Madagascar

This article is about the island country. For the computer-animated movie, see Madagascar (2005 movie). For other uses, see Madagascar (disambiguation).

Republic of Madagascar Repoblikan'i Madagasikara  (Malagasy) République de Madagascar  (French)
Flag Seal
Motto:  "Fitiavana, Tanindrazana, Fandrosoana" (Malagasy) "Amour, Patrie, Progrès" (French) "Love, Land of Our Ancestors, Progress"[1]
Anthem: Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô! Oh, Beloved Land of our Ancestors!
Location of  Madagascar  (dark blue) – in Africa  (light blue & dark grey) – in the African Union  (light blue)
Capital and largest city	Antananarivo 18°55′S 47°31′E
Official languages	Malagasy French Gujarati Kutchi
Ethnic groups (2004[2])	26% Merina 15% Betsimisaraka 12% Betsileo 7% Tsimihety 6% Sakalava 5% Antaisaka 5% Antandroy 24% others
Demonym(s)	Malagasy[3]
Government	Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
• President	Andry Rajoelina
• Prime Minister	Christian Ntsay
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	National Assembly
Independence
• from France	26 June 1960
• Current constitution	17 November 2010
Area
• Total	587,041 km^2 (226,658 sq mi) (46th)
• Water	5,501 km^2 (2,124 sq mi)
• Water (%)	0.9%
Population
• 2021 estimate	28,915,653[4][5] (52nd)
• 1993 census	12,238,914
• Density	35.2/km^2 (91.2/sq mi) (174th)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$40.055 billion[6]
• Per capita	$1,563[6]
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$10.372 billion[6]
• Per capita	$405[6]
Gini (2010)	44.1[7] medium
HDI (2015)	0.512[8] low · 158th
Currency	Malagasy ariary (MGA)
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (not observed[9])
Driving side	right
Calling code	+261[9]
ISO 3166 code	MG
Internet TLD	.mg

Madagascar is a large island nation in the Indian Ocean. It is off of the East coast of Africa and its capital is Antananarivo. Twenty-two million people live there. It is the world's fourth largest island.^[10]

The official languages of Madagascar are Malagasy and French.

Pre-human history

About two hundred million years ago, Madagascar was a part of a huge supercontinent called Pangaea. When this broke up, Madagascar was attached to what is now the Indian subcontinent. Madagascar broke away from India and moved closer to Africa.^[11]

The long history of separation from other continents has allowed plants and animals on the island to evolve in relative isolation. Many of its animals came from Africa, because the island is closer to Africa than to India. Many of these endemic Malagasy animals have died out since the arrival of humans, particularly the megafauna.

Despite this, and massive deforestation, Madagascar is still home to an incredible array of wildlife. Most of the wildlife is unique.^[12]

Environment

Madagascar is home to many species that were not known to Europeans about until around 1679 when Dutch explorers went there. They do not exist elsewhere in Africa. They only exist in Madagascar. In fact, most of the mammals living in Madagascar do not live anywhere else in the world.^[13]

Many species in Madagascar are in danger because much of the forest has been cut down.^[14] Forests are cut down so the land can grow crops such as coffee, which is an important export crop for Madagascar.

Economy

Agriculture is a big part of the economy in Madagascar, including the growing of coffee and vanilla. Madagascar sells more vanilla than any other country in the world.^[15] Madagascar also makes money from tourism.^[16]

Provinces

Map of the Regions of Madagascar and former provinces of Madagascar

In 2004 Madagascar was divided into 22 regions. It used to be divided into 6 provinces.^[17]

Human history

People have probably lived in Madagascar for at least 2000 years.^[18]

France took over the city of Antananarivo in 1895, and added Madagascar as a colony two years later.^[19] Madagascar became independent on 26 June, 1960.

Related pages

• Madagascar at the Olympics
• Madagascar national football team

References

1. Le Comité Consultatif Constitutionnel (1 October 2010). "Projet de Constitution de la Quatrième République de Madagascar" (PDF) (in French). Madagascar Tribune. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
2. "MADAGASCAR: general data". Populstat.info. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
3. "Demonyms – Names of Nationalities". Geography.about.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
4. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
5. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
6. "Madagascar". International Monetary Fund.
7. "Gini Index". World Bank. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
8. "2016 Human Development Report" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
9. Bradt (2011), p. 2.
10. "CIA - The World Factbook -- Madagascar". Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
11. "Giant palm tree puzzles botanists". news.bbc.co.uk. 17 January 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
12. Benstead, Jonathan P.; Goodman, Steven D. (2003). The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-30306-3.
13. "Dark history of Madagascar - Times Online". timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved May 6, 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
14. "Deforestation In Madagascar". www1.american.edu. Archived from the original on June 6, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
15. Saholiarisoa, Sanja. "Reuters AlertNet - Cyclones, politics to hurt Madagascar vanilla". alertnet.org. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
16. "Economy of Madagascar". wildmadagascar.org. Retrieved May 6, 2010.
17. Deschamps (1965), pp. 268, 274.
18. "Dark history of Madagascar - Times Online". timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved May 6, 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}
19. "History of Madagascar - Lonely Planet Travel Information". lonelyplanet.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2010.

Other websites

• Photos of Madagascar Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine
• Geographic data related to Madagascar at OpenStreetMap