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Red, white, blue, and green

Within green triangle: Traditional symbols of
Islam

4 horizontal stripes and stars represent the 4 islands: Mwali, N’gazidia,
Ndzuwani, and Mahore (Comoros Central)

In 1963, local flag designed by the French heraldist, Suzanne Guathier

2 days after independence day in 1975 new national flag

New flag had a red stripe on the top, white crescents and
stars on the bottom near a green stripe

1st flag adopted in 1978 when govern. was removed

The stars between the ends of the crescent symbolizes Islam
accepting the nation

A difference to the flag in 1992 when the gov. changed.

The crescent and stars were rotation so the stars ran vertically (Smith, Whitney)

The history of Comoros reflects onto the flag because of the major changes within the government in 1992. The crescent symbolizes Islam accepting the nation and the entire flag reflects the culture of Comoros because it includes traditional symbols of Islamic people. The looks of the current flag was based off the geography of Comoros. The four horizontal stripes and stars represent the four islands that make up Comoros. Although the four islands of Comoros vary in size, the stripes on the flag are the same size which resembles them all being equal.

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This is Comoros's current flag.

(http://www.britannica.com/)

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This was the flag of Comoros between the years of 1992 to 1996.

(http://www.britannica.com/)

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1886: Became a French protectorate

1974: 3 islands voted for independence when the 4 island voted to stay with France

1990: Mohamed Djohar was elected as the Comoros president

1996: A constitution was drafted which had a purpose of extending the authority of the president and the basis of law establishes Islam

1997: The two islands, Moheli and Anjouan, declared the independence of Comoros

1998: The president, Taki, died from what was reported as a heart attack

1998: An acting president replaces president Mohamed – elections are pending

2001:Azali Assoumani wouldn’t stand for election

2001: Anjouan considered in rejoining Comoros

2001: New constitution which is about having the 3 islands form one country (Comoros Profile)

There were several good and bad events that had happened in Comoros’s history. The islands of Comoros voted on whether they wanted independence or to stay with France back in 1974. By choosing between independence and continuing to stay with France, this changes the control and power to those who live on the island. The control and power is led by the choice they make because if they choose to have independence after years of being told what to do, they need to learn how to live on their own and make their own choices. The death of Taki could have affected the people who live in Comoros. Such as being angry because they liked the president and now it’s going to be hard to replace them or it could end up being the total opposite. (Comoros Profile)

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The Karthala Volcano is active and erupted in 2005 and 2006.

(http://www.k-state.edu/)

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President Taki drafted a constitution back in 1996 and died 2 years later from a heart attack.

(http://politiciens-comores.blogs.fr/)

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Many live near or even with the extended families

The responsibilities for the care for the children are among the extended family and are shared

Usually live in large villages

The average amount of children is 7

The average high amount of children is 10

The extended family is becoming less popular and important among the educated people

The parents are frequently away from home due to work demands them to be there

Extended families are called to take care of the children when both parents are gone

The household chores have children that start working at the age of 12

Girls wash and cook

Boys go to the market to help out

Elders live with adult’s children (Comoros CultureGrams)

The family life is really important to Comorians. Everyone always has something to
do around the house. The boys help out at the market while girls stay home to help
with cooking meals for the rest of the family and wash dirty dishes and
clothing. Most citizens live with or near their extended families. While the
parents are frequently away at work, they call up their extended family to come
take care of the kids. Parents are recommended to go to work to earn the money
that they need to give the proper care to their children. Now that the extended
family is becoming less common, it might affect the family if they can’t find
anyone to watch the kids while they are away from the house.

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This is a picture of people at work.

(http://www.ecddcomoros.org/)

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These are women and younger girls that are cleaning the family’s clothes and dishes.

