 The department status of Mayotte is recent and the region remains, by a significant margin, the poorest in France.Mayotte is nevertheless much more prosperous than the other countries of the Mozambique Channel, making it a major destination for illegal immigration.Mayotte's land area is and, with its 279,471 people according to January 2020 official estimates, is very densely populated at 747 inhabitants per km2 (1,935 per sq mi).