Madagascar : information sheet

Located south of the equator in the Indian Ocean, the Republic of Madagascar is an island state in Africa that the Mozambique Channel separates from the rest of the continent. It is the fifth largest island in the world after Australia, Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.

The Big Island stretches on 587,295 square kilometers. It is surrounded by the archipelago of Comoros (300 km north-west), Seychelles (1000 km north), Reunion Island (800 km east), Mauritius (868 km). east), from Mozambique (400 km to the west) and is surrounded by the Scattered Islands of the Indian Ocean (Tromelin, Glorieuses, Juan de Nova and Europa).

26 456 320 inhabitants live in Madagascar with a low density of 45.04 inhabitants / km². The main cities are the capital Antananarivo (2,475,751 inhabitants), Tamatave (300,813) and Antsirabe (257,163 inhabitants). Six provinces were divided into twenty-two regions in 2004 retained by the 2010 Constitution. 80% of the population works in the agricultural sector, these populations all practice at least polyculture and livestock. As for farms, they are 99% of family type.

The Malagasy population is mainly of Austronesian origin, to which are added the different successive waves of populations coming from all around the Indian Ocean thus creating a very diversified population, as well geographically, politically as economically. There are 19 ethnic groups in Madagascar. If Malagasy is the national language of the island, each region has its own common mother tongue.

Antananarivo is the economic and political capital of Madagascar, province of Antananarivo. The city is divided into six districts and 192 fokontany. The city is home to a growing region. Antananarivo produces 42% of the national GDP.

Area

587 041 km²

Capital

Antananarivo

Currency

Ariary (MGA) :

1EUR = 4053,10 (28/11/2019)

Language(s)

Malagasy and French

Time difference

UTC/GMT :+3