(http://www.ipsnews.net/)

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Official languages:

French

Arabic

(Comorian is often used)

Swahili is based off of Comorian and Arabic is a
strong influence

It includes many loan words

All of the islands of Comoros have different
dialects of Comorian

Where some languages are spoken

Grand Comore – Shingazidja

A Anjouan’s language

Moheli – Shimwali

Mayotte – Shimaore

An official Comorian alphabet does not exist

They use the Arabic script traditionally (Comoros CultureGrams)

There are several languages in Comoros. Having several different languages in a smaller country is a very good thing to have. For example, in some parts of Comoros, there’re many places that are nice enough to travel to and those who are from other parts of the world need to know what they are saying. So by having several languages in small areas will make it easier to find someone to speak the language that you understand. Also, by having so many languages to speak, you have to pay to go to school to learn how to speak a new language. Going to school to learn a new language can be very expensive for some people.

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This is a road sign in Comoros that has Arabic writing on it.

(http://en.academic.ru/)

# data[].attributes.body
A teacher is communicating to the kids to help them understand what they need to know in class.

(http://en.academic.ru/)

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Opening and closing your hand or facing your
palm down or out

Using the index finger they point for direction

Same sex hold each other’s hands while walking

Opposite sex don’t touch in public

Slap the other’s hand and start laughing after a
joke has been said

By refusing something, they put their hand over
their chest while thanking them

There are several ways to socialize using
gestures for the same thing

Child

Greets an elder by using both hands cupped and
in front of them saying “Kwezi”

The elder would hold their clasp hands above the
child’s forehead

Then the elder would clasp the hands of the
child and say “Mbona”

During that exchange it means asking for a
blessing and receiving (Comoros CultureGrams)

Using gestures is a good way to communicate with others. Gestures are a very useful way to communicate with those who can’t speak or hear what other people are saying. People who can hear and speak can use them too. During performances such as dances, they can use hand movements and other gestures to help the audience understand what the dance is about. Holding hands with the same sex is something people believe in and same goes for not letting opposite sexes touch in public.

# data[].attributes.body
A same sex couple holding hands in public.
(http://cpnagasaki.wordpress.com/)

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They are exchanging blessings by greeting each other by placing their hand on someone’s forehead.
(http://www.indo5.net/)

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Islamic Holidays

Also known as national holidays

Lunar calendar is what it is based on

Ramadan – Holy month

Don’t drink or eat from dawn to dusk

Nights

Eating and activity

End of the month - Eid al-Fitr

Most celebrated day of the month

They share gifts, people visit, and also feast
throughout the d ay

Independence Day

Celebrated on July 6th

National Holiday

Government buildings that are important are
gathered to celebrate

They gained independence from France in 1975

They include parades from the military and they
display the national flag

Lunar New Year

First day of a secular

Religious school students commonly celebrate

Their parents and teachers celebrate it as well

They march in the streets singing songs from
their religion (Comoros CultureGrams)

Holidays are really important to Comoros and the rest of the world. It’s a great time to get together and see family and friends that you haven’t seen or talked to in a while. During the holidays, families have many traditions that are carried through their family. When a holiday comes around, it is a good time to be artistic. The streets are filled with people marching while singing songs that relate to their religion and followed by dancers.

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Trees are filled with red lanterns during the Lunar New Year.
(http://school.eb.com/)

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Many people gathered around the Comoros flag to celebrate the independence at the capital, Moroni.
(http://www1.rfi.fr/)

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Almost all comorians are Sunni Muslims

Islamic traditions – a big part in their daily life

The Muslims pray at least 5 times a day

Small villages are called to prayer regularly

All men on Fridays are to go to the town’s biggest mosque at noon for the prayer

There are some that are non-Islamic beliefs

A majority have been joined into the Islamic practices

Good and evils spirits are a belief for many Comorian’s

Charms (gris-gris) are used to ward of evils spirits

To bring out the spirits, ceremonies are held

Foreigners are often Christian.

