"text":"Madagascar was one of the last major habitable landmasses on earth settled by humans. While there is some evidence of human presence on the island in the millennia B.C., large-scale settlement began between A.D. 350 and 550 with settlers from present-day Indonesia. The island attracted Arab and Persian traders as early as the 7th century, and migrants from Africa arrived around A.D. 1000. Madagascar was a pirate stronghold during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and served as a slave trading center into the 19th century. From the 16th to the late 19th century, a native Merina Kingdom dominated much of Madagascar. The island was conquered by the French in 1896 who made it a colony; independence was regained in 1960. <br><br>During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. RAVALOMANANA won a second term in 2006 but, following protests in 2009, handed over power to the military, which then conferred the presidency on the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry RAJOELINA, in what amounted to a coup d'etat. Following a lengthy mediation process led by the Southern African Development Community, Madagascar held UN-supported presidential and parliamentary elections in 2013. Former de facto finance minister Hery RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA won a runoff election in December 2013 and was inaugurated in January 2014. In January 2019, RAJOELINA was declared the winner of a runoff election against RAVALOMANANA; both RATSIRAKA and RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA also ran in the first round of the election, which took place in November 2018."
"text":"most of population lives on the eastern half of the island; significant clustering is found in the central highlands and eastern coastline as shown in this population distribution map"
"text":"<p>periodic cyclones; drought; and locust infestation</p><p><strong>volcanism:</strong> Madagascar's volcanoes have not erupted in historical times</p>"
"text":"world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel; despite Madagascar’s close proximity to the African continent, ocean currents isolate the island resulting in high rates of endemic plant and animal species; approximately 90% of the flora and fauna on the island are found nowhere else"
"text":"Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar/Malagasy Lutheran Church/Anglican Church 34%, Roman Catholic 32.3%, other Christian 8.1%, traditional/Animist 1.7%, Muslim 1.4%, other 0.6%, none 21.9% (2021 est.)"
"text":"<p>Madagascar’s youthful population – nearly 60% are under the age of 25 as of 2020 – and moderately high total fertility rate of more than 3.6 children per woman ensures that the Malagasy population will continue its rapid growth trajectory for the foreseeable future. The population is predominantly rural and poor; chronic malnutrition is prevalent, and large families are the norm. Many young Malagasy girls are withdrawn from school, marry early (often pressured to do so by their parents), and soon begin having children. Early childbearing, coupled with Madagascar’s widespread poverty and lack of access to skilled health care providers during delivery, increases the risk of death and serious health problems for young mothers and their babies.</p> <p>Child marriage perpetuates gender inequality and is prevalent among the poor, the uneducated, and rural households – as of 2018, 40% of Malagasy women aged 20 to 24 were married. Although the legal age for marriage is 18, parental consent is often given for earlier marriages or the law is flouted, especially in rural areas that make up approximately 60% of the country. Forms of arranged marriage whereby young girls are married to older men in exchange for oxen or money are traditional. If a union does not work out, a girl can be placed in another marriage, but the dowry paid to her family diminishes with each unsuccessful marriage.</p> <p>Madagascar’s population consists of 18 main ethnic groups, all of whom speak the same Malagasy language. Most Malagasy are multi-ethnic, however, reflecting the island’s diversity of settlers and historical contacts (see Background). Madagascar’s legacy of hierarchical societies practicing domestic slavery (most notably the Merina Kingdom of the 16th to the 19th century) is evident today in persistent class tension, with some ethnic groups maintaining a caste system. Slave descendants are vulnerable to unequal access to education and jobs, despite Madagascar’s constitutional guarantee of free compulsory primary education and its being party to several international conventions on human rights. Historical distinctions also remain between central highlanders and coastal people.</p>"
"text":"most of population lives on the eastern half of the island; significant clustering is found in the central highlands and eastern coastline as shown in this population distribution map"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> on 22 March 2023, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Travel Alert for polio in Africa; Madagascar is currently considered a high risk to travelers for circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV); vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) is a strain of the weakened poliovirus that was initially included in oral polio vaccine (OPV) and that has changed over time and behaves more like the wild or naturally occurring virus; this means it can be spread more easily to people who are unvaccinated against polio and who come in contact with the stool or respiratory secretions, such as from a sneeze, of an “infected” person who received oral polio vaccine; the CDC recommends that before any international travel, anyone unvaccinated, incompletely vaccinated, or with an unknown polio vaccination status should complete the routine polio vaccine series; before travel to any high-risk destination, the CDC recommends that adults who previously completed the full, routine polio vaccine series receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine"
"text":"erosion and soil degredation results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; agricultural fires; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; wildlife preservation (endangered species of flora and fauna unique to the island)"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south"
