Comoros

Economy & income

1 USD = 430.5 KMF live rate

Currency: Comorian franc (KMF, FC)
euro-pegged at fixed 491.96775 KMF/EUR
~426 per USD (Jun 2026)
GDP per capita: ~$1,527 nominal (2024, World Bank/Trading Economics), IMF projects ~$1,769 (2025)
~$3,568 PPP (2024, World Bank)
Average salary: ~$210 net/mo (wage.is: CF90,000, Feb 2026)
formal-sector gross varies widely (~$300-650)
mostly informal/subsistence economy
Median salary: n/a — no official median published
large informal/subsistence sector makes any median unreliable
Minimum wage: KMF 55,000/mo (SMIG, effective 1 Jan 2025) ≈ ~$129/mo
Cost of living: Low
Numbeo data for Comoros is very thin/insufficient (few contributors) — treat as indicative only

Digital landscape

Population: 875 thousand (Jan 2025); 30.6% urban, median age 20.6
Internet users: 35.7% (~312K users, Jan 2025); 562K still offline
Social media users: 29.4% (~257K identities, Jan 2025)
82.3% of internet users
57.9% male / 42.1% female
Mobile connections: 679K cellular connections = 77.6% of population (Jan 2025)
Devices: mobile ~54.9% / desktop ~43.6% / tablet ~1.5% (StatCounter, Jun 2026)
Ad spend: n/a — DataReportal does not publish a headline digital ad-spend figure for Comoros
market too small
Buying runs through Meta, TikTok and Google auctions
Top social platforms: Facebook ~257K, 29.4% of pop — dominant

TikTok ~172K adults, 34.6% adult reach — fastest growing +40% YoY

Facebook Messenger ~170K, 19.4% of pop

LinkedIn ~39K, 4.5% — +62% YoY

Instagram ~29K, 3.3% of pop

X/Twitter ~3.6K, 0.4%
Messengers: WhatsApp (de-facto #1 for personal chat & diaspora/remittance coordination; not in Meta ad list)
Facebook Messenger (~170K, ad-reported)
TikTok DMs / Telegram (smaller)

Ad regulations

Gambling & betting Restricted

RESTRICTED — no domestic gambling market (98% Muslim, religiously discouraged); however Anjouan/Comoros is a well-known OFFSHORE iGaming licensing hub (Anjouan Gaming Board) whose licences target foreign markets — a recognised grey/offshore jurisdiction with no standing in the US/UK/EU

Crypto Restricted

RESTRICTED — no domestic crypto framework; Anjouan offshore licences permit crypto/Bitcoin/USDT with mandatory AML/transaction monitoring; unregulated for local retail use

Adult Restricted

RESTRICTED — conservative Sunni-Muslim society; adult/pornographic content culturally taboo and not openly permitted

Dating Restricted

RESTRICTED — dating apps see low, sensitive usage; extramarital/casual-dating framing is socially unacceptable; LGBTQ relations are criminalised

Finance & loans Restricted

RESTRICTED — thin consumer-credit market, strong Islamic-finance context (riba sensitivity); supervised by Banque Centrale des Comores; predatory-loan angles risky

Nutra & pharma Restricted

RESTRICTED — weak local enforcement and no strong pharma-advertising regime; effectively a grey area, but import/health rules and religious norms apply (no alcohol/pork-derived)

Regulators

No dedicated advertising-standards authority
Banque Centrale des Comores (BCC) — finance
ANRTIC (Autorité Nationale de Régulation des TIC) — telecom/ICT
Anjouan Gaming Board (under the Anjouan Offshore Finance Authority) — offshore gaming

Notes

Very light-touch/under-resourced regulation domestically
The country's main affiliate-relevant regulatory footprint is as an EXPORTER of offshore iGaming & crypto licences, not as a consumer market for those verticals
Respect Islamic norms in all creatives.

Payments & behaviour

Payment methods: Cash (dominant; >70% of population unbanked)
Mobile money — Mvola (Yas/Telma-backed), the leading wallet
Mobile money — Wakati (ex-Huri Money, Comores Telecom) and MobiCash/Holo
Bank cards Visa/Mastercard (limited; urban/formal only)
Remittances via Western Union/MoneyGram (large inbound from France diaspora)
E-wallets: Mvola
Wakati (formerly Huri Money)
MobiCash / Holo
Cash on delivery: High — cash-on-delivery / cash-in-hand is the default
card-not-present trust is low
E-commerce: Very low / nascent — no significant local marketplace
buying skews to Facebook/WhatsApp commerce, classifieds and diaspora-facilitated cross-border orders
Notes: Central Bank is building a National Payment Switch (PayLogic) to interconnect wallets and banks
Remittances are a very large share of GDP, making mobile money the key rail
Plan for mobile-money + COD, not cards.

