Mayotte

Mayotte is in the Indian Ocean, near Africa and Madagascar.

It has one big island and one small island. The capital is Mamoudzou.

Mayotte lies in the Mozambique Channel, the stretch of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Madagascar, about 310 kilometers northwest of Madagascar. It is part of the Comoros group of islands.

France governs Mayotte as an overseas department, so it uses the euro and French is the official language. Comoros, the country made up of the other main islands of the group, says Mayotte should belong to it. Mayotte has a large main island, Grande-Terre, and a small one, Petite-Terre. The capital, Mamoudzou, is on the east coast of Grande-Terre.

Britannica describes Mayotte as an overseas department of France comprising the two southeasternmost islands of the Comoros archipelago, in the Mozambique Channel about 310 km northwest of Madagascar. It is administered by a French-appointed prefect and an elected Departmental Council and is represented in the French Parliament. Comoros has claimed Mayotte since its 1975 declaration of independence and represents it at the United Nations; a 1979 UN resolution affirmed Comoros's sovereignty, while Mayotte's voters chose to stay with France.

The capital, Mamoudzou, is on the east coast of Grande-Terre. Petite-Terre (Pamandzi) lies about 2.4 km to the east, joined by a 1.9 km causeway to Dzaoudzi, a rocky outcrop with a town and port. French is official and the euro is the currency.

Mamoudzou is a busy harbor town. Many small boats float in the bay.

A small island called Petite-Terre lies across the water. It has the airport.

Mamoudzou is the capital and the biggest town. The photo, taken in 2013, looks over its harbor full of small boats, with a ferry at the dock, the large public market with a blue roof, and dry hills behind.

Across the water, Petite-Terre holds the town of Dzaoudzi and Mayotte's international airport. Around both islands spreads the lagoon, dotted with many small islets that are important resting places for birds.

Britannica names Mamoudzou, Koungou and Dzaoudzi as the main population centers. The photo, from September 2013, shows Mamoudzou's waterfront with the public market (the large blue-roofed building), a ferry and a crowded mooring of small boats below dry, wooded hills.

Petite-Terre (Pamandzi) has Dzaoudzi, its port and the international airport. The marine park describes many islets scattered through the lagoon, which play a vital ecological role for birds, and resting sites such as the Ngouja reef for migratory birds stopping at Mayotte.

Mayotte's hills were made by volcanoes long ago.

A wall of coral reef runs around the islands. Inside it is a huge, calm lagoon. Mangrove trees grow along the shore.

A chain of old volcanic mountains runs north to south across Grande-Terre. The highest, Mount Benara, is 660 meters high. It is warm and humid all year, from about 24 °C in August to 27 °C in December.

A coral barrier reef 140 kilometers long surrounds the islands, enclosing a lagoon of 1,100 square kilometers, the biggest in the western Indian Ocean. In some places there are two barrier reefs, one inside the other, which is very rare. Mangrove forests line about a third of the coast.

Britannica describes a north–south chain of volcanic mountains on Grande-Terre with summits of about 500–600 m (Wikidata gives Benara 660 m), surrounded by coral reefs some distance from shore. The climate is warm, humid and maritime, with monthly averages of 24 °C (August) to 27 °C (December).

The Mayotte Marine Natural Park describes the lagoon, 1,100 km² (1,300 km² with the Iris bank), as the largest in the western Indian Ocean and among the largest around volcanic islands. A 140 km barrier reef encloses it, and in places a second, inner barrier (18 km) runs inside the outer one, a feature found at fewer than ten sites worldwide. Mangroves of seven tree species line 30% of the coast (725 ha).

Humpback whale mothers have their babies in Mayotte's calm lagoon.

Sea turtles lay eggs on the beaches. A gentle sea cow called a dugong grazes in the lagoon.

Humpback whales visit Mayotte from July to November. Out at sea they find mates, and inside the wide, shallow lagoon mothers give birth and look after their calves before the long trip back to Antarctica.

The marine park lists 760 kinds of fish, 300 kinds of coral and 25 kinds of marine mammals, including the dugong. Green sea turtles lay their eggs on almost all of Mayotte's beaches. The whale and turtle photos here were taken near Moorea, in French Polynesia, and the dugong photo in Egypt.

The marine park says humpback whales are present from July to November: offshore waters are used for mating, while the broad, shallow lagoon offers ideal conditions for mothers to give birth and nurse before calves make their first journey to Antarctica. It records 760 fish species (including the Geyser and Zélée banks), 300 coral species (about 200 reef-building hard corals) and 25 marine mammal species, among them the dugong.

Nearly all of the island's beaches, black, white or ochre, are nesting beaches for sea turtles, and the park shows green turtles nesting at Moya beach. The humpback calf and green turtle photos here were taken off Moorea, French Polynesia; the dugong photo near Marsa Alam, Egypt.

People in Mayotte speak French and local languages.

There are lots of children. More than half of the people are under 20.

French is the official language, but most people speak Shimaoré, a language close to Swahili, and in some coastal villages people speak a Malagasy language. Most people are Muslim, and French culture has a strong influence.

Mayotte's population is very young. In INSEE's 2024 estimate, more than half of the people were under 20. A full census counted 323,153 people on 1 January 2026.

Britannica describes most inhabitants as Mahorais of Malagasy origin, Sunni Muslim and strongly influenced by French culture, with a Roman Catholic minority. French is official; most people speak Comorian (Shimaoré, closely allied to Swahili), and in some coastal villages a Malagasy dialect is the main language. Schooling includes traditional Islamic schools and French primary and secondary schools.

INSEE's first results from a full census, taken between November 2025 and January 2026, give 323,153 people on 1 January 2026; its earlier estimate for 1 January 2024 (320,901) counted 172,577 (54%) under 20. Britannica describes the service sector as the main employer and lists vanilla, ylang-ylang, coffee and coconuts as cash crops on the central and northeastern plains, with cassava, bananas, maize and rice grown for home use. Britannica names ylang-ylang extract and farmed fish as the main exports.