Current Environmental 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

Geography

Map of Madagascar. (Source: Conservation International)

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

Geographic Coordinates: 20 00 S, 47 00 E

Area:

total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km
water: 5,500 sq km

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

Natural Hazards: periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation

Terrain

Narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center

Elevation Extremes:

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

Climate

Tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south

Government

Government Type: Republic

Capital: Antananarivo

Independence Date: 26 June 1960 (from France)

Legal System: based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

International Agreement

Environmental-international Agreement:

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

People and Society

Population: 20,042,551 (July 2008 est.)

Age Structure:

0-14 years: 43.7% (male 4,408,615/female 4,349,862)
15-64 years: 53.2% (male 5,298,805/female 5,371,764)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 275,087/female 338,418) (2008 est.)

Population Growth Rate: 3.005% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 38.38 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death Rate: 8.32 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net Migration Rate: NA

Life Expectancy at Birth:

total population: 62.52 years
male: 60.58 years
female: 64.51 years (2008 est.)

Total Fertility Rate: 5.19 children born/woman (2008 est.)

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.)

Water

Total Renewable Water Resources: 337 cu km (1984)

Freshwater Withdrawal (domestic, industrial, agricultural):

total: 14.96 cu km/yr (3%/2%/96%)
per capita: 804 cu m/yr (2000)

Agriculture

Agricultural Products: coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products

Irrigated Land: 10,860 sq km (2003)

Resources

Natural Resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower

Land Use:

arable land: 5.03%
permanent crops: 1.02%
other: 93.95% (2005)

Energy

Health

Prevalence Rate of HIV/AIDS in Adults: 1.7% (2003 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 (2008)

Conflict

International Disputes: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)

Illicit Drugs: illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin

Economy

Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s 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. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns. President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $18.12 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (Official Exchange Rate): $7.322 billion (2007 est.)

GDP- real growth rate: 6.3% (2007 est.)

GDP- per capita (PPP): $1,100 (2007 est.)

GDP- composition by sector:

agriculture: 26.8%
industry: 15.8%
services: 57.4% (2007 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line: 50% (2004 est.)

Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share:

lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (2001)

Industries: meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism

Exports: coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products

Export Partners: France 31.9%, US 26.7%, Germany 6.1%, UK 4.9%, Italy 4.4% (2006)

Imports: capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food

Import Partners: France 14%, China 13.4%, Iran 8.4%, Hong Kong 5.2%, Mauritius 5.2% (2006)

Economic Aid Recipient: $929.2 million (2005)

Currency: ariary (MGA)

Communications

Telephones- main line in use: 129,800 (2006)

Telephones- mobile/cellular: 2.218 million (2007)

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001)

Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001)

Internet Hosts: 9,734 (2007)

Internet Users: 110,000 (2006)

Transportation

Airports: 104 (2007)

Railways:

total: 854 km
narrow gauge: 854 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 49,827 km
paved: 5,780 km
unpaved: 44,047 km (2000)

Ports and Terminals: Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara