Mayotte

Department Collectivity of Mayotte

Capital | Mamoudzou
Government | Departmental collectivity of France
Language | French (official)

President | Nicolas Sarkozy

Area | 374 sq km
Population 2011 | 272,500 (2020)
GDP 2005 | $953.6 million
GDP per capita | $4,900
Currency | Euro

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. In March 2009, Mayotte voted overwhelmingly to become France's 101st department - and fifth overseas department - a change scheduled to become official in 2011.

## Contents

* 1 Geography
* 2 People
* 3 Government and Political Conditions
* 3.1 Principal Government Officials
* 3.2 Foreign Relations
* 4 Economy

## Geography[edit]

Mayotte is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, island in the Mozambique Channel, about halfway between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique

## People[edit]

* Nationality: Mahorais
* Population (2011 est.): 209,530
* Annual growth rate (2011): 1.533%
* Religions: Muslim 97%, Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) 3%
* Languages: Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population.
* Education: Literacy—86%.
* Health: Infant mortality rate—16.17 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (at birth)--76.83 years.

## Government and Political Conditions[edit]

### Principal Government Officials[edit]

* Chief of state: President Nicolas Sarkozy (since 16 May 2007); represented by Prefect Hubert DERACHE (since 22 July 2009)
* Head of government: President of the General Council Ahmed Attoumani DOUCHINA (since March 2008)

### Foreign Relations[edit]

The island is claimed by the Comoros.

## Economy[edit]

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 (2005 est.): $953.6 million.
* Per capita GDP (2005 est.): $4,900.
* Unemployment rate (2005): 25.4%.
* Inflation Rate (2005 est.): 1.7%
* Agriculture: vanilla, ylang-ylang (perfume essence), coffee, copra; fish, livestock.
* Industry: newly created lobster and shrimp industry, construction.
* Trade (2005 est.): Exports--$6.5 million: ylang-ylang (perfume essence), vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, cinnamon. Imports--$341 million: ffood, machinery and equipment, transportation equipment, metals, chemicals.

Copyright Details

License:  |  This work is in the Public Domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the U.S. Code
Source:  |  File available from the United States Federal Government [1].

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African Countries

Eastern Africa|

Burundi \-- Comoros \-- Djibouti \-- Eritrea \-- Ethiopia \-- Kenya \-- Madagascar \-- Malawi \-- Mauritius \-- Mayotte \-- Mozambique \-- Réunion \-- Rwanda \-- Seychelles \-- Somalia \-- Uganda \-- Tanzania \-- Zambia \-- Zimbabwe

Middle Africa|

Angola \-- Cameroon \-- Central African Republic \-- Chad \-- Congo \-- Democratic Republic of the Congo \-- Equatorial Guinea \-- Gabon \-- Sao Tome and Principe

Northern Africa|

Algeria \-- Egypt \-- Libya \-- Morocco \-- South Sudan \-- Sudan \-- Tunisia \-- Western Sahara

Southern Africa|

Botswana \-- Lesotho \-- Namibia \-- South Africa \-- Swaziland

Western Africa|

Benin \-- Burkina Faso \-- Cape Verde \-- Ivory Coast \-- The Gambia \-- Ghana \-- Guinea \-- Guinea-Bissau \-- Liberia \-- Mali \-- Mauritania \-- Niger \-- Nigeria \-- Saint Helena \-- Senegal \-- Sierra Leone \-- Togo