Compare Comoros (2008) - Jamaica (2006)

Compare Comoros (2008) z Jamaica (2006)

	Comoros (2008)	Jamaica (2006)

Administrative divisions	3 islands and 4 municipalities; Grande Comore, Anjouan, Domoni, Fomboni, Moheli, Moroni, Mutsamudu*	14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
Age structure	0-14 years: 42.6% (male 151,920/female 150,851) 15-64 years: 54.4% (male 191,096/female 196,120) 65 years and over: 3% (male 9,933/female 11,497) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 33.1% (male 464,297/female 449,181) 15-64 years: 59.6% (male 808,718/female 835,394) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 90,100/female 110,434) (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products	vanilla, cloves, ylang-ylang, perfume essences, copra, coconuts, bananas, cassava (tapioca)	sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks
Airports	4 (2007)	35 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 (2007)	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways	-	total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2006)
Area	total: 2,170 sq km land: 2,170 sq km water: 0 sq km	total: 10,991 sq km land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly more than 12 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background	Comoros has endured 19 coups or attempted coups since gaining independence from France in 1975. In 1997, the islands of Anjouan and Moheli declared independence from Comoros. In 1999, military chief Col. AZALI seized power in a bloodless coup, and helped negotiate the 2000 Fomboni Accords power-sharing agreement in which the federal presidency rotates among the three islands, and each island maintains its own local government. AZALI won the 2002 Presidential election, and each island in the archipelago elected its own president. AZALI stepped down in 2006 and President SAMBI took office. Since 2006, Anjouan's President Mohamed BACAR has refused to work effectively with the Union presidency. This year BACAR effected Anjouan's de-facto secession from the Union, refusing to step down in favor of fresh Anjouanais elections when Comoros' other islands held legitimate elections in July. The African Union (AU) has stepped in to assist in resolving the political crisis, including applying sanctions and a naval blockade on Anjouan, but the situation remains at an impasse.	The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated, replaced by African slaves. England siezed the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of which became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs created by the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
Birth rate	36.35 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Budget	revenues: $27.6 million expenditures: $NA (2001 est.)	revenues: $2.8 billion expenditures: $3.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $180.4 million (2005 est.)
Capital	name: Moroni geographic coordinates: 11 42 S, 43 14 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Climate	tropical marine; rainy season (November to May)	tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline	340 km	1,022 km
Constitution	23 December 2001	6 August 1962
Country name	conventional long form: Union of the Comoros conventional short form: Comoros local long form: Union des Comores local short form: Comores	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica
Death rate	7.95 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Debt - external	$232 million (2000 est.)	$7.162 billion (2005 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	the US does not have an embassy in Comoros; the ambassador to Madagascar is accredited to Comoros	chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON embassy: Mutual Life Building, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Representative to the US and Ambassador to the UN Mohamed TOIHIRI chancery: Mission to the US, 336 East 45th Street (2nd floor), New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 750-1637	chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Disputes - international	claims French-administered Mayotte	none
Economic aid - recipient	$25.23 million (2005 est.)	$18.5 million; note - US aid only (2004)
Economy - overview	One of the world's poorest countries, Comoros is made up of three islands that have inadequate transportation links, a young and rapidly increasing population, and few natural resources. The low educational level of the labor force contributes to a subsistence level of economic activity, high unemployment, and a heavy dependence on foreign grants and technical assistance. Agriculture, including fishing, hunting, and forestry, contributes 40% to GDP, employs 80% of the labor force, and provides most of the exports. The country is not self-sufficient in food production; rice, the main staple, accounts for the bulk of imports. The government - which is hampered by internal political disputes - is struggling to upgrade education and technical training, privatize commercial and industrial enterprises, improve health services, diversify exports, promote tourism, and reduce the high population growth rate. The political problems caused the economy to contract in 2007. Remittances from 150,000 Comorans abroad help supplement GDP.	The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from remittances, tourism, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a growing stock of internal debt - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-1990s. The ratio of debt to GDP is 135%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future.
Electricity - consumption	18.6 million kWh (2005)	2.974 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - production	20 million kWh (2005)	3.717 billion kWh (2004)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Le Kartala 2,360 m	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Environment - current issues	soil degradation and erosion results from crop cultivation on slopes without proper terracing; deforestation	heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava	black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Exchange rates	Comoran francs (KMF) per US dollar - NA (2007), 392.03 (2006), 395.6 (2005), 396.21 (2004), 435.9 (2003) note: the Comoran franc is pegged to the euro at a rate of 491.9677 Comoran francs per euro	Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006) head of government: President Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI (since 26 May 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: as defined by the 2001 constitution, the presidency rotates every four years among the elected presidents from the three main islands in the Union; election last held 14 May 2006 (next to be held by May 2010); prime minister appointed by the president; note - the post of prime minister has been vacant since May 2002 election results: Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI elected president; percent of vote - Ahmed Abdallah SAMBI 58.0%, Ibrahim HALIDI 28.3%, Mohamed DJAANFAMI 13.7%	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER (since 30 March 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Exports	0 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Exports - commodities	vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), cloves, copra	alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners	Netherlands 35.8%, France 18.3%, Italy 12.8%, Singapore 7.8%, Turkey 5%, US 4.6% (2006)	US 25.8%, Canada 19.3%, UK 10.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, China 7%, Norway 6.4%, Germany 5.6% (2005)
Fiscal year	calendar year	1 April - 31 March
