Country Facts - Madagascar

The People

Ethnic Composition
Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry-Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran.

Religious Composition

Indigenous beliefs	52%
Christian	41%
Muslim	7%

Nationality

Malagasy (singular and plural)

Languages Spoken

French and Malagasy are the two official languages of Madagascar.

Education and Literacy

Madagascar's overall adult literacy is 80 percent. Among males it is 88 percent and females 73 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 7 million

Geography

Land Mass Total

226,657 sq mi (587,040 sq km)

Land

224,533 sq mi (581,540 sq km)

Water

2,123 sq mi (5,500 sq km)

Coastline

2,999 mi (4,828 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or 100 nm from the 8,202 ft (2,500 m) deep isobath
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south.

Terrain

Narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Indian Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Maromokotro 9,435 ft (2,876 m)

Natural Resources

Graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower.

Land use

Arable land	4%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	95%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Occasional cyclones.

Environment - current issues

Soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered.

Geography Note

World's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel.

Demographics

Population

16,473,477 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	45%	Male: 3,713,700	Female: 3,696,478
15-64 years:	51.8%	Male: 4,227,931	Female: 4,313,940
65 years and over:	3.2%	Male: 241,699	Female: 279,729

Growth Rate

3.03% (2002)

Life Expectancy

55.74 years (2002)
Female: 58.11 years
Male: 53.45 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$870 (2001)

Infant Mortality

81.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.86 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.99 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Madagascar faces problems of chronic malnutrition, under-funded health and education facilities, a roughly 3% annual population growth rate, and severe loss of forest cover, accompanied by erosion. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for one-third of GDP and contributing more than 70% to export earnings. Industry features textile manufacturing and the processing of agricultural products. Growth in output in 1992-97 averaged less than the growth rate of the population. Growth has been held back by antigovernment strikes and demonstrations, a decline in world coffee prices, and the erratic commitment of the government to economic reform. The extent of government reforms, outside financial aid, and foreign investment will be key determinants of future growth. Growth of 6 percent was seen in 2001 but was followed by a plummet to 11.9 percent in 2002. Government agencies are predicting a remarkable turnaround in 2003 (7.8 percent) before a return to 2001 levels of growth in 2004.

Unemployment

N/A

Inflation Rate

7% (2001)

Industries

Meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism.

Exports

US$680 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Imports

US$919 million (f.o.b., 2000)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$14 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

France 41%, US 21%, Germany 7%, Japan 4%, UK 1% (2000)

Top Import Partners

France 38%, Hong Kong 10%, China 5%, Singapore 5%, Japan 3%

Top Exports

Coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar; cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products

Top Imports

Intermediate manufactures, capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food

Debt - external

$4.5 billion (2000)

Economic aid

US$838 million (1997)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to 11a.m., and 2p.m. to 4p.m.	Closed
Retail	8a.m. to noon, and 2p.m. to 6p.m.	Saturday 8a.m. to noon, and 2p.m. to 6p.m.
Banks	8a.m. to 11a.m., and from 2p.m. to 4p.m.	Closed
Government	8a.m. to 11a.m., and from 2p.m. to 4p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Memorial Day (Martyr's Day)	March 29	March 29	March 29
Easter¹	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 20	April 12	March 28
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Ascension²	May 29	May 20	May 6
Whit Sunday (Pentecost)³	June 8	May 30	May 30
Independence Day	June 26	June 26	June 26
St. Vincent de Paul Day	September 27	September 27	September 27
All Saints' Day	November 1	November 1	November 1
Christmas Day*¹	December 25	December 25	December 25
Anniversary of the Republic	December 30	December 31	December 31

¹	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
²	The feast of Ascension takes place 40 days after Easter in both the Christian and Orthodox faiths and celebrates the ascent of Christ into Heaven.
³	The Christian feast of Pentecost, Whit Sunday or Whit Monday takes place 50 days after Easter, in observation of the day God came to the disciples through the Holy Ghost.
*¹	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press