Language

The most common language is in the Comoros is Comorian (or Shikomori), a descendant of Swahili with Arabic influences. Local dialects include Shingazidja (on Ngazidja), Shimwali (on Mwali), Shinzwani (on Nzwani) and Shimaore (on Mahoré).

French and Arabic are also official languages, along with Comorian. Arabic is widely known as a second language, being the language of Koranic teaching, and French is the language of all other formal education. Malagasy is also spoken by a small number of Malagasy immigrants. About 57% of the population is literate in the Latin alphabet, more with the Arabic alphabet; total literacy is estimated at 62.5%. Comorian has no native script, but both Arabic and Latin scripts have been used.