Mayotte

Mayotte, officially the Department of Mayotte, is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the overseas departments of France as well as one of the 18 regions of France, with the same status as the departments of Metropolitan France. It is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, part of the eurozone.
Mayotte is located in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel in the western Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeastern Africa, between the northwestern part of the island of Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique on the continent. Mayotte consists of a main island, Grande-Terre, a smaller island, Petite-Terre, as well as several islets around these two. Mayotte's land area is and, with its 320,901 people according to January 2024 official estimates, is very densely populated at 858 inhabitants per km². The biggest city and prefecture is Mamoudzou on the larger Grande-Terre. The Dzaoudzi–Pamandzi International Airport is located on the neighbouring smaller island of Petite-Terre. The territory is also known as Maore, the native name of its main island.
French is the official language and is spoken as a second language by an increasing part of the population, with 63% of the population 14 years and older reporting in the 2007 census that they could speak it. There are two native languages of Mayotte. The most commonly spoken is Shimaore, and the lesser spoken is a Malagasy language called Kibushi, of which there are two dialects; Kibushi sakalava, most closely related to the Sakalava dialect of Malagasy, and Kibushi antalaotsi, most closely related to the dialect spoken by the Antalaotra of Madagascar. Both dialects have been influenced by Shimaore.
The islands were populated from neighbouring East Africa, with a later arrival of Arabs, who brought the religious faith of Islam. A sultanate was established in 1500. The vast majority of the population today is Muslim. In the 19th century, Mayotte was conquered by Andriantsoly, former king of Iboina on Madagascar. He sold the islands in 1841 to France and its overseas French Empire, and Mayotte integrated to the Crown of France of King Louis Philippe I, then seven years later with the subsequent Second French Republic after the French Revolution of 1848. In the immediate aftermath of French sovereignty over the islands, slavery was abolished and laborers were imported to the area to work in fields and plantations. Mayotte chose to remain with France after the nearby Comoros declared its independence following their 1974 independence referendum. Mayotte however became the 101st department of France on 31 March 2011 and became an outermost associated region of the European Union on 1 January 2014, following a March 2009 referendum with an overwhelming result in favour of remaining in the status of a French department. The issue of illegal immigration became very important in local political life in the 2010s and 2020s which led France to organize Operation Wuambushu.
In 2019, with an annual population growth of 3.8%, half the current population was less than 17 years old. In addition, 48% of the population were foreign nationals.
Most of the immigrants come from neighboring island state of Comoros, many illegally. Despite being France's poorest department, Mayotte is much richer than other neighboring East African countries and has developed French infrastructure and welfare system, making it a tempting destination for Comorans and other East Africans living in poverty in the region.
The department faces enormous challenges. According to an Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques report published in 2018, over 83% of the population live under the poverty line according to French standards, compared to 16% in metropolitan France, 40% of dwellings are corrugated sheet metal shacks, 29% of households have no running water, and 34% of the inhabitants between the age of 15 and 64 do not have a job. These difficult living conditions mainly concern the large population of illegal migrants who crowd into shanty towns.

Geography

The term Mayotte may refer to all of the department's islands, of which the largest is known as Maore and includes Maore's surrounding islands, most notably Pamanzi, or only to the largest island. The name is believed to come from Mawuti, contraction of the Arabic جزيرة الموت Jazīrat al-Mawt – meaning "island of death" and corrupted to Mayotta in Portuguese, later turned into French. However, the local name is Mahore, and the Arabic etymology is doubtful.
The main island, Grande-Terre, geologically the oldest of the Comoro Islands, is long and wide, and its highest point is Mount Benara, at above sea level. Because of the volcanic rock, the soil is relatively rich in some areas. A coral reef encircling much of the island ensures protection for ships and a habitat for fish. Dzaoudzi was the capital of Mayotte until 1977, when the capital was relocated to Mamoudzou on the main island of Grande-Terre. It is situated on Petite-Terre, which at is the largest of several islets adjacent to Maore. The area of the lagoon behind the reef is approximately, reaching a maximum depth of about 80m. It is described as "the largest barrier-reef-lagoon complex within the southwestern Indian Ocean".