"text":"<em>due to the effects of extreme weather events and slow economic recovery - </em>according to the latest May 2022 analysis, the prevalence of food insecurity in the southern regions is projected to peak at 2.1 million people by December 2022 until at least March 2023; overall, the number of people requiring humanitarian assistance by the end of 2022 is expected to be about 30 percent higher compared to the peak number in 2021; the poor food security situation is mainly the consequence of six consecutive poor agricultural seasons that culminated in very tight food supplies for rural households and curbed incomes from crop sales; high rates of poverty and increased prices of essential food commodities, combined with a high reliance on market supplies due to low harvests for own consumption, are also contributing to the high rates of food insecurity across the southern regions (2022)"
"text":"Republique de Madagascar/Repoblikan'i Madagasikara"
},
"local short form":{
"text":"Madagascar/Madagasikara"
},
"former":{
"text":"Malagasy Republic"
},
"etymology":{
"text":"the name \"Madageiscar\" was first used by the 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco POLO, as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu, the Somali port with which POLO confused the island"
}
},
"Government type":{
"text":"semi-presidential republic"
},
"Capital":{
"name":{
"text":"Antananarivo"
},
"geographic coordinates":{
"text":"18 55 S, 47 31 E"
},
"time difference":{
"text":"UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
"text":"the name, which means \"City of the Thousand,\" was bestowed by 17th century King ADRIANJAKAKING to honor the soldiers assigned to guard the city"
"text":"proposed by the president of the republic in consultation with the cabinet or supported by a least two thirds of both the Senate and National Assembly membership; passage requires at least three-fourths approval of both the Senate and National Assembly and approval in a referendum; constitutional articles, including the form and powers of government, the sovereignty of the state, and the autonomy of Madagascar’s collectivities, cannot be amended"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 November and 19 December 2018 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly, appointed by the president"
"text":"<em>2018</em>: Andry RAJOELINA elected President in second round; percent of vote in first round - Andry RAJOELINA (TGV) 39.2%, Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 35.4%, other 25.4%; percent of vote in second round - Andry RAJOELINA (TGV) 55.7%, Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 44.3% <br><em><br>2013</em>: Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA (HVM) 15.9%, Jean Louis ROBINSON (AVANA) 21.1%, other 63%; percent of vote in second round - Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA (HVM) 53.5%, Jean Louis ROBINSON (AVANA) 46.5%"
"text":"bicameralParliamentconsists of:<br>Senate or Antenimieran-Doholona (18 seats; 12 members indirectly elected by an electoral college of municipal, communal, regional, and provincial leaders and 6 appointed by the president; members serve 5-year terms)<br>National Assembly or Antenimierampirenena (151 seats; 87 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 64 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"Senate - last held on 11 December 2020 (next to be held in December 2025)<br>National Assembly - last held on 27 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2024)"
"text":"2020:<br>Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; elected seats by party - Irmar 10, Malagasy Miara Miainga 2; composition - men 16, women 2, percent of women 11%<br>2019:<br>National Assembly - percent of vote by party - TGV 30.9%, TIM 9.7%, MATITA 1.1%, MTS 0.4%, GJMP 0.3%, MDM 0.2%, RPSD Vaovao 0.1%, Independents 50%, Other 7.3%; composition - men 123, women 28, percent of women 18.5%; note - total Parliament percent of women 17.8%"
"text":"Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 11 members; addresses judicial administration issues only); High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (consists of 9 members); High Court of Justice (consists of 11 members; addresses cases brought against the president of Madagascar and high officials for high treason, grave violations of the Constitution, or breach of duties incompatible with the exercise of the presidential mandate)"
"text":"Supreme Court heads elected by the president and judiciary officials to serve 3-year, single renewable terms; High Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 each by the president, by both legislative bodies, and by the Council of Magistrates; members serve single, 7-year terms; High Court of Justice members include: first president of the Supreme Court; 2 presidents from the Court of Cassation; 2 presidents from the Court of Appeal; 2 deputies from the National Assembly; 2 senators from the Senate; 2 members from the High Council for the Defense of Democracy and the State of law"
"text":"<p>Group of Young Malagasy Patriots (Groupe des Jeunes Malgaches Patriotes) or GJMP<br>I Love Madagascar (Tiako I Madagasikara) or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA]<br>Malagasy Aware (Malagasy Tonga Saina) or MTS [Roland RATSIRAKA]<br>Malagasy Tia Tanindrazana or MATITA or ANGADY [Hyacinthe Befeno TODIMANANA]<br>Movement for Democracy in Madagascar (Mouvement pour la Démocratie à Madagascar) or MDM [Pierrot RAJAONARIVELO]<br>Rally for Democratic Socialism (Rassemblement pour Socialisme Démocratique - Nauveau) or RPSD Vaovao [Evariste MARSON]<br>Young Malagasies Determined (Tanora Malagasy Vonona) or TGV [Andry RAJOELINA]<br><br><strong>Note:</strong> Only parties with seats in the National Assembly included</p>"
"text":"two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side; by tradition, red stands for sovereignty, green for hope, white for purity"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"traveller's palm, zebu; national colors: red, green, white"
"text":"low-income East African island economy; natural resource rich; extreme poverty; return of political stability has helped growth; sharp tax revenue drop due to COVID-19; leading vanilla producer; environmentally fragile"
