Southeasternmost island (pop., 2002 est.: 165,000) of the Comoros archipelago, a French overseas territorial collectivity.
Located northwest of Madagascar, it occupies an area of 144 sq mi (373 sq km); Mamoutzo is its chief town and capital designate. Dzaoudzi, the current capital, is its other main city and port. Most of its people are of Malagasy origin. Originally inhabited by descendants of Bantu and Malayo-Indonesian peoples, it was converted to Islam by Arab invaders in the 15th century. Taken by Malagasy people from Madagascar at the end of the 18th century, it came under French control in 1843. Together with the other Comoros islands and Madagascar, it became part of a single French overseas territory in the early 20th century. It has been administered separately since 1975, when the three northernmost islands of the Comoros declared independence.