Madagascar
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Antananarivo
- Population
- 31,345,040 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 587,041 sq km
- Government
- semi-presidential republic
- Languages
- Malagasy (official) 99.9%, French (official) 23.6%, English 8.2%, other 0.6% (2018 est.)
- Religions
- 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.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran
- Currency
- Malagasy ariary (MGA)
- Life Expectancy
- 68.8 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .mg
- Climate
- tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
- Terrain
- narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
- Natural Resources
- graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, rare earth elements, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower
- Major Exports
- garments, nickel, vanilla, cloves, gold (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
Madagascar was one of the last major habitable landmasses on earth to be 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.