"text":"telecom services in Madagascar have benefited from intensifying competition between the main operators; there have been positive developments with the country’s link to international submarine cables, particularly the METISS cable connecting to South Africa and Mauritius; in addition, the country’s connection to the Africa-1 cable, expected in late 2023, will provide it with links to Kenya, Djibouti, countries in north and south Africa, as well Pakistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and France; a national fiber backbone has been implemented connecting the major cities; in addition, the government has progressed with its five-year plan to develop a digital platform running to 2024; various schemes within the program have been managed by a unit within the President’s office; penetration rates in all market sectors remain below the average for the African region, and so there remains considerable growth potential; much progress was made in 2020, stimulated by the particular conditions related to the pandemic, which encouraged greater use of voice and data services (2022)"
"text":"country code - 261; landing points for the EASSy, METISS, and LION fiber-optic submarine cable systems connecting to numerous Indian Ocean Islands, South Africa, and Eastern African countries; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region) (2019)"
"text":"state-owned Radio Nationale Malagasy (RNM) and Television Malagasy (TVM) have an extensive national network reach; privately owned radio and TV broadcasters in cities and major towns; state-run radio dominates in rural areas; relays of 2 international broadcasters are available in Antananarivo (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"Madagascar People's Armed Forces (PAF): Army, Navy, Air Force; National Gendarmerie (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>the National Gendarmerie is separate from the PAF under the Ministry of Defense and is responsible for maintaining law and order in rural areas at the village level, protecting government facilities, and operating a maritime police contingent; the National Police under the Ministry of Security is responsible for maintaining law and order in urban areas"
"text":"the PAF's inventory consists mostly of aging Soviet-era equipment; in recent years, it has received small amounts of secondhand equipment from South Africa and the UAE (2023)"
"text":"the PAF’s responsibilities include ensuring sovereignty and territorial integrity and protecting Madagascar’s maritime domain, particularly against piracy, drug trafficking, and smuggling; it also assists the Gendarmerie with maintaining law and order in rural areas, largely in areas affected by banditry, cattle rustling, and criminal groups; the PAF has a history of having influence in domestic politics and a lack of accountability; members of the Army and the Gendarmerie were arrested for coup plotting as recently as 2021; its closest defense partners have been India and Russia; the PAF’s small Navy has traditionally looked to India for assistance with maritime security (2023)"
"text":"<p><em>Madagascar-France</em>: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France); the vegetated drying cays of Banc du Geyser, which were claimed by Madagascar in 1976, also fall within the EEZ claim of France</p> <p><em>Madagascar-Comoros</em>: the vegetated drying cays of Banc du Geyser, which were claimed by Madagascar in 1976, also fall within the EEZ claim of the Comoros</p>"
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List — Madagascar does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; officials investigated slightly more trafficking crimes, cooperated with foreign governments on a trafficking investigation, and established a new mechanism to promote fair recruitment for potential migrants and raise awareness of trafficking indicators; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous year to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; there were no reports of prosecutions or convictions of traffickers; the government did not hold complicit officials accountable nor investigate reports of officials facilitating child sex trafficking; officials identified the fewest number of trafficking victims since 2016 and only provided services to half of the victims; the government lacked standard operating procedures for identifying victims and referring them to care; efforts to address internal crimes, including domestic servitude, forced begging, and child sex trafficking, remained inadequate; the government failed to allocate adequate resources to agencies responsible for anti-trafficking efforts and lacked a national action plan; therefore, Madagascar was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2022)"
},
"trafficking profile":{
"text":"human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Madagascar, as well as victims from Madagascar abroad; traffickers exploit Malagasy children in child sex trafficking and forced labor in domestic service in homes and businesses, mining, street vending, agriculture, textile factories, and fishing; most child sex trafficking occurs in tourist destinations, urban cities, vanilla-growing regions, and around mining sites with the involvement and encouragement of family members; tourist operators, hotels, taxi drivers, massage centers, and local adults involved in commercial sex also facilitate this crime; girls as young as 13 are exploited in child sex tourism, often openly in bars, nightclubs, massage parlors, hotels, and private homes; Malagasy men exploit the majority of child sex trafficking victims, while most foreign sex tourists are French or Italian nationals; government officials are reportedly complicit in providing false identification documents to traffickers that facilitate child sex trafficking in Madagascar and forced labor in domestic service by Malagasy women abroad; many Malagasy women are employed as domestic workers in China, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, where they are at risk of trafficking; traffickers acting as labor recruiters send Malagasy women to China with false identity cards, where they are exploited in forced labor in agriculture or domestic servitude; Malagasy men may be exploited in forced labor in the services and construction industries in the Middle East and domestic servitude in China; Chinese nationals working at China’s Belt and Road Initiative projects in Madagascar were vulnerable to forced labor (2022)"
"text":"illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin"
