World Factbook
Comoros
Udzima wa Komori (Comorian)/Union des Comores (French)/Al Ittihad al Qumuri (Arabic)
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
79.9% (2021 est.)
female
72.2% (2021 est.)
total population
75.8% (2021 est.)
Languages
Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (official; similar to Swahili), Comorian
Religions
Muslim 98.1% (overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim, small Shia Muslim and Ahmadiyya Muslim populations), ethnic religionist 1.1%, Christian 0.6%, other 0.3% (2020 est.)
note: Sunni Islam is the state religion
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.92 male(s)/female
total population
0.94 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.77 male(s)/female
Birth rate
21.12 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.38 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
22.1 years
total
23.1 years (2025 est.)
female
23.3 years
Population
male
441,215
total
911,707 (2025 est.)
female
470,492
Nationality
noun
Comoran(s)
adjective
Comoran
Tobacco use
male
24.8% (2025 est.)
total
14.7% (2025 est.)
female
4.7% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
30.1% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
2.97% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
32.6% (male 146,480/female 146,626)
15-64 years
62.8% (male 271,139/female 294,231)
65 years and over
4.6% (2024 est.) (male 18,139/female 23,526)
Ethnic groups
Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Child marriage
men married by age 18
6.9% (2022)
women married by age 15
4.9% (2022)
women married by age 18
20.7% (2022)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
57.3 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
49.9 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
13.5 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
7.4 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.42 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
6.3% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
4.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.52 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 88.5% of population
improved: total
total: 91% of population
improved: urban
urban: 97.4% of population
unimproved: rural
rural: 11.5% of population
unimproved: total
total: 8.9% of population (2017 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2.6% of population
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
2.3% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
11.5% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
64.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total
53.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
44.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.26% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.24 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
the capital city of Maroni, on the western side of the island of Grande Comore, is the country's largest city; however, Anjouan is the most densely populated of the three islands that comprise Comoros, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
65.5 years
female
70.2 years
total population
67.8 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
179 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.18 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
62,000 MORONI (capital) (2018)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
7.8% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
23 years (2012 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
63.1% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
9.1% (2022 est.)