Audience & culture

Languages: Comorian / Shikomori (Shingazidja etc.) — national lingua franca (~majority native)
French — official, language of administration/business & most online content (~25-30% functional)
Arabic — official, religious/Quranic use
Religion: Sunni Islam ~98% (Shafi'i school); Roman Catholic/other ~2%
Median age: 20.6 years (DataReportal, Jan 2025) — very young population
Key seasons: Ramadan + Eid al-Fitr (peak spending/attention)
Eid al-Adha (Tabaski)
Grand Mariage / Anda wedding season (mainly Jun-Sep — huge status-driven, remittance-fuelled spending)
Maulid (Prophet's birthday)
Independence Day (6 July)
Cultural notes: Conservative Sunni-Muslim, family/community-driven society
very large France/Marseille diaspora funds consumption via remittances and consumes French-language media
Mobile-first, cash & mobile-money, highly price-sensitive
The 'Grand Mariage' is a defining status-spending event.
Where to find creators: Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
Instagram
Diaspora creators based in France

Media landscape

Top media outlets

1 Al-Watwan French/Comorian — state-owned daily; most influential, founded 1985
2 La Gazette des Comores French — leading privately-owned daily; very popular
3 HabarizaComores French/Comorian — leading online news brand (web + social + YouTube)
4 Comores Actualités French — multi-platform online news, strong diaspora reach
5 Masiwa French — private online news/analysis outlet
6 ORTC Office de Radio et Télévision des Comores — national public TV/radio broadcaster

Top YouTube channels

1 ORTC (@ortcofficiel) n/a (small national channel; count not public in search)
2 Habari za Comores n/a (small; news channel)
3 Comores Actualités n/a (small; news channel)
4 La Chaîne Libre des Comores (CLC) n/a (small; opinion/news)
5 FCBK FM n/a (small; radio/talk)

Creators & public figures

Top creators

Soprano (Saïd M'Roumbaba) ~2.0M Instagram

Instagram/YouTubeFrench rap superstar of Comorian origin; massive diaspora reach and strong brand-deal track record

Rohff (Housni M'Kouboi) ~1.5M Instagram

InstagramPioneer French rapper of Comorian origin; large diaspora audience

C

Cheikh MC n/a exact (local, tens of K)

YouTube/FacebookLeading in-country Comorian rapper & civic activist; top domestic music name

Nawal n/a exact (niche)

Instagram/YouTubeComorian singer-songwriter on the international world-music circuit

G

Goulam n/a exact

Instagram/YouTubeFrench-Comorian rap/reggae artist; diaspora following

B

BIG MJ n/a exact

YouTubeMusician with crossover popularity across Comoros and Madagascar

Celebrities

El Fardou Ben Nabouhane ~65K Instagram

Footballer — forward, Comoros national-team all-time top scorer (AFCON 2021 icon)

Youssouf M'Changama n/a exact (modest)

Footballer — national-team midfielder/captain, celebrated free-kick specialist

Myziane Maolida ~21K Instagram

Footballer — forward, Saudi Pro League; French-born Comorian international

F

Faïz Selemani ~5K Instagram

Footballer — winger, Comoros national team

Chaker Alhadhur n/a exact (modest)

Footballer — defender; famous for playing goalkeeper at AFCON 2022

Ahmed Sylla ~1.0M Instagram

Comedian & actor of Comorian-Senegalese descent; mainstream French audience

Affiliate & traffic

Hot verticals: Mobile VAS / content subscriptions & utility apps
iGaming/betting — as a LICENCE jurisdiction (Anjouan), not a local player market
Finance / remittances / mobile-money
Sweepstakes & app installs
Religious / Islamic content
Active networks: No Comoros-specific networks; global self-serve ad/CPA networks reach it via Francophone-Africa targeting
Adsterra, Monetag (ex-PropellerAds) — pop/push/display
Mobidea and mobile-VAS/subscription aggregators
iGaming affiliate programs running Anjouan-licensed brands (targeting OTHER markets)
Payouts: Tier-3 low: very low CPMs and small CPL/CPA
monetization capped by COD/mobile-money habits and low card penetration
Volume play, not payout play
Competition: Very low — tiny audience (~312K online) and low advertiser interest
cheap inventory but limited scale
Seasonality: Ramadan/Eid spikes
Grand Mariage summer season
remittance inflows lift spending around religious holidays
Traffic sources: Facebook & Messenger
TikTok
Google / YouTube
Push / in-app / pop (Adsterra, Monetag)

Good to know

Capital: Moroni
Major cities: Moroni
Mutsamudu (Moutsamoudou)
Fomboni
Domoni
Sima
Mitsamiouli
Time zones: Single time zone — East Africa Time (EAT), UTC+3, no DST
Android vs iOS: 84% 16%

Android 84% iOS 16%
Phone brands: Transsion budget Androids — Tecno / Itel / Infinix (dominant low end, typical of the region)
Samsung
Xiaomi
Apple iPhone (~16% share, affluent/diaspora)
Top e-commerce: No major domestic marketplace
Facebook / WhatsApp social commerce & classifieds
Diaspora-facilitated cross-border orders from France
Regional imports (Madagascar/Tanzania/Gulf)
Peak activity: Evenings after Isha prayer (~20:00-23:00 EAT); lunchtime lull; Fridays around prayer differ. During Ramadan activity shifts to post-iftar late night
Creative taboos: Avoid alcohol, pork, nudity/adult imagery, gambling pitched to locals, and any anti-Islam or LGBTQ content (same-sex relations are illegal)
Respect Ramadan
women in creatives should be modestly presented
Also worth knowing: Comoros/Anjouan is best known in affiliate circles as an OFFSHORE iGaming & crypto LICENCE jurisdiction — you'll meet 'Comoros/Anjouan-licensed' brands, but the licence carries no recognition in tier-1 markets (grey).
The France/Marseille diaspora and its remittances (a very large share of GDP) mean French-language diaspora audiences are far more monetizable than in-country users.
In-country it's a mobile-first, cash & mobile-money, ultra-low-CPM market — treat as volume/testing, not a payout market.