southeasternmost island of the Comoros archipelago and a French dependency, situated in the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean, about 193 miles (310 km) northwest of Madagascar. Pamandzi, an islet lying about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) east of Mayotte, is connected by a 1.2-mile causeway to the rocky outcrop known as Dzaoudzi, site of the capital city and port. Area 144 square miles (373 square km). Pop. (1991 est.) 85,800.

A volcanic mountain range forms a north-south chain on Mayotte island, with summits of from 1,600 to 2,000 feet (500 to 600 m) in elevation. Protected waters for shipping and fishing are created by surrounding coral reefs some distance from the shore. The climate is warm, humid, and maritime, and average monthly temperatures range from 75° F (24° C) in August to 81° F (27° C) in December. The island's average annual rainfall is 200 inches (5,000 mm). The vegetation comprises lush green tropical forest.

Most of the people are Moharais of Malagasy origin and are Muslim, strongly influenced by French culture; there is a substantial Roman Catholic minority. French is the official language, but most of the people speak Comorian (closely allied to Swahili); there are some villages along the Mayotte coast in which a Malagasy dialect is the main language. Births greatly exceed deaths and the population is growing rapidly. Moreover, about 50 percent of the population is less than 15 years of age, portending high rates of natural increase well into the 21st century. The principal towns are Dzaoudzi and Mamoudzou, the largest town and capital designate.

Agriculture is the principal occupation on Mayotte and is confined to central and northeastern plains; cash crops include vanilla, ylang-ylang, coconuts, and coffee. Cassava, bananas, corn (maize), and rice are grown for subsistence. The island's main exports are ylang-ylang extract, vanilla, coffee, and copra. Rice, sugar, flour, clothing, building materials, hardware, cement, and transport equipment are imported. Mayotte's major trading partner is France, and the territory's economy is in large part dependent on French aid. A road system links the principal towns on Mayotte island, and an interisland airport is located on the islet of Pamandzi, southwest of Dzaoudzi.

Mayotte has had a special status with France since 1976 as a collectivité territoriale (territorial collectivity), conceived as being midway between an overseas territory and an overseas département. It is represented in the French National Assembly by a deputy and in the French Senate by a senator. The territory is administered by a French-appointed prefect and an elected 17-member General Council. The judiciary is modeled on the French system.

Mayotte has several small hospitals and some dispensaries. Major illnesses include malaria, parasitic diseases, and tuberculosis. The educational system includes both traditional Islāmic schools, in which the Qurʾān is studied, and primary and secondary schools established by the French.

In the 15th century, Arabs invaded the island and converted its inhabitants, who were probably descendants of earlier Bantu and Malayo-Indonesian peoples, to Islām; in the 16th century, the Portuguese and French visited Mayotte. At the end of the 18th century, the Sakalava, a Malagasy tribe from Madagascar, invaded and populated the island, bringing a Malagasy dialect. The French gained colonial control over Mayotte in 1843, and, together with the other islands of the Comoros archipelago and Madagascar, Mayotte became part of a single French overseas territory in the early 20th century.

The French have administered Mayotte separately from the remainder of the Comoros since 1975, when the three northernmost and predominantly Muslim islands of the Comoros unilaterally declared independence, and the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of Mayotte chose to remain with France. In 1976 the French government introduced a special status of collectivité territoriale for the island. The population of Mayotte demanded the status of a département for the island, but this was rejected by the French government. In December 1979 the French National Assembly voted to prolong the island's special status for five years, after which time the population's wishes would again be consulted. In the same year, the United Nations passed a resolution affirming the sovereignty of the Comoros over Mayotte.