Formerly an independent kingdom,
Madagascar became a French colony in 1896 but regained independence in
1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections
were held ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second
presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and
1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election
was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc
RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April
2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner.
RAVALOMANANA achieved a second term following a landslide victory in the
generally free and fair presidential elections of 2006. In early 2009,
protests over increasing restrictions on opposition press and activities
resulted in RAVALOMANANA stepping down and the presidency was conferred
to the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry RAJOELINA. Following negotiations
in July and August of 2009, a power-sharing agreement with a 15-month
transitional period was established, but has not yet been implemented.
Geography ::Madagascar
Location:
Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique
Geographic coordinates:
20 00 S, 47 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 587,041 sq km
country comparison to the world: 46
land:
581,540 sq km
water:
5,501 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly less than twice the size of Arizona
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
4,828 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone:
24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
continental shelf:
200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m isobath
Climate:
Current Weather
tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Terrain:
narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
periodic cyclones; drought; and locust infestation
Environment - current issues:
soil erosion results from
deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water
contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several
endangered species of flora and fauna unique to the island
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:
world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel
65 years and over:
3% (male 287,402/female 359,879) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 18.1 years
male:
17.8 years
female:
18.3 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.993% (2010 est.)
2
Birth rate:
37.89 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
0
Death rate:
7.97 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
08
Net migration rate:
NA
Urbanization:
urban population: 29% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
3.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.8 male(s)/female
total population:
0.99 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 52.84 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 48
male:
57.69 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
47.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.26 years
5
male:
61.27 years
female:
65.3 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.09 children born/woman (2010 est.)
0
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2007 est.)
17
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
14,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
fewer than 1,000 (2007 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases:
chikungunya, malaria, and plague
water contact disease:
schistosomiasis (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective:
Malagasy
Ethnic groups:
Malayo-Indonesian (Merina
and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and
Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French,
Indian, Creole, Comoran
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%
Languages:
English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
68.9%
male:
75.5%
female:
62.5% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years
male:
10 years
female:
9 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
3.1% of GDP (2006)
44
Government ::Madagascar
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar
conventional short form:
Madagascar
local long form:
Republique de Madagascar/Repoblikan'i Madagasikara
local short form:
Madagascar/Madagasikara
former:
Malagasy Republic
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name: Antananarivo
geographic coordinates:
18 55 S, 47 31 E
time difference:
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara
Independence:
26 June 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 June (1960)
Constitution:
passed by referendum 19 August 1992
Legal system:
based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Andry RAJOELINA (since 18 March 2009)
head of government:
Prime Minister Albert Camille VITAL (since 18 December 2009)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections:
president
elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second
term); election last held on 3 December 2006 (next to be held in October
2010); prime minister appointed by the president
election results:
percent
of vote - Marc RAVALOMANANA 54.8%, Jean LAHINIRIKO 11.7%, Roland
RATSIRAKA 10.1%, Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO 9.1%, Norbert RATSIRAHONANA 4.2%,
Ny Hasina ANDRIAMANJATO 4.2%, Elia RAVELOMANANTSOA 2.6%, Pety
RAKOTONIAINA 1.7%, other 1.6%; note - RAVALOMANANA stepped down on 17
March 2009
note::on
17 March 2009, democratically elected President Marc RAVALOMANANA
stepped down handing the government over to the military, which in turn
conferred the presidency on opposition leader and Antananarivo mayor
Andry RAJOELINA, who will head the High Transition Authority; a
power-sharing agreement reached in August 2009 established a 15-month
transition period, concluding in general elections in 2010; as of
December 2009 the agreement had not been fully implemented
Legislative branch:
bicameral legislature
consists of a Senate or Senat (100 seats; two-thirds of the members
appointed by regional assemblies; the remaining one-third appointed by
the president; members to serve four-year terms) and a National Assembly
or Assemblee Nationale (127 seats - reduced from 160 seats by an April
2007 national referendum; members elected by popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
elections:
National
Assembly - last held on 23 September 2007 (next to be held on 20 March
2010); note - a power-sharing agreement in the summer of 2009
established a 15-month transition, concluding in general elections
election results:
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TIM 106, LEADER/Fanilo 1, independents 20
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle
Political parties and leaders:
Association for the
Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [Pierrot RAJAONARIVELO]; Democratic Party
for Union in Madagascar or PSDUM [Jean LAHINIRIKO]; Economic Liberalism
and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo
RAZAFIMAHALEO]; Fihaonana Party or FP [Guy-Willy RAZANAMASY]; I Love
Madagascar or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic
Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Committee for the Defense
of Truth and Justice or KMMR; Committee for National Reconciliation or
CRN [Albert Zafy]; National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM
two equal horizontal
bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same
width on hoist side; by tradition, red stands for sovereignty, green for
hope, white for purity
Economy ::Madagascar
Economy - overview:
After discarding socialist economic
policies in the mid-1990s, Madagascar has followed a World Bank- and
IMF-led policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy placed
the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low
level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the
economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing 80%
of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years
primarily due to duty-free access to the US. However, Madagascar's
failure to comply with the requirements of the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA) led to the termination of the country's duty-free
access in January 2010. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the
use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns.
