Madagascar

This article is about the island nation. For the island itself, see Geography of Madagascar. For the film franchise, see Madagascar (franchise). For other uses, see Madagascar (disambiguation).

Republic of Madagascar
  • Repoblikan'i Madagasikara (Malagasy)
  • République de Madagascar (French)
Motto: 
  • Fitiavana, Tanindrazana, Fandrosoana (Malagasy)
  • Amour, Patrie, Progrès (French)
  • "Love, Fatherland, Progress"[1]
Anthem: Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô! (Malagasy)
Ô Terre de nos ancêtres bien-aimés! (French)
"Oh, land of our beloved ancestors!"
Location of Madagascar (dark green)
Location of Madagascar (dark green)
Capital
and largest city
Antananarivo
18°55′S 47°31′E / 18.917°S 47.517°E / -18.917; 47.517
Official languagesMalagasy • French
Ethnic groups
(2017)[2]
Religion
(2020)[3]
  • 7.3% no religion
  • 4.7% traditional faiths
  • 3.1% Islam
  • 0.3% others
Demonym(s)Malagasy[4][5]
GovernmentUnitary semi-presidential republic
• President
Andry Rajoelina
Christian Ntsay
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
National Assembly
Formation
c. 1540
6 August 1896
• Republic proclaimed
14 October 1958
26 June 1960
Area
• Total
592,796[8] km2 (228,880 sq mi) (46th)
• Water
5,501 km2 (2,124 sq mi)
• Water (%)
0.9%
Population
• 2024 estimate
31,964,956[9] (49th)
• Density
55/km2 (142.4/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $56.754 billion[10] (117th)
• Per capita
Increase $1,906[10] (182nd)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $15.763 billion[10] (139th)
• Per capita
Increase $529[10] (188th)
Gini (2012)Positive decrease 42.6[11]
medium inequality
HDI (2022)Steady 0.487[12]
low (177th)
CurrencyAriary (MGA)
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (not observed[13])
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Drives onright
Calling code+261[13]
ISO 3166 codeMG
Internet TLD.mg

Madagascar,[a] officially the Republic of Madagascar,[b] is an island country comprising the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's fourth largest island, the second-largest island country and the 46th largest country in the world.[14] Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.

Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from Africa during the Early Jurassic, around 180 million years ago, and split from the Indian subcontinent around 90 million years ago,[15] allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation; consequently, it is a biodiversity hotspot and one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, with over 90% of wildlife being endemic. The island has a subtropical to tropical maritime climate. Madagascar was first permanently settled during or before the mid-first millennium AD by Austronesian peoples,[16] presumably arriving on outrigger canoes from present-day Indonesia.[17][18][19] These were joined around the ninth century AD by Bantu groups crossing the Mozambique Channel from East Africa.[20] Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. Consequently, there are 18 or more classified peoples of Madagascar, the most numerous being the Merina of the central highlands.

Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of it was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Madagascar by a series of Merina nobles. The monarchy was ended in 1897 by the annexation by France, from which Madagascar gained independence in 1960. The country has since undergone four major constitutional periods, termed republics, and has been governed as a constitutional democracy since 1992. Following a political crisis and military coup in 2009, Madagascar underwent a protracted transition towards its fourth and current republic, with constitutional governance being restored in January 2014.

Madagascar is a member of the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. Malagasy and French are both official languages of the state. Christianity is the country's predominant religion, with a significant minority still practising traditional faiths. Madagascar is classified as a least developed country by the UN.[21] Ecotourism and agriculture, paired with greater investments in education, health and private enterprise, are key elements of its development strategy. Despite substantial economic growth since the early 2000s, income disparities have widened, and quality of life remains low for the majority of the population. As of 2021, 68.4 percent of the population is considered to be multidimensionally poor.[22]

  1. ^ Le Comité Consultatif Constitutionnel (1 October 2010). "Projet de Constitution de la Quatrième République de Madagascar" (PDF) (in French). Madagascar Tribune. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  2. ^ "MADAGASCAR: general data". Populstat.info. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Madagascar". Global Religious Futures. Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Demonyms – Names of Nationalities". Geography.about.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Malagasy – National Geographic Style Manual". Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  6. ^ "The beginning of the Merina Kingdom". Mada Magazine. 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Madagascar". Lonely Planet. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  8. ^ Bureau of African Affairs (3 May 2011). "Background Note: Madagascar". U.S. Department of State. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  9. ^ "By Location | Pivot Table | Data Portal".
  10. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Madagascar)". International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Gini Index coefficient". CIA Factbook. Archived from the original on 7 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  12. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  13. ^ a b Bradt (2011), p. 2.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference world-atlas was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Raval, U.; Veeraswamy, K. (1 July 2003). "India-Madagascar Separation: Breakup Along a Pre-existing Mobile Belt and Chipping of the Craton". Gondwana Research. 6 (3): 467–485. Bibcode:2003GondR...6..467R. doi:10.1016/S1342-937X(05)70999-0. ISSN 1342-937X. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  16. ^ Mitchell, Peter (1 October 2020). "Settling Madagascar: When Did People First Colonize the World's Largest Island?". The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology. 15 (4): 576–595. doi:10.1080/15564894.2019.1582567. ISSN 1556-4894. S2CID 195555955. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  17. ^ Heiske, Margit; Alva, Omar; Pereda-Loth, Veronica; Van Schalkwyk, Matthew; Radimilahy, Chantal; Letellier, Thierry; Rakotarisoa, Jean-Aimé; Pierron, Denis (2021). "Genetic evidence and historical theories of the Asian and African origins of the present Malagasy population". Human Molecular Genetics. 30 (R1): R72–R78. doi:10.1093/hmg/ddab018. PMID 33481023.
  18. ^ Mohr, Charles (1 February 1971). "In French-Tinied Madagascar, African and Asian Cultures Meet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  19. ^ "MADAGASCAR: Aepyornis Island". TIME. 23 March 1942. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  20. ^ Pierron, Denis; Razafindrazaka, Harilanto; Pagani, Luca; Ricaut, François-Xavier; Antao, Tiago; Capredon, Mélanie; Sambo, Clément; Radimilahy, Chantal; Rakotoarisoa, Jean-Aimé; Blench, Roger M.; Letellier, Thierry (21 January 2014). "Genome-wide evidence of Austronesian–Bantu admixture and cultural reversion in a hunter-gatherer group of Madagascar". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (3): 936–941. Bibcode:2014PNAS..111..936P. doi:10.1073/pnas.1321860111. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3903192. PMID 24395773.
  21. ^ "About LDCs". UN-OHRLLS. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  22. ^ "Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023: Madagascar" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Reports. 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.


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