MADAGASCAR

Geography
Area: 592,800 sq. km. (228,880 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital--Antananarivo (pop. about 1,300,000). Other cities--Antsirabe (about 500,000), Mahajanga (about 400,000), Toamasina (about 450,000).Terrain: Mountainous central plateau, coastal plain.
Climate: Moderate interior, tropical coasts.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Malagasy.
Population (2010 estimate): 20.1 million.
Annual population growth rate (2009 estimate): 2.7%.
Ethnic groups: 18 Malagasy tribes; small groups of Comorans, French, Indians, and Chinese.
Religions: Traditional beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%.
Languages: Malagasy (official), French (official), English (official).
Education: Years compulsory--5. Literacy--64%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--41/1,000. Life expectancy--61 years (men), 64 years (women).

Economy
GDP (U.S.$, 2009 est., official exchange rate): $8.6 billion.
GDP per capita (2009 est., official exchange rate): $438.
GNI per capita (2009 est., purchasing power parity): $990.
Unemployment: no reliable data available.
Natural resources: Graphite, chrome, coal, bauxite, ilmenite, nickel, gold, oil, tar sands, uranium, precious and semiprecious stones, and hardwoods.
Agriculture (29% of GDP, 2009 est.): Products--rice, livestock, seafood, coffee, vanilla, sugar, cloves, cotton, sisal, peanuts, and tobacco.
Industry (15.9% of GDP, 2008 est.): Types--processed food, clothing, textiles, mining, paper, refined petroleum products, glassware, construction, soap, cement, tanning.
Trade: Exports (28% of GDP, 2009 est.): vanilla, coffee, cloves, shrimp, graphite, essential oils, apparel, industrial minerals and gemstones. Major export markets--France, U.S., Germany, Italy, U.K. Imports (52% of GDP, 2009 est.): foodstuffs, fuel and energy, capital goods, vehicles, consumer goods and electronics. Major suppliers--France, China, Iran, Mauritius, Hong Kong.

PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Madagascar's population is predominantly of mixed Asian and African origin. Research suggests that the island was uninhabited until Indonesian seafarers arrived in roughly the first century A.D., probably by way of southern India and East Africa, where they acquired African wives and slaves. Subsequent migrations from both the Pacific and Africa further consolidated this original mixture, and 18 separate tribal groups emerged. Asian features are most predominant in the central highlands people, the Merina (3 million) and the Betsileo (2 million); the coastal people are of more clearly African origin. The largest coastal groups are the Betsimisaraka (1.5 million) and the Tsimihety and Sakalava (700,000 each).

About 41% of the Malagasy are Christian, divided almost evenly between Roman Catholic and Protestant.

ECONOMY
Structural reforms began in the late 1980s, initially under pressure from international financial institutions. An initial privatization program (1988-1993) and the development of an export processing zone (EPZ) regime in the early 1990s were key milestones in this effort. A period of significant stagnation from 1991-96 was followed by 5 years of solid economic growth and accelerating foreign investment, driven by a second wave of privatizations and EPZ development.