The federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros is an archipelago of four inhabited islands in the Indian Ocean with no natural resources. It has a total area of 2, 170 km2 The climate is tropical marine with a rainy season from November to May. The terrain is volcanic islands, the interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills. The religion is 86% SunniMuslim, 14% Roman Catholic. The language is Shaafi Islam (a Swahilidialect), Malagasy and French. The Comoros were controlled by Muslim sultans until being acquired by France in 1841, and becoming a french colony in 1912. From 1914 to 1947 the Comoros were attached to Madagascar for administrative purposes, and then made a French overseas territory, being granted internal autonomy in 1961, three of the islands becoming independent in 1975 the fourth, Mayotte voting to remain a French dependancy. Research Comoros