Topography

Mayotte is the oldest of the four large islands of the Comoros archipelago, a chain of land emerging from a crescent-shaped submarine relief at the entrance to the Mozambique Channel. Located west of Madagascar and southeast of Anjouan, sometimes visible at sunset in the shade, it is composed of several islands and islets covered with lush vegetation. The two largest islands are Grande-Terre and Petite-Terre, backed by a coral reef.
This long coral reef surrounds a lagoon, one of the largest and deepest in the world. Part of the barrier reef features a double barrier that is rare on the planet. It protects almost all of Mayotte from ocean currents and waves, except for a dozen passes, including one in the east called the "S-pass". The lagoon, which averages wide, is up to deep.
It is dotted with about a hundred coral islets, such as Mtsamboro. This reef serves as a refuge for boats and oceanic fauna. The volcanic activity that created the islands makes the soil particularly fertile.
The total area of Mayotte is about, which makes it by far the smallest French overseas department. However, this area is difficult to assess accurately, given the number of small uninhabited islets, some of which are completely underwater at high tide, but may reveal significant areas at low tide. The main islands are

Grande-Terre,, is long and wide. Its highest points are: Mount Bénara or Mavingoni, Mount Choungui, Mount Mtsapéré, and Mount Combani. It is home to Mamoudzou, which is the economic capital of Mayotte and houses the departmental council and the prefecture;
Petite-Terre, with Dzaoudzi and Pamandzi. It is ;
Mtsamboro is the third largest island. It is permanently inhabited, mainly by fishermen;
Mbouzi islet is classified as a nature reserve;
Bandrélé islet is the fifth largest island;
Sable Blanc islet is located near the Saziley Marine Park.
Environment

Geology

Mayotte is a primarily volcanic island rising steeply from the bed of the ocean to a height of on Mont Bénara.
Two volcanic centres are reported, a southern one with a breached crater to the NW, and a northern centre with a breached crater to the south-east. Mont Bénara is on the curving ridge between these two peaks, approximately at the contact point of the two structures. Volcanic activity started about 7.7 million years ago in the south, ceasing about 2.7 million years ago. In the north, activity started about 4.7 million years ago and lasted until about 1.4 million years ago. Both centres had several phases of activity. The most recent age reported for an ash band is 7000 year BP.

Earthquake swarm

The 11 November 2018, seismic event occurred about off the coast of Mayotte. It was recorded by seismograms in many places, including Kenya, Chile, New Zealand, Canada, and Hawaii located almost away. The seismic waves lasted for more than 20 minutes, but despite this, no one felt it.
Subsequently, the earthquake swarm has been linked to a newly discovered undersea volcano located away from Mayotte at a depth of.

Marine environment

Mayotte is surrounded by a typical tropical coral reef. It consists of a large outer barrier reef, enclosing one of the world's largest and deepest lagoons, followed by a fringing reef, interrupted by many mangroves. All Mayotte waters are ruled by a National Marine Park, and many places are natural reserves.
The outer coral reef is long, housing of lagoon, including of mangrove. There are at least 250 different species of coral, 760 tropical fish species, and the National Natural Heritage Inventory has no fewer than 3,616 marine species, but this is probably a far cry from the actual count. As this region of the world is still poorly inventoried by scientists, the waters of Mayotte continue to harbour many species unknown to science, and allow important scientific discoveries each year.

Terrestrial environment

Mayotte has a great diversity in its plant life: more than 1,300 species are recorded, half of them being endemic, making this island one of the richest in plant diversity in the world compared to its size. 15% of the island is classified as natural reserve; however, the primal forest now covers barely 5% of the island due to illegal deforestation.
Just like many volcanic islands, Mayotte shelters quite a limited mammal biodiversity, the only native species being flying foxes. However, there are 18 species of reptiles, 23 of terrestrial molluscs, 116 butterflies, 38 dragonflies, 50 grasshoppers, and 150 beetles.