Flag description	four equal horizontal bands of yellow (top), white, red, and blue with a green isosceles triangle based on the hoist; centered within the triangle is a white crescent with the convex side facing the hoist and four white, five-pointed stars placed vertically in a line between the points of the crescent; the horizontal bands and the four stars represent the four main islands of the archipelago - Mwali, Njazidja, Nzwani, and Mahore (Mayotte - territorial collectivity of France, but claimed by Comoros) note: the crescent, stars, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam	diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 40% industry: 4% services: 56% (2001 est.)	agriculture: 4.9% industry: 33.7% services: 61.5% (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	-1% (2007 est.)	1.8% (2005 est.)
Geographic coordinates	12 10 S, 44 15 E	18 15 N, 77 30 W
Geography - note	important location at northern end of Mozambique Channel	strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 2.7% highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
Illicit drugs	-	transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
Imports	709.1 bbl/day (2004)	NA bbl/day
Imports - commodities	rice and other foodstuffs, consumer goods, petroleum products, cement, transport equipment	food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners	France 24.8%, UAE 9.9%, South Africa 6.4%, Pakistan 6.3%, Kenya 5%, China 4.8%, India 4.4%, Italy 4.2% (2006)	US 41.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 14%, Venezuela 5.5%, Japan 4.6% (2005)
Independence	6 July 1975 (from France)	6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	-2% (1999 est.)	-2% (2000 est.)
Industries	fishing, tourism, perfume distillation	tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate	total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births male: 78.86 deaths/1,000 live births female: 62.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 15.98 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	3% (2005 est.)	15.3% (2005 est.)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AMF, AU, COMESA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Irrigated land	NA	250 sq km (2002)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Cour Supremes (two members appointed by the president, two members elected by the Federal Assembly, one elected by the Council of each island, and others are former presidents of the republic)	Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Labor force	144,500 (1996 est.)	1.2 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 80% industry and services: 20% (1996 est.)	agriculture: 19.3% industry: 16.6% services: 64.1% (2004)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 35.87% permanent crops: 23.32% other: 40.81% (2005)	arable land: 15.83% permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005)
Languages	Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)	English, patois English
Legal system	French and Islamic law in a new consolidated code	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch	unicameral Assembly of the Union (33 seats; 15 deputies are selected by the individual islands' local assemblies and 18 by universal suffrage; to serve for five years); elections: last held 18 and 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CdIA 12, CRC 6; note - 15 additional seats are filled by deputies from local island assemblies	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held no later than October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 62.73 years male: 60.37 years female: 65.15 years (2007 est.)	total population: 73.24 years male: 71.54 years female: 75.03 years (2006 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 56.5% male: 63.6% female: 49.3% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, group of islands at the northern mouth of the Mozambique Channel, about two-thirds of the way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique	Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references	Africa	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm	measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Merchant marine	total: 144 ships (1000 GRT or over) 657,755 GRT/954,498 DWT by type: bulk carrier 11, cargo 101, chemical tanker 3, container 1, livestock carrier 4, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 9, refrigerated cargo 6, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 70 (Bangladesh 1, Bulgaria 1, Cyprus 1, Greece 8, India 2, Kenya 1, Kuwait 1, Lebanon 5, Norway 1, Pakistan 2, Philippines 1, Russia 9, Saudi Arabia 1, Syria 8, Turkey 8, Ukraine 13, UAE 5, US 2) (2007)	total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 124,323 GRT/184,247 DWT by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 3, Greece 6, Italy 1) (2006)
Military branches	National Development Army (AND): Comoran Security Force; Comoran Federal Police (2007)	Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	$31.17 million (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.8% (2006)	0.4% (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 July (1975)	Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Nationality	noun: Comoran(s) adjective: Comoran	noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican
Natural hazards	cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); Le Kartala on Grand Comore is an active volcano	hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources	NEGL	bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Net migration rate	0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros or CRC [AZALI Assowmani]; Camp of the Autonomous Islands or CdIA (a coalition of parties organized by the islands' presidents in opposition to the Union President); Front National pour la Justice or FNJ [Ahmed RACHID] (Islamic party in opposition); Mouvement pour la Democratie et le Progress or MDP-NGDC [Abbas DJOUSSOUF]; Parti Comorien pour la Democratie et le Progress or PCDP [Ali MROUDJAE]; Rassemblement National pour le Development or RND [Omar TAMOU, Abdoulhamid AFFRAITANE]	Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders	NA	New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
Population	711,417 (July 2007 est.)	2,758,124 (July 2006 est.)
Population below poverty line	60% (2002 est.)	19.1% (2003 est.)
Population growth rate	2.84% (2007 est.)	0.8% (2006 est.)
Radio broadcast stations	AM 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2001)	AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	-	total: 272 km standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)
Religions	Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman Catholic 2%	Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Baptist 8.8%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 5.5%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Brethren 1.1%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.007 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.974 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.864 male(s)/female total population: 0.985 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: sparse system of microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communication stations; fixed-line connections only about 2 per 100 persons; mobile cellular usage about 2 per 100 persons domestic: HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay international: country code - 269; HF radiotelephone communications to Madagascar and Reunion	general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones - main lines in use	16,900 (2005)	342,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular	16,100 (2005)	2.7 million (2005)
Television broadcast stations	NA	7 (1997)
Terrain	volcanic islands, interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills	mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate	4.97 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)
Unemployment rate	20% (1996 est.)	11.5% (2005 est.)

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