The largest maternity hospital in France
It is repeated again and again so much the idea makes people smile, Mayotte, a small archipelago in the Indian Ocean, is the largest maternity hospital in France with a record figure of 9,800 babies born to mothers residing in the territory in 2017 according to INSEE. A staggering figure, which however only covers a small part of the reality, as it does not take into account babies born to mothers from neighbouring islands, which are nevertheless numerous. Several factors explain these multiple births, first of all the local population is young, even very young, with an average age of 23 years, very far from the 41 years of Metropolitan France. Secondly, women have children earlier, mostly in their early twenties, unlike the national average, which is in the thirties. Finally, the average number of children per woman is also much higher than the rest of the national territory, with about 5 children per woman in Mayotte in 2019 compared to 1.87 in France.
A sevenfold increase in population since the 1950s
As a direct consequence of this high birth rate combined with a decline in mortality, the population is increasing massively in the archipelago. The first official figures concerning the population of Mayotte date back to 1958, when there were 23 364 people. At the July 2007 census, Mayotte had 186,452 inhabitants, with an increase of +3.1% per year, a record rate in France. The latest survey is from 2017 and shows a figure of 256,518 inhabitants, +3.8% per year since 2012. Everyone agrees, however, that the 300,000 mark may well have been passed long ago, due to the presence of a large unofficial population. Another direct impact of these births on a territory bounded on all sides by water is the increase in population density. With a record density of 690 inhabitants per km², Mayotte is just behind Ile-de-France (1,010.3 inhabitants/km²). However, it is Petite-Terre, the smaller of the two inhabited islands, which has the most inhabitants: there are around 2,700 inhabitants per km² in Dzaoudzi-Labattoir. Then come Mamoudzou, Tsoundzou 2, Cavani and more generally the commune of Koungou, which have seen a very strong increase in recent years.
A population under migratory pressure
Affected by the promising nickname of Eldorado of the Comoros, Mayotte is the scene of increasingly frequent dramas linked to the massive immigration that weighs on the island. In 2018, the rate of irregularity among the under-25s was estimated at 74% and the proportion of the population of Comorian origin at 42%. The new status of Mayotte, which became a French department in 2011, its health system and free education for children encourage immigrants to settle there. The vast majority are Comorians from the other three islands of the archipelago, the economic and family ties between the inhabitants of the different islands of the archipelago facilitating the rapprochement. The minimum wage is very attractive since it is ten times higher in Mayotte than in the Comoros. A massive influx that creates tensions on the spot. The border police (PAF), the gendarmerie, the customs and the national navy regularly intercept kwassa kwassas (clandestine motor boats) and arrest the smugglers (80% of the detainees in Majicavo prison are kwassa pilots who have been sentenced to prison terms). These figures are constantly increasing, in 2009 more than 9,000 people had been deported compared to 12,487 OQTF (obligation to leave French territory) issued in 2018. In 2018, 215 kwassas were intercepted with 20% of children on board, and 2% of pregnant women. Not to mention the hundreds of deaths drowned in the Indian Ocean during the chaotic journeys. However, France intends to tighten its policy in the coming years, notably with the arrival of new control ships, while working to improve living conditions in the Comoros to reduce departures. It should be noted, however, that a new immigration has gained momentum since 2018: that of asylum seekers from the Great Lakes region of Africa. Most of these migrants pass through the Comoros to reach Mayotte, using existing networks. However, this immigration has an unprecedented character that opens up new debates and challenges for France.
A population on the move
Although the most notorious migration is of course that to Mayotte, the Mauritanian diaspora is also significant. It is estimated that around 25,000 people left for Metropolitan France or Reunion Island between 2012 and 2017 (INSEE figures), mostly young people under 30 years of age who moved for their studies or to find work. Thus, the 15-24 age group is the one that has seen more departures than arrivals, and essentially men.
A multilingual population
The native language of the Mahorais may be either Comorian or Malagasy with Shibushi. Villages generally have their own language, but there are language combinations in a third of the villages and a Bantu or Malagasy dialect elsewhere. Those who speak Malagasy generally speak Comorian or Shimaore very well, which is derived from Swahili (East Africa). With the expansion of Islam, Arabic is present not as a language of communication (except for the Syrians present), but for Koranic studies with the reading of sacred texts. French is not the mother tongue of the islanders, it is the language of the "M'zungus" (whites) who for the most part do not speak any of the island's dialects. A linguistic complexity that often widens the gaps at school where teaching is done only in French, which is not however the language of many students, and in the world of work. At the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019, round tables were held on Shimaoré and Shibushi (or Kibushi). In debate, the issues of the language in the identity of Mayotte and the spelling to be adopted to transcribe sounds that do not exist in the French language. Mayotte has initiated a strong process of transmission and protection of its intangible cultural heritage which will undoubtedly change things.
