### Mayotte

(overseas collectivity of France)

- Introduction
- Geography
- People
- Government
- Economy
- Communications
- Transportation
- Military
- Transnational Issues

INTRODUCTION

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

Location:
Southern Indian Ocean, island in the Mozambique Channel, about half way between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique

Geographic coordinates: 12 50 S, 45 10 E

Map references: Africa

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

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

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 185.2 km

Maritime claims:
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%

Irrigated land: NA

Natural hazards:
cyclones during rainy season

Environment - current issues:
NA

Geography - note:
part of Comoro Archipelago (18 islands)

PEOPLE

Population: 216,306 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45.5% (male 49,521/female 48,996)
15-64 years: 52.7% (male 61,267/female 52,641)
65 years and over: 1.8% (male 1,971/female 1,910) (2008 est.)

Median age:
total: 17.2 years
male: 18.1 years
female: 16.2 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.465% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 39.79 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 7.36 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: 2.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.03 male(s)/female
total population: 1.09 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 57.88 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 63.59 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 52 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 62.54 years
male: 60.3 years
female: 64.85 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (2008 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) 3%

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

Literacy:
NA

Education expenditures: NA

GOVERNMENT

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

Dependency status:
departmental collectivity of France

Government type: NA

Capital:
name: Mamoudzou
geographic coordinates: 12 46 S, 45 13 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

Independence: none (territorial overseas collectivity of France)

National holiday:Bastille Day, 14 July (1789)

Constitution: 4 October 1958 (French Constitution)

Legal system:
the laws of France, where applicable, apply

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007); represented by Prefect Denis ROBIN (since 28 July 2008)
head of government: President of the General Council Ahmed Attoumani DOUCHINA (since March 2008)
cabinet: NA
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; next election to be held in 2010

Legislative branch:
unicameral General Council or Conseil General (19 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 9 and 16 March 2008 (next to be held in 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 8, Diverse Right 4, independents 4, Citizens and Republic Movement 1, Democratic Movement 1, Diverse Left 1; note - political parties are all French
note: Mayotte elects two members of the French Senate; elections last held 21 September 2008 (next to be held in September 2014); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UC-UDF 1, UMP 1; Mayotte also elects one member to the French National Assembly; elections last held 10-17 June 2007 (next to be held in 2012); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 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 UMP-RPR [Mansour KAMARDINE]; Force of the Rally and the Alliance for Democracy or FRAP; Movement for Department Status Mayotte or MDM [Mouhoutar SALIM]; Renewed Communist Party of Mayotte or MRC [Omar SIMBA]; Socialist Party or PS [Ibrahim ABUBACAR] (local branch of French Parti Socialiste); Union for French Democracy or UDF [Henri JEAN-BAPTISTE]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
InOC, UPU, WFTU

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

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

Click to enlarge.
Flag description:
unofficial, local flag with the coat of arms of Mayotte centered on a white field, above which the name of the island appears in red capital letters; the main elements of the coat of arms, flanked on either side by a seahorse, appear above a scroll with the motto RA HACHIRI (We are Vigilant); the only official flag is the national flag of France

ECONOMY

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): $953.6 million (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate): $NA

GDP - real growth rate: NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP): $4,900 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%

Labor force: 44,560 (2002)

Unemployment rate: 25.4% (2005)

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

Budget:
revenues: $420 million
expenditures: $394 million (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (2005)

Market value of publicly traded shares: $NA

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

Industries:
newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction

Electricity - production: NA kWh

Electricity - consumption: 139.2 million kWh (2005)

Exports: $6.5 million f.o.b. (2005)

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

Imports: $341 million f.o.b.; note - excludes petroleum imports (2005)

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

Debt - external: $NA

Exchange rates:
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6734 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephones - main lines in use: 10,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 48,100 (2005)

Telephone system:
general assessment: small system administered by French Department of Posts and Telecommunications
domestic: NA
international: country code - 262; microwave radio relay and HF radiotelephone communications to Comoros

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

Television broadcast stations:
3 (2001)

Internet country code:
.yt

Internet hosts: 1 (2008)

Internet users: NA

TRANSPORTATION

Airports: 1 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Ports and terminals: Dzaoudzi

MILITARY

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: male: 2,407
female: 2,401 (2008 est.)

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

TRANSNATIONAL ISSUES

Disputes - international: claimed by Comoros

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