Second Installment in the Saga of Little-Known Countries

Those poor, lonely countries who we know so little about! I will try to bring to light these little-known nations, so that more people will know about them. Today's post will serve as the second installment in the ongoing saga to bring these countries out of obscurity. Last month we dealt with FYROM, but this week we move to Africa (well technically near Africa,  not in Africa) with the little-known country of Comoros. Have you heard of Comoros? It holds the title of being the third-smallest African nation by area. Still not ringing any bells? Well, the Union of Comoros is an archipelago off the coast of Africa, sort of northwest of Madagascar (now, I know you've heard of that one) in the Indian Ocean. Comoros also has the distinction of being the only nation to be a member of the African Union, Francaphonie, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the Arab League, and the Indian Ocean Commission all at the same time (lots of places are members of those groups individually, though its the only one to a member of all of them).

Life on the four (or three- they have a slight disagreement with France over one of them) islands that make up Comoros are a little bit rough. For instance, half of the population of 691,000 people are below the international poverty line (that's $1.25 US dollars a day for people keeping track). Also, they've had some troubling government takeovers since they gained their independence from France in the 1970s. Additionally (confusingly), one of their four islands refuses to secede from France? I'm not completely sure how Comoros can claim the island of Mayotte- it is technically "administered" by France, and the people on the island continually vote against independence from France. Another pretty major issue is the fact that the highest point in the country is Mount Karthala, an active volcano. The last time it erupted was a mere 6 years ago, in 2005.

Despite a 14.6% unemployment rate, a GDP smaller than the yearly salary of a Wall Street banker, and a pitiful education system, Comoros does have some bright spots. For instance, it is a fully recognized member of the UN (I guess except for that whole minor issue with France over Mayotte), and they passed the Kyoto Protocol (take that America?). Also, despite being one of the smallest countries in the world, Comoros is the leading producer worldwide of ylang-ylang (which is an aromatic tree, popular for use in perfumes) and a big producer of vanilla (I like vanilla). In fact, 10th century Arabic poets wrote songs about how lovely the breezes on the island smelled.