Large towns have 2 churches, Catholic and Protestant (Comoros CultureGrams)

Comorian’s can be very religious, especially when it comes to praying. They pray quite often with a minimum of five times a day. They are very specific and detailed on what time and how many times they need to pray a day. They also have very strong beliefs for spirits what can be good and evil. Going to church to pray can be a good education for both young and old people. Those who go to church can learn how to get rid of evil spirits or improve how to.

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This is a picture of the mosque in Grande Comore.
(http://www.mvmtravel.com/)

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This is a cemetery that is in between old houses.
(http://www.traveladventures.org/)

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They dress traditionally

Women wear colorful dresses

Grand Marriage

Most expensive

To men, they are the most traditional clothes to wear

Looking sloppy such as wearing shorts is disliked

Adults wear plastic flip-flops

Those who word (professionals) wear shoes

In public

Men wear a western type of shirts and slacks

Elders wear white robes

Women sometimes wear a western style dress

Colorful patterns

They almost always had a shawl with prints on it

Women hardly ever wear pants other than in the cities

Special Occasions

Men wear suits

Women wear dresses

All of the islands of Comoros sometimes wear masks (Comoros CultureGrams)

Getting married is a when most people socialize with others. They catch up with what has been going on in other people’s lives that they haven’t seen in a while. Entire families are brought together to support the bride and groom on their next huge step in both of their lives. Weddings are also very
expensive! A dress itself is expensive. In order to have a wedding with a decent dress and suit for the men, it’s important to have a good job and to use your money wisely. If you can’t save your money, go ahead and kiss your wedding goodbye.

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The women dress traditionally in Comoros by wearing colorful dresses.
(http://www.rajasthan-tourism.org/)

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This is a picture of a wedding in Comoros.

(http://kathmanduk2.wordpress.com/)

# data[].attributes.body
Most don’t have enough money from their income to spend on entertainment or art

Causes the artist to not be able to be more productive

Shutters, boxes, and candleholders are decorative domestic items that are carved by artist

Graffiti

Art Day

A day for artist to show their art and to promote it

An award is given to the best artist of the year

The award is called Gambusid’or

The sponsor is the Ministry of Education of the art programs

The arts have recently got the government’s efforts to promote them (Comoros CultureGrams)

Traditional Arts

Basketry

Embroidery

Wood Carving

Jewelry making (The Art)

Creating art sculptures and products isn’t just about showing it off to those around you, it’s about doing what you love to do as a hobby. To be artistic you have to have the talent and patience in order to create something that is worth looking at. Artist use their open minds to create their piece weather it’s based on their family relationship or if it’s just something as simple as shapes overlapping. Tools and ideas are important in the process of making art. Even having a small idea can turn into something big and popular that can spread around the world and in the end, your country would be known for its
creative minds. And because they have a low income, most don’t have enough money to come and look at the art.

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This is a picture of some graffiti found in Moroni, Comoros by Socrome named “Big Walls”.
(http://www.fatcap.com/)

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A man holding a basket that he made, filled with flowers.
(http://www.alamy.com/)

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Agriculture

Contributes over 50% to GDP

Provides most exports

80% of labor force is employed

Products

Bananas

Vanilla

Cloves

Coconuts

Industries

Fishing

Source for export earnings

Tourism

Imports

Rice

50% of food is imported

Most imported

Most imported from Pakistan – 15.7% and France – 14.2% (Comoros Central)

Agriculture is really important to the people that live in Comoros and others around the world because if they didn’t have ways to get food or have food, nobody would be here right now. And since the agriculture provides the most exports others are relying on you to provide them food. The process of exporting and importing goods can be time consuming but you can make the best out of it by gathering your own food by either fishing or tourism. Exporting and importing also require communication. The people that are helping products getting sent away need to know where it is going. If they don’t know that specific information, the country that is waiting to receive the products could be waiting for a while.