Former President RAVALOMANANA worked aggressively to revive the economy
following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP
that year. The current political crisis which began in early 2009 has
dealt additional blows to the economy. Tourism dropped more than 50% in
2009, compared with the previous year.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$20.5 billion (2009 est.)
21
$20.42 billion (2008 est.)
$19.08 billion (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$9.079 billion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
0.4% (2009 est.)
06
7% (2008 est.)
6.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$1,000 (2009 est.)
11
$1,000 (2008 est.)
$1,000 (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 26.4%
industry:
16.6%
services:
57% (2009 est.)
Labor force:
9.504 million (2007)
country comparison to the world: 51
Population below poverty line:
50% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
China 20.1%, Bahrain 8.7%, France 6.3%, South Africa 5.7%, US 4.9%, India 4.4% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$1.136 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
26
$982.3 million (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$2.054 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
33
$2.023 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Exchange rates:
Malagasy ariary (MGA) per US dollar - 1,966.97 (2009), 1,654.78 (2008), 1,880 (2007), 2,161.4 (2006), 2,003 (2005)
Communications ::Madagascar
Telephones - main lines in use:
164,900 (2008)
30
Telephones - mobile cellular:
4.835 million (2008)
Telephone system:
general assessment: system
is above average for the region; Antananarivo's main telephone exchange
modernized in the late 1990s, but the rest of the analogue-based
telephone system is poorly developed; have been adding fixed line
connections since 2005
domestic:
combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity about 25 per 100 persons
international:
country
code - 261; SEACOM undersea fiber-optic cable and the Lion undersea
cable connecting to Reunion and Mauritius; satellite earth stations - 2
(1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region)
(2008)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001)
Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001)
Internet country code:
.mg
Internet hosts:
27,807 (2009)
Internet users:
316,100 (2008)
24
Transportation ::Madagascar
Airports:
89 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 66
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 27
over 3,047 m:
1
2,438 to 3,047 m:
2
1,524 to 2,437 m:
6
914 to 1,523 m:
17
under 914 m:
1 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 62
1,524 to 2,437 m:
2
914 to 1,523 m:
39
under 914 m:
21 (2009)
Railways:
total: 854 km
narrow gauge:
854 km 1.000-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 65,663 km
country comparison to the world: 69
paved:
7,617 km
unpaved:
58,046 km (2003)
Waterways:
600 km
note:432 km navigable (2008)
Merchant marine:
total: 8
20
by type:
cargo 4, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara
Military ::Madagascar
Military branches:
People's Armed Forces: Intervention Force, Development Force, and Aeronaval Force (navy and air); National Gendarmerie
Military service age and obligation:
18-25 years of age for
male-only voluntary military service; no conscription; service
obligation - 18 months (either military or equivalent civil service);
20-30 years of age for National Gendarmerie recruits (35 years of age
for those with military experience) (2010)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 4,745,274
females age 16-49:
4,750,188 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 3,268,291
females age 16-49:
3,541,256 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 242,334
female:
241,359 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
1% of GDP (2006)
33
Transnational Issues ::Madagascar
Disputes - international:
claims Bassas da India, Europa
Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by
France); the vegetated drying cays of Banc du Geyser, which were claimed
by Madagascar in 1976,?also fall within the EEZ claims of the Comoros
and France (Glorioso Islands, part of the French Southern and Antarctic
Lands)
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of
cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic
consumption; transshipment point for heroin
