Madagascar

total: 32,000 (2020 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.1 (2020 est.)

state-owned Radio Nationale Malagasy (RNM) and Television Malagasy (TVM) have an extensive national network reach; privately owned radio and TV broadcasters in cities and major towns; state-run radio dominates in rural areas; relays of 2 international broadcasters are available in Antananarivo (2019)

.mg

total: 2,696,931 (2019 est.) percent of population: 10% (2019 est.)

general assessment: telecom services in Madagascar have benefited from intensifying competition between the main operators; there have been positive developments with the country s link to international submarine cables, particularly the METISS cable connecting to South Africa and Mauritius; in addition, the country s connection to the Africa-1 cable, expected in late 2023, will provide it with links to Kenya, Djibouti, countries in north and south Africa, as well Pakistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and France; a national fiber backbone has been implemented connecting the major cities; in addition, the government has progressed with its five-year plan to develop a digital platform running to 2024; various schemes within the program have been managed by a unit within the President s office; penetration rates in all market sectors remain below the average for the African region, and so there remains considerable growth potential; much progress was made in 2020, stimulated by the particular conditions related to the pandemic, which encouraged greater use of voice and data services (2022) domestic: less than 1 per 100 for fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity about 57 per 100 persons (2020) international: country code - 261; landing points for the EASSy, METISS, and LION fiber-optic submarine cable systems connecting to numerous Indian Ocean Islands, South Africa, and Eastern African countries; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region) (2019) note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services

total subscriptions: 69,000 (2020 est.)

total subscriptions: 15.869 million (2020 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 57 (2020 est.)

rice, sugar cane, cassava, sweet potatoes, milk, vegetables, bananas, mangoes/guavas, tropical fruit, potatoes

revenues: 1.828 billion (2017 est.) expenditures: 2.136 billion (2017 est.)

-2.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

-$35 million (2017 est.) $57 million (2016 est.)

$3.085 billion (2019 est.) $4.107 billion (2018 est.)

Madagascar is a mostly unregulated economy with many untapped natural resources, but no capital markets, a weak judicial system, poorly enforced contracts, and rampant government corruption. The country faces challenges to improve education, healthcare, and the environment to boost long-term economic growth. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing roughly 80% of the population. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by bushfires, slash-and-burn clearing techniques, and the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns to the agriculture dependent economy. After discarding socialist economic policies in the mid-1990s, Madagascar followed a World Bank- and IMF-led policy of privatization and liberalization until a 2009 coup d tat led many nations, including the United States, to suspend non-humanitarian aid until a democratically-elected president was inaugurated in 2014. The pre-coup strategy had placed the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low starting point. Exports of apparel boomed after gaining duty-free access to the US market in 2000 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA); however, Madagascar's failure to comply with the requirements of the AGOA led to the termination of the country's duty-free access in January 2010, a sharp fall in textile production, a loss of more than 100,000 jobs, and a GDP drop of nearly 11%. Madagascar regained AGOA access in January 2015 and ensuing growth has been slow and fragile. Madagascar produces around 80% of the world s vanilla and its reliance on this commodity for most of its foreign exchange is a significant source of vulnerability. Economic reforms have been modest and the country s financial sector remains weak, limiting the use of monetary policy to control inflation. An ongoing IMF program aims to strengthen financial and investment management capacity.

Malagasy ariary (MGA) per US dollar - 3,116.1 (2017 est.) 3,176.5 (2016 est.) 3,176.5 (2015 est.) 2,933.5 (2014 est.) 2,414.8 (2013 est.)

$4.09 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $4.41 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $4.839 billion (2017 est.)

vanilla, nickel, gold, clothing and apparel, gemstones (2019)

United States 19%, France 18%, United Arab Emirates 7%, China 6%, Japan 6%, Germany 5%, India 5% (2019)

calendar year

$13.964 billion (2019 est.)

household consumption: 67.1% (2017 est.) government consumption: 11.2% (2017 est.) investment in fixed capital: 15.1% (2017 est.) investment in inventories: 8.8% (2017 est.) exports of goods and services: 31.5% (2017 est.) imports of goods and services: -33.7% (2017 est.)

agriculture: 24% (2017 est.) industry: 19.5% (2017 est.) services: 56.4% (2017 est.)

