-bidoon-population-to-comoros-3979). 20 May 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["The bizarre scheme to transform a remote island into the new Dubai | Atossa Araxia Abrahamian"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/11/the-bizarre-scheme-to-transform-a-remote-island-into-new-dubai-comoros). *[TheGuardian.com](/source/TheGuardian.com)*. 11 November 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["World Population Prospects, the 2010 Revision"](http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm). Esa.un.org. 28 June 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision](http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110506065230/http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htm) May 6, 2011, at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["MEASURE DHS: Demographic and Health Surveys"](http://microdata.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/dhs#_r=&collection=&country=&dtype=&from=1890&page=4&ps=&sk=&sort_by=nation&sort_order=&to=2014&topic=&view=s&vk=). *microdata.worldbank.org*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Enquête Démographique et de Santé et à Indicateurs Multiples (EDSC-MICS II) 2012"](http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR278/FR278.pdf) (PDF). *Dhsprogram.com*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140711002016/http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR278/FR278.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-CIATONGA_12-0)** ["Africa :: COMOROS"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210110042946/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/comoros). CIA The World Factbook. 6 December 2023. Archived from [the original](https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/comoros/) on 10 January 2021.

**Attribution:** This article incorporates [public domain material](https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/copyright-and-contributors/) from [*The World Factbook*](https://web.archive.org/web/20211205000000/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/about/archives/download/factbook-2006.zip) (2006 ed.). [CIA](/source/CIA). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the [public domain](/source/Public_domain). [*Indian Ocean : five island countries*](http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/cntrystd.km). [Federal Research Division](/source/Federal_Research_Division).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Demographics of the Comoros](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Comoros) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_Comoros?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.