Mayotte

Background:

Mayotte was ceded to France along with the other islands of the Comoros group in 1843. It was the only island in the archipelago that voted in 1974 to retain its link with France and forego independence.

Geography Mayotte

Location:
Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from northern Madagascar to northern Mozambique

Geographic coordinates:
12 50 S, 45 10 E

Map references:
Africa

Area:
total: 374 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 374 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
185.2 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate:
tropical; marine; hot, humid, rainy season during northeastern monsoon (November to May); dry season is cooler (May to November)

Terrain:
generally undulating, with deep ravines and ancient volcanic peaks

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Benara 660 m

Natural resources:
NEGL

Land use:
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA%
other: NA% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
NA sq km

Natural hazards:
cyclones during rainy season

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
part of Comoro Archipelago; 18 islands

People Mayotte

Population:
186,026 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.4% (male 43,301; female 42,934)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 52,534; female 44,100)
65 years and over: 1.7% (male 1,579; female 1,578) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 16.9 years
male: 18.1 years
female: 15.8 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
4.09% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
42.19 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
8.11 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
6.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.19 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female
total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 64.19 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 57.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 70.42 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 60.99 years
male: 58.85 years
female: 63.2 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
5.98 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Mahorais (singular and plural)
adjective: Mahoran

Ethnic groups:
NA

Religions:
Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic)

Languages:
Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government Mayotte

Country name:
conventional long form: Territorial Collectivity of Mayotte
conventional short form: Mayotte

Dependency status:
territorial collectivity of France

Government type:
NA

Capital:
Mamoutzou

Administrative divisions:
none (territorial collectivity of France)

Independence:
none (territorial collectivity of France)

National holiday:
Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution:
28 September 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
French law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Jean-Jacques BROT (since 3 July 2002)
elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; president of the General Council elected by the members of the General Council for a six-year term
head of government: President of the General Council Younoussa BAMANA (since NA 1977)
cabinet: NA

Legislative branch:
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 7 October 2000 (next to be held NA 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA
note: Mayotte elects one member of the French Senate; elections last held 24 September 2001 (next to be held NA September 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 16 June 2002 (next to be held as a special election on NA June 2005); results - percent of vote by party - UMP-RPR 55.08%, UDF 44.92%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Tribunal Superieur d'Appel

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Front or FD [Youssouf MOUSSA]; Mahoran Popular Movement or MPM [Ahmed MADI]; Federation of Mahorans or RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Mouhoutar SALIM]; Socialist Party or PS (local branch of French Parti Socialiste) [Ibrahim ABUBACAR]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
none

Diplomatic representation in the US:
none (territorial collectivity of France)

Diplomatic representation from the US:
none (territorial collectivity of France)

Flag description:
the flag of France is used

Economy Mayotte

Economy - overview:
Economic activity is based primarily on the agricultural sector, including fishing and livestock raising. Mayotte is not self-sufficient and must import a large portion of its food requirements, mainly from France. The economy and future development of the island are heavily dependent on French financial assistance, an important supplement to GDP. Mayotte's remote location is an obstacle to the development of tourism.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $85 million (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
NA%

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,600 (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
NA%

Labor force:
48,800 (2000)

Unemployment rate:
38% (1999)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $73 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991 est.)

Industries:
newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
NA kWh

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 0%
other: 0%
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
NA kWh

Agriculture - products:
vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra

Exports:
$3.44 million f.o.b. (1997)

Exports - commodities:
ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon

Exports - partners:
France 80%, Comoros 15%, Reunion (2000)

Imports:
$141.3 million f.o.b. (1997)

Imports - commodities:
food, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals

Imports - partners:
France 66%, Africa 14%, Southeast Asia 11% (2000 est.)

Debt - external:
$NA

Economic aid - recipient:
$107.7 million; note - extensive French financial assistance (1995)

Currency:
euro (EUR)

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.8860 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Mayotte

Telephones - main lines in use:
10,000 (2001)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
21,700 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA
international: country code - 269; microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros (2001)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2001)

Radios:
NA

Television broadcast stations:
3 (2001)

Televisions:
3,500 (1994)

Internet country code:
.yt

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
NA

Internet users:
NA

Transportation Mayotte

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 93 km
paved: 72 km
unpaved: 21 km

Waterways:
none

Ports and harbors:
Dzaoudzi

Merchant marine:
none

Airports:
1 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Mayotte

Military - note:
defense is the responsibility of France; small contingent of French forces stationed on the island

Transnational Issues Mayotte

Disputes - international:
claimed by Comoros