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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Mayotte
Mayottemīŏt', island (2005 est. pop. 194,000), 144 sq mi (374 sq km), French departmental collectivity, Indian Ocean, in the Comoro chain. Mamoudzou is the capital and largest city. The land is gently rolling, with some mountains of ancient volcanic origin and deep ravines. The climate is tropical, with a hot and humid rainy season and a cooler dry season. Nearly all Muslim, the population is of mixed Arab, African, and Malagasy origin. French is the official language, but Mahorian, a Swahili dialect, is widely spoken. The economy is largely agricultural and includes livestock raising and fishing. Mayotte exports perfume oils, vanilla, copra, coconuts, coffee, and cinnamon. Much of its food, as well as machinery, equipment, metals, and chemicals is imported, mainly from France. Part of the Comoro Islands, it became a French possession in 1843. When the Comoros became an independent republic in 1975, Mayotte decided to remain French and the following year it voted to become a territorial collectivity. In 2000 voters approved increased autonomy for Mayotte, which subsequently became a departmental collectivity, but in a 2009 referendum voters approved becoming an overseas department of France, effective in 2011. Mayotte is still claimed by the Comoros.

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Wikipedia search results for: Mayotte
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mayotte, officially the Departmental Collectivity of Mayotte, is an overseas collectivity of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre, a smaller island, Petite-Terre, and several islets around these two. Mayotte is very densely populated. It is in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique. The territory is geographically part of the Comoro Islands, but has been politically separate since the 1970s. The territory is also known as Mahoré, the native name of its main island, especially by advocates of its inclusion in the Union of Comoros. The main island, Grande-Terre,...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Mayotte
Results 1 - 5  of 5
  • Mamoudzou

    Mamoudzou, city (2002 pop. 45,485), capital and largest city of Mayotte. It lies on the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean on the NE coast of Grande-Terre, Mayotte's main island, near the ...

  • roller

    Roller, common name for brightly colored Old World birds noted for performing somersaults in flight. They include the rollers proper (subfamily Coraciinae) and ground rollers (subfamily Brachy...

  • Comoros, the

    Comoros, the, officially Union of the Comoros (2005 est. pop. 671,000), 838 sq mi (2,170 sq km), occupying most of the Comoro Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, at the northern end o...

  • Africa

    Africa, second largest continent (1997 est. pop. 743,000,000), c.11,677,240 sq mi (30,244,050 sq km) including adjacent islands. Broad to the north (c.4,600 mi/7,400 km wide), Africa straddles...

  • France

    France, officially French Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 60,656,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. France is bordered by the English Channel (N), the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay...

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