42.6 (2012 est.) 42.7 (2010)

lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 34.7% (2010 est.)

$4.7 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $4.82 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in current year dollars $5.796 billion (2017 est.)

refined petroleum, rice, cars, packaged medicines, clothing and apparel (2019)

China 24%, France 11%, United Arab Emirates 9%, India 7%, South Africa 5% (2019)

5.2% (2017 est.)

meat processing, seafood, soap, beer, leather, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism, mining

5.6% (2019 est.) 8.6% (2018 est.) 8.5% (2017 est.)

13.4 million (2017 est.)

70.7% (2012 est.)

36% of GDP (2017 est.) 38.4% of GDP (2016 est.)

$41.82 billion (2020 est.) $43.65 billion (2019 est.) $41.81 billion (2018 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars

4.2% (2017 est.) 4.2% (2016 est.) 3.1% (2015 est.)

$1,500 (2020 est.) $1,600 (2019 est.) $1,600 (2018 est.) note: data are in 2017 dollars

$1.6 billion (31 December 2017 est.) $1.076 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

15.9% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

1.8% (2017 est.) 1.8% (2016 est.)

total: 3.4% male: 3.9% female: 3% (2015 est.)

4.218 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) from coal and metallurgical coke: 1.044 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) from petroleum and other liquids: 3.175 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.) from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.) consumption: 107,000 metric tons (2020 est.) exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.) imports: 115,000 metric tons (2020 est.) proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

installed generating capacity: 587,000 kW (2020 est.) consumption: 1,720,140,000 kWh (2019 est.) exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.) imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.) transmission/distribution losses: 131 million kWh (2019 est.)

electrification - total population: 39% (2019) electrification - urban areas: 64% (2019) electrification - rural areas: 23% (2019)

fossil fuels: 59.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) solar: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) hydroelectricity: 38.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.) biomass and waste: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

2.307 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.) proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.) refined petroleum consumption: 21,100 bbl/day (2019 est.) crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.) crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.) crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

18,880 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

particulate matter emissions: 21.44 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.) carbon dioxide emissions: 3.91 megatons (2016 est.) methane emissions: 10.14 megatons (2020 est.)

tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south

erosion and soil degredation results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; agricultural fires; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; wildlife preservation (endangered species of flora and fauna unique to the island)

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

severe localized food insecurity: due to the effects of extreme weather events and slow economic recovery - according to the latest May 2022 analysis, the prevalence of food insecurity in the southern regions is projected to peak at 2.1 million people by December 2022 until at least March 2023; overall, the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance by the end of 2022 is expected to be about 30 percent higher compared to the peak number in 2021; the poor food security situation is mainly the consequence of six consecutive poor agricultural seasons that culminated in very tight food supplies for rural households and curbed incomes from crop sales; high rates of poverty and increased prices of essential food commodities, combined with a high reliance on market supplies due to low harvests for own consumption, are also contributing to the high rates of food insecurity across the southern regions (2022)

agricultural land: 71.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 64.1% (2018 est.) forest: 21.5% (2018 est.) other: 7.4% (2018 est.)

degree of risk: very high (2020) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever water contact diseases: schistosomiasis animal contact diseases: rabies note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Madagascar is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus ; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an infected person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

forest revenues: 4.34% of GDP (2018 est.)

337 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

municipal: 395 million cubic meters (2017 est.) industrial: 161.9 million cubic meters (2017 est.) agricultural: 13 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

urban population: 40.6% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 4.26% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually: 3,768,759 tons (2016 est.)

total: 587,041 sq km land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,501 sq km

almost four times the size of Georgia; slightly less than twice the size of Arizona

tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south

4,828 km

highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m mean elevation: 615 m

20 00 S, 47 00 E

world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel; despite Madagascar’s close proximity to the African continent, ocean currents isolate the island resulting in high rates of endemic plant and animal species; approximately 90% of the flora and fauna on the island are found nowhere else

10,860 sq km (2012)

total: 0 km

agricultural land: 71.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 1% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 64.1% (2018 est.) forest: 21.5% (2018 est.) other: 7.4% (2018 est.)

Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique

Africa

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

periodic cyclones; drought; and locust infestation volcanism: Madagascar's volcanoes have not erupted in historical times

graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, rare earth elements, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower

most of population lives on the eastern half of the island; significant clustering is found in the central highlands and eastern coastline as shown in this population distribution map

narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center

6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara

name: Antananarivo geographic coordinates: 18 55 S, 47 31 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name, which means "City of the Thousand," was bestowed by 17th century King ADRIANJAKAKING to honor the soldiers assigned to guard the city

citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Madagascar; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: unknown

history: previous 1992; latest passed by referendum 17 November 2010, promulgated 11 December 2010 amendments: proposed by the president of the republic in consultation with the cabinet or supported by a least two thirds of both the Senate and National Assembly membership; passage requires at least three-fourths approval of both the Senate and National Assembly and approval in a referendum; constitutional articles, including the form and powers of government, the sovereignty of the state, and the autonomy of Madagascar s collectivities, cannot be amended

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 etymology: the name "Madageiscar" was first used by the 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco POLO, as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu, the Somali port with which POLO confused the island

chief of mission: Ambassador Claire PIERANGELO (since 2 May 2022) embassy: Lot 207A, Andranoro, Antehiroka, 105 Antananarivo mailing address: 2040 Antananarivo Place, Washington DC 20521-2040 telephone: [261] 20-23-480-00 FAX: [261] 20-23-480-35 email address and website: antanACS@state.gov https://mg.usembassy.gov/

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Amielle Pelenne NIRINIAVISOA MARCEDA (since 31 October 2019) chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525 FAX: [1] (202) 265-3034 email address and website: contact@us-madagascar-embassy.org https://us-madagascar-embassy.org/ consulate(s) general: New York

chief of state: President Andry RAJOELINA (since 21 January 2019) head of government: Prime Minister Christian NTSAY (since 6 June 2018) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 November and 19 December 2018 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly, appointed by the president election results: 2018 : Andry RAJOELINA elected President in second round; percent of vote in first round - Andry RAJOELINA (TGV) 39.2%, Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 35.4%, other 25.4%; percent of vote in second round - Andry RAJOELINA (TGV) 55.7%, Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 44.3% 2013 : Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA (HVM) 15.9%, Jean Louis ROBINSON (AVANA) 21.1%, other 63%; percent of vote in second round - Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA (HVM) 53.5%, Jean Louis ROBINSON (AVANA) 46.5%

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

semi-presidential republic

26 June 1960 (from France)

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, COMESA, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 11 members; addresses judicial administration issues only); High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (consists of 9 members); note - the judiciary includes a High Court of Justice responsible for adjudicating crimes and misdemeanors by government officials, including the president judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court heads elected by the president and judiciary officials to serve 3-year, single renewable terms; High Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 each by the president, by both legislative bodies, and by the Council of Magistrates; members serve single, 7-year terms subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance

civil law system based on the old French civil code and customary law in matters of marriage, family, and obligation

description: bicameral Parliament consists of: Senate or Antenimieran-Doholona (18 seats; 12 members indirectly elected by an electoral college of municipal, communal, regional, and provincial leaders and 6 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms) National Assembly or Antenimierampirenena (151 seats; 87 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 64 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms) elections: Senate - last held on 11 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2025) National Assembly - last held on 27 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024) election results: 2020: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; elected seats by party - Irmar 10, Malagasy Miara Miainga 2; composition - men 16, women 2, percent of women 11% 2019: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - TGV 30.9%, TIM 9.7%, MATITA 1.1%, MTS 0.4%, GJMP 0.3%, MDM 0.2%, RPSD Vaovao 0.1%, Independents 50%, Other 7.3%; composition - men 123, women 28, percent of women 18.5%; note - total Parliament percent of women 17.8%

name: "Ry Tanindraza nay malala o" (Oh, Our Beloved Fatherland) lyrics/music: Pasteur RAHAJASON/Norbert RAHARISOA note: adopted 1959

total World Heritage Sites: 3 (1 cultural, 2 natural) selected World Heritage Site locales: Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve (n); Ambohimanga Royal Hill (c); Atsinanana Rainforests (n)