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Some of the foods that are either being exported or imported.
(http://lescomores.com/)

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A man fishing in the beautiful water to catch delicious fish for the family.
(http://www.unep.org/)

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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Breakfast

The people in Comoros like to eat cold left overs

Hot tea

Afternoon

Starchy food covered with sauce (Ex: Green bananas)

Meat

Dinner

Rice dishes (Part of their daily life)

Main meal

Western utensils are used by urban families when they eat

Other families are found eating on the mat floor

In the rural areas women sometimes eat separately from men

(Comoros CultureGrams)

The most common food crops are bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes and cassava

Most of the food has to be imported (Comoros Reviewed)

Families have different ways of eating such as eating on the mat floor or at a table. Although, most eat the same kind of food. The families don’t often eat as a whole because sometimes the men and women are split up into two separate rooms. The parents of the family have to have good paying jobs to afford the food that goes to the rest of their family and themselves. If the family lacks income, the family could end up into debt and won’t be able to afford the food they need to survive. When purchasing the food at the market, you could find it a little more expensive since most of the food is imported.

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Some of Comoros’s rice comes from Vietnam.
(http://theaseannewsblog.blogspot.com/)

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These are a couple of foods in the market that have been imported.
(http://lescomores.com/)

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Comoran franc (Comoros CultureGrams)

Symbol is CF

Coins that are frequently used

25 francs

50 francs

100 francs

Coins that are rarely used

1 francs

2 francs

5 francs

10 francs

Banknotes

500 francs

1,000 francs

2,000 francs

5,000 francs

10,000 francs

The central bank is Banque Centrale des Comores (Comoros Currency)

$1.00 US = $395.935 MKF (Comoran franc)

Code name – MKF (KMF)

The currency could affect those who are visiting or new to the country that are not familiar with their type of currency. For those who struggle with math, it could be hard for them to calculate how much something would cost if your using currency from other countries. The best and most common way to earn money is by having a job. The bigger the family you have the harder you have to work. Money is really important to everyone because that’s what helps us afford what we need to survive everything that life throws out at us.

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This is a banknote of 50 francs.
(http://colnect.com/)

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These are some of the coins they use.
(http://www.lebanonct.org/)

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GDP growth rate: 3.5%

GDP per capita: $1,300

Industries: fishing, tourism, and perfume
distillation

Inflation: 3.8%

Unemployment rate: 20%

Exports: $19.7 million

Imports: $208.8 million

Exports with partners:

Netherlands: 58.6%

Singapore: 10.6%

Turkey: 9.3%

France: 5.6%

India: 5%

Agriculture

Vanilla

Cloves

Bananas

Coconuts (Central Intelligence)

The economics are really important because it shows the results of the rates in Comoros. The growth and death rates are really important because if Comoros starts losing people faster than gaining, you could end up with a country with a population of 0. If the death rate increases rapidly it would be a good idea to figure out why it is increasing so quickly and try to fix the problem as soon as possible. If the population decreases if could affect the economics because it could mean that people are running low on money and can’t afford food. That could also mean that Comoros has a low stock of resources.

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This is a bar chart that is comparing Comoros to the world and region.
(http://www.heritage.org/)

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A chart showing Comoros’s overall score.
(http://www.heritage.org/)

# data[].attributes.body
The season runs from Nov. to May but varies

Hot

Humid

Rainy

Tropical which is tempered by the sea breezes

Cyclones can also start to form then too

Cyclones are similar to hurricanes and typhoons

May – October

Warm

Clear

Breezy

Cool nights

Year round – Temps between 81 degrees and 88 degrees F (Comoros CultureGrams)

When the climate changes it also changes the way people live. If it gets cold or windy, you’re going to need to pull out your warmer clothes and same goes for hot weather. Families can be in danger when strong winds and waves hit the shores. They could ruin houses which makes the poverty rate increase. If the houses get destroyed, families have to work extra hard to earn back the money that was lost. They have to have up for a new home and food.

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There are clear, calm days in Comoros just like it shows in this picture.
(http://www.onislam.net/)

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This is a picture above the trees in Comoros in the humid weather.

