Anosy

Anosy
Region
Nahampoana Reserve
Coat of arms
Location in Madagascar
Coordinates: 24°06′S 46°18′E / 24.100°S 46.300°E / -24.100; 46.300[1]
Country	Madagascar
Capital	Fort Dauphin
Government [2]
• Governor	Jocelyn Raharimbola
Area [3]
• Total	25,731 km2 (9,935 sq mi)
Elevation [1]	327 m (1,073 ft)
Population  (2018)[4]
• Total	809,313
• Density	31/km2 (81/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC3 (EAT)
Postal code	603, 613 and 614
HDI (2018)	0.428[5] low · 19th of 22

Anosy is one of the 23 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name Anosy means "island(s)" in Malagasy.

Due to a strategic sea route running along its coast, Anosy had been an important crossroads for the Malagasy, Muslims, and Europeans. In the mid-1600s, it was the location of the first French colonial settlement in the Indian Ocean. The region was part of the Imerina Kingdom for much of the 1800s and part of the French colony of Madagascar from the late 1800s to 1960.

Its exports have included human slaves (shipped to the Mascarene Islands and the United States in the 1700s), live cattle (exported to Réunion for almost 300 years), sisal, natural rubber, rosy periwinkle, graphite, uranothorianite, lobster, sapphires, and ilmenite. Due to its biodiversity and unique wildlife, efforts commenced in the 1980s to promote environmental conservation and tourism in the region.

The region suffers from poverty; 80% of inhabitants lack access to clean water, 16% suffer from serious respiratory illnesses, and literacy is less than 20%.^[6]