Independence Day, 26 June (1960)

traveller's palm, zebu; national colors: red, green, white

Group of Young Malagasy Patriots (Groupe des Jeunes Malgaches Patriotes) or GJMP I Love Madagascar (Tiako I Madagasikara) or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA] Malagasy Aware (Malagasy Tonga Saina) or MTS [Roland RATSIRAKA] Malagasy Tia Tanindrazana or MATITA or ANGADY [Hyacinthe Befeno TODIMANANA] Movement for Democracy in Madagascar (Mouvement pour la D mocratie Madagascar) or MDM [Pierrot RAJAONARIVELO] Rally for Democratic Socialism (Rassemblement pour Socialisme D mocratique - Nauveau) or RPSD Vaovao [Evariste MARSON] Young Malagasies Determined (Tanora Malagasy Vonona) or TGV [Andry RAJOELINA] Note: Only parties with seats in the National Assembly included

18 years of age; universal

Madagascar was one of the last major habitable landmasses on earth settled by humans. While there is some evidence of human presence on the island in the millennia B.C., large-scale settlement began between A.D. 350 and 550 with settlers from present-day Indonesia. The island attracted Arab and Persian traders as early as the 7th century, and migrants from Africa arrived around A.D. 1000. Madagascar was a pirate stronghold during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and served as a slave trading center into the 19th century. From the 16th to the late 19th century, a native Merina Kingdom dominated much of Madagascar. The island was conquered by the French in 1896 who made it a colony; independence was regained 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, 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 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. RAVALOMANANA won a second term in 2006 but, following protests in 2009, handed over power to the military, which then conferred the presidency on the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry RAJOELINA, in what amounted to a coup d'etat. Following a lengthy mediation process led by the Southern African Development Community, Madagascar held UN-supported presidential and parliamentary elections in 2013. Former de facto finance minister Hery RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA won a runoff election in December 2013 and was inaugurated in January 2014. In January 2019, RAJOELINA was declared the winner of a runoff election against RAVALOMANANA; both RATSIRAKA and RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA also ran in the first round of the election, which took place in November 2018.

one of the military s duties is assisting the gendarmerie with maintaining law and order in rural areas, particularly in areas affected by banditry, cattle rustling (cattle thieves are known as dahalo), and criminal groups (2022)

Madagascar People's Armed Forces (PAF): Army, Navy, Air Force; Ministry of Defense: National Gendarmerie; Ministry of Public Security: National Police (2022) note: the National Gendarmerie is separate from the PAF and is responsible for maintaining law and order in rural areas at the village level, protecting government facilities, and operating a maritime police contingent; the National Police is responsible for maintaining law and order in urban areas

approximately 13,000 personnel (12,000 Army; 500 Navy; 500 Air Force); estimated 10,000 Gendarmerie (2022)

the PAF's inventory consists mostly of aging Soviet-era equipment; since 2010, it has received limited amounts of second-hand equipment from France, South Africa, and the UAE (2022)

0.7% of GDP (2021 est.) 0.7% of GDP (2020 est.) 0.5% of GDP (2019 est.) (approximately $130 million) 0.5% of GDP (2018 est.) (approximately $130 million) 0.5% of GDP (2017 est.) (approximately $120 million)

18-25 years of age for men and women; service obligation 18 months; no conscription; women are permitted to serve in all branches (2022)

0-14 years: 38.86% (male 5,278,838/female 5,196,036) 15-24 years: 20.06% (male 2,717,399/female 2,689,874) 25-54 years: 33.02% (male 4,443,147/female 4,456,691) 55-64 years: 4.6% (male 611,364/female 627,315) 65 years and over: 3.47% (male 425,122/female 509,951) (2020 est.)

total: 0.89 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) beer: 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) wine: 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) spirits: 0.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

28.68 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)

women married by age 15: 12.7% women married by age 18: 40.3% men married by age 18: 11.8% (2018 est.)

26.4% (2018)

49.7% (2020)

3.7% of GDP (2019)

6 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)

Madagascar s youthful population nearly 60% are under the age of 25 as of 2022 and moderately high total fertility rate of more than 3.6 children per woman ensures that the Malagasy population will continue its rapid growth trajectory for the foreseeable future. The population is predominantly rural and poor; chronic malnutrition is prevalent, and large families are the norm. Many young Malagasy girls are withdrawn from school, marry early (often pressured to do so by their parents), and soon begin having children. Early childbearing, coupled with Madagascar s widespread poverty and lack of access to skilled health care providers during delivery, increases the risk of death and serious health problems for young mothers and their babies. Child marriage perpetuates gender inequality and is prevalent among the poor, the uneducated, and rural households as of 2018, 40% of Malagasy women aged 20 to 24 were married. Although the legal age for marriage is 18, parental consent is often given for earlier marriages or the law is flouted, especially in rural areas that make up approximately 60% of the country. Forms of arranged marriage whereby young girls are married to older men in exchange for oxen or money are traditional. If a union does not work out, a girl can be placed in another marriage, but the dowry paid to her family diminishes with each unsuccessful marriage. Madagascar s population consists of 18 main ethnic groups, all of whom speak the same Malagasy language. Most Malagasy are multi-ethnic, however, reflecting the island s diversity of settlers and historical contacts (see Background). Madagascar s legacy of hierarchical societies practicing domestic slavery (most notably the Merina Kingdom of the 16th to the 19th century) is evident today in persistent class tension, with some ethnic groups maintaining a caste system. Slave descendants are vulnerable to unequal access to education and jobs, despite Madagascar s constitutional guarantee of free compulsory primary education and its being party to several international conventions on human rights. Historical distinctions also remain between central highlanders and coastal people.

total dependency ratio: 74.5 youth dependency ratio: 68.8 elderly dependency ratio: 5.8 potential support ratio: 17.4 (2021 est.)

improved: urban: 85% of population rural: 38% of population total: 56.1% of population unimproved: urban: 15% of population rural: 62% of population total: 43.9% of population (2020 est.)

3.1% of GDP (2020 est.)

Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran

0.4% (2021 est.)

0.2 beds/1,000 population

total: 39.04 deaths/1,000 live births male: 42.33 deaths/1,000 live births female: 35.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2022 est.)

Malagasy (official) 99.9%, French (official) 23.6%, English 8.2%, other 0.6% (2018 est.) note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census

total population: 68.17 years male: 66.8 years female: 69.57 years (2022 est.)

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.7% male: 78.4% female: 75.1% (2018)

degree of risk: very high (2020) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever water contact diseases: schistosomiasis animal contact diseases: rabies note: on 21 March 2022, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Madagascar is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus ; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an infected person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine

3.872 million ANTANANARIVO (capital) (2023)

335 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

total: 20.3 years male: 20.1 years female: 20.5 years (2020 est.)

19.5 years (2021 est.) note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29

noun: Malagasy (singular and plural) adjective: Malagasy

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)

5.3% (2016)

0.2 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

28,172,462 (2022 est.)

most of population lives on the eastern half of the island; significant clustering is found in the central highlands and eastern coastline as shown in this population distribution map

2.27% (2022 est.)

Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar/Malagasy Lutheran Church/Anglican Church 34%, Roman Catholic 32.3%, other Christian 8.1%, traditional/Animist 1.7%, Muslim 1.4%, other 0.6%, none 21.9% (2021 est.)

improved: urban: 49.2% of population rural: 22.1% of population total: 32.6% of population unimproved: urban: 50.8% of population rural: 77.9% of population total: 67.4% of population (2020 est.)

total: 10 years male: 10 years female: 10 years (2018)

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2022 est.)

total: 27.8% (2020 est.) male: 42.7% (2020 est.) female: 12.8% (2020 est.)

3.62 children born/woman (2022 est.)

urban population: 40.6% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 4.26% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total: 3.4% male: 3.9% female: 3% (2015 est.)

Madagascar-France : 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 claim of France Madagascar-Comoros : the vegetated drying cays of Banc du Geyser, which were claimed by Madagascar in 1976, also fall within the EEZ claim of the Comoros

illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin

total: 83 (2021)

total: 26 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 16 under 914 m: 1 (2021)

total: 57 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 38 under 914 m: 18 (2021)

5R

total: 27 by type: general cargo 14, oil tanker 2, other 11 (2021)

number of registered air carriers: 4 (2020) inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 18 annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 541,290 (2018) annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 16.25 million (2018) mt-km

major seaport(s): Antsiranana (Diego Suarez), Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara (Tulear)

total: 836 km (2018) narrow gauge: 836 km (2018) 1.000-m gauge

total: 31,640 km (2018)

600 km (2011) (432 km navigable)