(http://www.traveladventures.org/)

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Islands are volcanic

Formed east to west

Grand Comore is the youngest

Southeastern Africa

All islands – Mountainous

Northern mouth of Mozambique Channel

No rivers

Mount Kartala on Grand Comore is the largest active
volcanic crater

Area sq. miles – 863

Area sq. kilometer – 2,170

Total area sq. kilometers – 2,170

Total water area - 0

Highest elevation – 7,746 ft

Mangrove swamps found along shorelines

Includes steep mountains

Low hills (Geography)

The geography is another good thing to keep an eye out for. Since there are no rivers, washing clothes and dishes will have to be washed in the ocean. If you live towards the center of Comoros, traveling to go wash clothes and dishes can be a little harder than it would be if you lived closer to the ocean. Since there is an active volcano on an island then it could be possible that it could erupt anytime so make sure you’re not near it. Mountains are very popular in paintings. Mountains can make almost any painting look nice so those who are feeling artistic can look at the scenery for some help and inspiration.

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This is a map showing where Comoros is located.
(http://kids.britannica.com/)

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Here is a map showing the physical features of Comoros.
(http://www.maphill.com/)

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Education System – Based off French Model

Private nursery schools – more common

Some children begin at age of 3

Elementary - 6 years old

Middle – 12 years old

Secondary – 15 years old

Required schooling for ages 6 – 16

30% attend elementary

10% attend secondary

Most students receive religious education for the Islam society

Free schooling

Poorly trained teachers

Not paid often (Comoros CultureGrams)

Education is important for everyone in the world. It helps you for the future and even from the past if you’re learning about the history of something. It’s also good that they allow kids at the age of three to start school. The younger the age the better because then you have more time and more knowledge to learn while you are in school. Education takes time away from spending time with their family but it’s beneficial because the majority of the school hours are when the parents are at work.

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This is a classroom in Comoros.
(http://www.tiptoptens.com/)

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This is a farmer field school in Comoros.
(http://www.ecddcomoros.org/)

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Telephones main lines - 24,000

Telephones mobile – 250,000

Internet hosts – 14

Internet users – 24,300

Internet Code - .km

Broadcast media

TV station – run by regional gov.

Radio – State-Owned

AM 1

FM 4

Shortwave 1

Televisions – 1,000

Telephone system

General assessment – HF radiotelephone communication stations (Central)

Technology is a way of communicating. Most families don’t have their friends and relatives living right next door, so since the telephones were invented, friends and families could communicate with talking and texting over the phone. This is a lot cheaper rather than traveling every time you want to see or talk to them. The technology has advanced so much that you went from walking, to talking, to texting. Even televisions are helping with communication. They have been coming out with several smart televisions that let you connect to facebook and twitter to message other people. Technology has improved so much that it can save you loads of money.

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This is what most people drive in Comoros.
(http://volkswagen-auto.net/)

# data[].attributes.body
Another way of transportation that can hold more people.
(http://iconmasonry.com/)

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Employment

High unemployment rate

20%

Comparison to the world: 160 (Central)

Women have less education options than men (History)

Education

Low education level

Gov struggles with updating the education (Central)

Women have less education options than men (History)

76% Adult Literacy

30% school aged kids go to elementary school

10% of secondary school aged kids go to elementary school

Less money due to them having to pay dues for attending school, textbooks, materials, and supplies

Higher education = students who have completed secondary school

University of Comoros – Only college in the country (Comoros CultureGrams)

Since the unemployment rate is high, that also means that the poverty rate is going to increase rapidly. That could also increase the death rate because if you don’t have a job that means you don’t have to money to buy food. The University of Comoros is the only country in the country which means that it could get over populated and too crowded for some to handle. Although women have less education opportunities than men, it also will make more time to spend time with other family members and to clean and cook. Women aren’t usually the ones working so it makes more sense for them to stay home and work anyways.

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These are some people in Comoros that are hunting for food because they don’t have enough money for a home.

