Comoros
Comoros is a volcanic archipelago located off the east coast of Africa, in the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. The largest island of this nation-state, Grande Comore (Ngazidja), is surrounded by beaches and volcanic rock from the still active Karthala volcano
General presentation
Official name: Union of the Comoros
Type of regime : presidential
Surface area: 1,862 km2 (1,862 sq mi)
Capital: Moroni
Main cities: Moroni (Grande Comore), Moutsamoudou (Anjouan), Fomboni (Moheli)
Official language(s): Comorian, French, Arabic
National holiday: July 6 (independence in 1975)
Population: 850,886 (World Bank, 2019)
Density: 465 inhabitants/km2 (World Bank, 2019)
Population growth: 2.2% (World Bank, 2018) Literacy rate
(population aged 15-24): 86% (Unicef, 2008 – 2012)
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Economic situation
Comoros was admitted to the lower middle-income country category in 2019. However, a quarter of its population lives below the national poverty line (World Bank 2020) and per capita income remains low. The country ranks 156 out of 189 in terms of the Human Development Index (2019).
The Comorian economy is characterized by:
Agriculture, which accounts for 33% of GDP (2017), is based on three main products: vanilla, cloves, and ylang-ylang.
Industry (12% of GDP) is underdeveloped.
Services (55% of GDP) correspond mainly to trade and hotel-restaurant activities.
In this configuration, the rate of growth of GDP, at around 2.9
percent per year between 2010 and 2019, has been too low to
absorb population growth (estimated at 2.4 percent).
Source: Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs
Bilateral Relations
Bilateral investment treaties
Work in process
Double taxation agreements
Work in process
Free trade agreements
Work in process
Leading sector for Swiss companies
Work in process
Indicators
2016 | 2017 | 2018 E | 2019 E | |
---|---|---|---|---|
GDP (in billions of USD) | 0.61 | 0.66 | 0.75 | 0.75 |
GDP per capita (USD) | 763 | 788 | 877 | 854 |
Growth rate | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
Unemployment rate | 19.96 | 10.6 | ||
Inflation rate | 1.8 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
Public debt (% of GDP) | 27.674 | 32.373 | 28.991 | 30.526 |
Budget balance (% of GDP) | -7.18 | |||
Current account balance (% of GDP) | -7.4 | -4.2 | -9.2 | -10.1 |
(Sources FMI, Banque Mondiale)
Main customers
France 34.1% Singapore 12.7%, Netherlands 11.9%, Germany 5.4%
Source Comtrade
Main suppliers
2018 : France 21,6%, E-A-U 21,0%, Madagascar 13,0%, Pakistan 8,3%.
Source Comtrade
Swiss exports to
Work in process
Exports of …. to Switzerland
Work in process
Swiss direct investment in
Work in process
The business climate
Work in process