The most common language is Shikomoro, a Swahili dialect. French and Arabic also are spoken. About 57% of the population is literate.
Population: 578,400 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
43% (male 123,891; female 123,241)
15-64 years:
54% (male 155,062; female 159,287)
65 years and over:
3% (male 8,072; female 8,847) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.05% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 40.05 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 9.59 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.91 male(s)/female
total population:
0.99 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 86.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
60.03 years
male:
57.85 years
female:
62.28 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.38 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Comoran(s)
adjective:
Comoran
Ethnic groups: Antalote, Cafre, Makoa, Oimatsaha, Sakalava
Religions: Sunni Muslim 98%, Roman Catholic 2%
Languages: Arabic (official), French (official), Comoran (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
57.3%
male:
64.2%
female:
50.4% (1995 est.)