(http://allafrica.com/)

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This is the University of Comoros and it’s the only university in the country.
(http://www.travel-images.com/)

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Democratic government was introduced in 1990

The secessionist and the government had an autonomy agreement in April of 2011

Ten days later, the government was overthrown by the Army

On March 25, 2008 the AU troops helped out the federal government with regaining the control of the Anjouan (Brooks)

Mayotte (the 4th island) is considered by the Comoran government

Anjouan’s secessionist leaders and the government in Feb 2001, signed a new unity pact brokered by the Organization of African Unity

Overthrew the islands civilian government by the members of the Anjouan military

While Sambi’s waited until new elections were held, he would have to remain in the office with very limited powers as head of an interim (Bowman)

In 1968, Comoros had gained internal self-government (Comoros Reviewed)

Comoros’s government type: Republic

Capital: Moroni

Independence: July 6th, 1975

Leaders: Camp of the Autonomous Islands or CdIA

18 years of age – universal (suffrage) (Comoros Central)

The government has the power and control over everything. If something isn’t right they will try their best and do what they can to help fix it. Although the government was removed by the army, they gained internal self-government. The people of Comoros depend on the government. They celebrate Independence Day on the 6th of July because their government declared independence. The capital, Moroni, is also very important to Comorians because that’s where their government is and everything that happens such as holidays.

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This is the president of Comoros, protesting.
(http://www.reuters.com/)

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Moroni is the capital of Comoros.
(http://data.un.org/)

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About 731,775 people in 2008

Grande Comore was the island that had the most people

Anjouan was the second highest for the total population

People were a mix of Malay, Arab, and African stock

Most of the people spoke Comorian

A minority of Roman Catholics were in Mayotte

The capital Moroni, and is also the largest city on Grand Comore has a population of about 40,275 people (Brooks)

The major religion is Islam

Comoros is over populated

Being over populated led to deforestation and soil erosion which caused serious problems (Comoros Reviewed)

Literacy: age 15+ can read and write

Male: 80.5%

Female: 70.6%

Median age total: 19.2 years

Male: 18.5 years

Female: 19.8 years

Life expectancy at birth total pop: 63.48 years

Male: 61.23 years

Female: 65.8 years (Comoros Central)

It’s really important that the government knows what is going on such as if more people are dying because then they can try and do something about it and fix it. If the literacy rate isn’t high enough or the population is decreasing, the government needs to step in and do something about it. This also affects the people because all the rate results come from them. If the population starts decreasing the people are going to have to do something about it because the government wants to try and straighten things out. The rates depend on the health of people. They need to be healthy and well taken care of so the population doesn’t start dropping.

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The literacy rate of Comoros is being compared with several other counrties.
(http://huebler.blogspot.com/)

# data[].attributes.body
The poverty rates being compared with other countries.
(http://www.resakss.org/)

# data[].attributes.body
Bowman, Larry W. "Comoros." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Grolier Online, 2014. Web. 11 Oct.

2014. (Government)

Brooks, Hugh C. "Comoros." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2014. Web. 10 Oct. 2014

(Government, Demographics)

Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2014. (Economics)

"Comoros Currency." Comoros Currency. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. (Currency)

“Comoros” CultureGrams Online Edition. ProQuest, 2014. Web. 8 Dec 2014. (Family Life, Language,

Gestures, Holidays, Religion, Dress, Art, Food, Education)

"Comoros Profile."BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. (History)

"Comoros." Reviewed by Hugh C. Brooks.The New Book of Knowledge.Grolier Online, 2014. Web. 17

Nov. 2014. (Food)

"Geography and Map of Comoros." Geography and Map of Comoros. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2015

(Geography)

"History Study Center - Home Page." History Study Center - Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014

(Current Issues)

"KMF - Comoran Franc." Rates, News, and Tools. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. (Currency)

Smith, Whitney. "Flag of Comoros." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web.

06 Oct. 2014. (Flag)

"The Arts." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014. (Art)