Countries

Statistical Snapshot

Comoros is the least populous country in the Arab region, with a population of 888.46 in  2021. Comorian population is considered to be young with  58.5 percent of residents under the age of 24. The country registers a high fertility rate of 4.2 births per woman compared the regional average of 3.2 births per woman.[1][2] Growing at an average annual rate of 2.2 percent, 71 percent of the Comorian population live in rural areas, with an urban population   of 29.4 as a percentage of total population.[2] Ranking 156^th out of 189 countries, Comoros was categorized as one of the medium human development countries in 2020, with a life expectancy at birth of 64.3 years, far below the regional average of 72 years. The average mean years of schooling is 5 years, compared to the regional average of 7.3 years.[3] Comoros continues to have a high maternal mortality of 273 deaths per 100,000 live births and high adolescent birth rate at 64 percent.[1] 

Comoros is considered a low-income country with an estimated GDP (PPP current prices) of $2.7 billion in 2020, the lowest among the Arab countries,[4] and a Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP current prices) at $3,210 in 2019.[1] Economic developments were challenging in Comoros during 2019, notably after the country was struck by a cyclone during April 2019. Driven by the negative implications of the cyclone, real GDP growth declined from 3.6 percent in 2018 to -1.8 percent in  2020, while inflation rate remained contained at  3 percent.

In 2020, the labour force participation rate reached  44.3percent. This rate has increased for males, from 51.7 percent to 56.6 percent over the 2000-2019 period, while the rate among females has been slightly increasing, reaching 34.4 percent in 2019, up from 32.2 percent in 2000. The unemployment rate increased also over the same period from  4.6 percent in 2000 to 8.4 in 2020 , registering 6.3 percent for men, compared to 10 percent for women, but under-employment is generally the norm in Comoros. Over the same period, youth unemployment rate reached 18.3 percent in  2019. The gender gap in youth unemployment was low, with 18.5 percent and  18 percent of youth unemployment for men and women, respectively.[5]

Poverty remains one of the most crucial challenges facing Comoros. According to the latest Human Development Report in 2020, 42.4 percent of the population, or approximately 316,000 people, live below the income poverty line, and 22.3 percent of the population are vulnerable to multidimensional poverty.[6] 
 

Comorian children still face several challenges with regard to health and nutrition. Comoros faces development challenges, with nearly 30 percent of children suffering from chronic malnutrition according to the latest available data in 2012.[3] Comoros has the third highest under-five child mortality rate in the Arab region of 62.9 per 1,000 births.[1]

 After one year of Cyclone Kenneth, the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 caused a 2 percent decrease of GDP. Since February 2020, many measures were taken to face the pandemic: schools and mosques closure, reduction of number of passengers in public transportations, and curfew. The government prepared a plan of health measures to reduce the risk of the pandemic and asked for aid from donors.[7] Authorities delayed the payment of taxes for the formal sector businesses and announced a program financed by the World Bank of $25 million to support agriculture and tourism, and many taxes on import (medicines, foods, hygiene related products) were reduced by 30 percent. Also the reserve requirement ratio was reduced to 10 percent.[8] 

This overview was last updated in February 2021. Priority is given to the latest available official data published by national statistical offices and/or public institutions. 
 

Sources:
[1] The World Bank. 2020. World Development Indicators. [ONLINE] Available at: https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[2] Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. 2020. World Population Prospects. 2019 Revision. [ONLINE] Available at: 
https://population.un.org/wpp/ [Accessed 26 February 2021].
[3] United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 2019. Human Development Indicators, Comoros. [ONLINE]. Available at: 
http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2019.pdf [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[4] International Monetary Fund (IMF). October 2020. World Economic Outlook. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2020/01/weodata/index.aspx [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[5] International Labour Organization (ILO). 2020. ILOSTAT. [ONLINE] Available at: https://ilostat.ilo.org/ [Accessed 26 February 2021].
[6] The World Bank. 2020. The World Bank in Comoros, Overview. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/comoros/overview  [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[7] The Central Bank of Comoros. Trimestral Bulletin. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.banque-comores.km/DOCUMENTS/Bulletin_BCC_n28_Sept_2020.pdf [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[8] International Monetary Fund (IMF). 2020. Policy Responses to COVID-19. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#L [Accessed 26 February 2021].