:Madagascar

In the Malagasy language, the island of Madagascar is called Madagasikara ({{IPA|mg|madaɡasʲˈkʲarə̥}}) and its people are referred to as Malagasy.{{cite web |last = National Geographic |title = Style Manual |url=http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/M/madagascan-malagasy |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130525104716/http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/M/madagascan-malagasy |archive-date = 25 May 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date =31 August 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/malagasy-or-is-it-madagascan-our-research-provides-the-answer-128343|title=Malagasy? Or is it Madagascan? Our research provides the answer|last=Raveloson|first=Andriamiranto|date=25 March 2020|website=theconversation.com|language=en|access-date=20 August 2020|archive-date=13 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613102719/https://theconversation.com/malagasy-or-is-it-madagascan-our-research-provides-the-answer-128343|url-status=live}} The origin of the name is uncertain,{{Cite journal |last1=Voarintsoa |first1=Ny Riavo G. |last2=Raveloson |first2=Andriamiranto |last3=Barimalala |first3=Rondrotiana |last4=Razafindratsima |first4=Onja H. |date=July 2019 |title='Malagasy' or 'Madagascan'? Which English term best reflects the people, the culture, and other things from Madagascar? |journal=Scientific African |language=en |volume=4 |pages=e00091 |doi=10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00091|bibcode=2019SciAf...400091V |s2cid=187807236 |doi-access=free }} and is likely foreign, having been propagated in the Middle Ages by Europeans.Cousins (1895), pp. 11–12 If this is the case, it is unknown when the name was adopted by the inhabitants of the island. No single Malagasy-language name predating Madagasikara appears to have been used by the local population to refer to the island, although some communities had their name for part or all of the lands they inhabited.Room (2006), p. 230

One hypothesis relates Madagascar to the word Malay, referring to the Austronesian origin of the Malagasy people in modern-day Indonesia. In a map by Muhammad al-Idrisi dating from the year 1154, the island is named Gesira Malai, or "Malay island" in Arabic. The inversion of this name to Malai Gesira, as it was known by the Greeks, is thought to be the precursor of the modern name of the island.{{Cite journal |last=Clockers |first=Alain |date=2014-12-30 |title=Histoire des noms anciens de Madagascar : réévaluations et nouvelles hypothèses |url=https://journals.openedition.org/oceanindien/1704?lang=en |journal=Études Océan Indien |language=fr |issue=51–52 |doi=10.4000/oceanindien.1704 |issn=0246-0092 |doi-access=free |access-date=1 June 2023 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601201349/https://journals.openedition.org/oceanindien/1704?lang=en |url-status=live }} The name "Malay island" was later rendered in Latin as Malichu, an abbreviated form of Malai Insula, in the medieval Hereford Mappa Mundi as the name of Madagascar.{{Cite book |last=Grandidier |first=Alfred |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9u4kwwEACAAJ |title=Histoire de la géographie de Madagascar |date=1885 |publisher=Imprimerie nationale |language=fr |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821020820/https://books.google.com/books?id=9u4kwwEACAAJ |url-status=live }}

Another hypothesis is that Madagascar is a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia and an important medieval Indian Ocean port. This would have resulted from 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco Polo confusing the two locations in his memoirs, in which he mentions the land of Madageiscar to the south of Socotra. This name would then have been popularized on Renaissance maps by Europeans.Room (2006), p. 230 One of the first documents written that might explain why Marco Polo called it Madagascar is in a 1609 book on Madagascar by Jerome Megiser.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jYccAAAAMAAJ&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar&pg=PA404 |title=The Antananarvio Annual and Madagascar Magazine |date=1893 |publisher=London Missionary Society Press |language=en |access-date=2023-06-04 |archive-date=2023-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604192933/https://books.google.com/books?id=jYccAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA404&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar&hl=en |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Sibree |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HRApAAAAYAAJ&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar+magadaxo&pg=PA113 |title=Madagascar Before the Conquest: The Island, the Country, and the People, with Chapters on Travel and Topography, Folk-lore, Strange Customs and Superstitions, the Animal Life of the Island, and Mission Work and Progress Among the Inhabitants |date=1896 |publisher=Macmillan |language=en |access-date=2023-06-04 |archive-date=2023-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604192928/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRApAAAAYAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA113&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar+magadaxo&hl=en |url-status=live }} Jerome Megiser describes an event in which the kings of Mogadishu and Adal traveled to Madagascar with a fleet of around twenty-five thousand men in order to invade the wealthy islands of Taprobane and Sumatra. However, a tempest threw them off course and they landed on the coasts of Madagascar, conquering the island and signing a treaty with its inhabitants. They remained for eight months and erected at different points of the island eight pillars on which they engraved "Magadoxo", a name which later, by corruption became Madagascar.{{cite book |last1=Kent |first1=Raymond K. |title=Early Kingdoms in Madagascar and the Birth of the Sakalava Empire, 1500-1700 |date=1967 |publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison |page=186 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XubAAAAMAAJ |access-date=2023-06-05 |archive-date=2023-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605111400/https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Early_Kingdoms_in_Madagascar_and_the_Bir.html?id=_XubAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Megiser |first1=Hieronymus |title=Warhafftige, gründliche und aussführliche, so wol historische als chorographische Beschreibung der ... Insul Madagascar. ... Samt ... angehengtem Dictionario und Dialogis der Madagascarischen Sprach |date=1609 |pages=58–60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srs_eP6UmhUC&dq=magadaxo+und+adel&pg=PA58 |language=de |access-date=14 January 2024 |archive-date=14 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114164930/https://books.google.com/books?id=srs_eP6UmhUC&dq=magadaxo+und+adel&pg=PA58 |url-status=live }} Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, a Dutch traveler who copied Portuguese works and maps, confirmed this event by saying "Madagascar has its name from 'makdishu' (Mogadishu)" whose "shayk" invaded it.{{Cite book |last=Linschoten |first=Jan Huygen van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUxSjS0jpjwC&dq=the+voyage+of+john+huyghen+makdishu&pg=PA19 |title=The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linschoten to the East Indies: From the Old English Translation of 1598. The First Book, Containing His Description of the East... |date=1885 |publisher=Hakluyt society |language=en |access-date=2023-06-04 |archive-date=2023-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604192932/https://books.google.com/books?id=GUxSjS0jpjwC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA19&dq=the+voyage+of+john+huyghen+makdishu&hl=en |url-status=live }}

The name Malagasikara, or Malagascar, is also historically attested. A British state paper in 1699 records the arrival of eighty to ninety passengers from "Malagaskar" to what eventually became New York City.'America and West Indies: June 1699, 12-20', in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 17, 1699 and Addenda 1621-1698, ed. Cecil Headlam (London, 1908), pp. 283–291. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol17/pp283-291 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216231538/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol17/pp283-291 |date=16 February 2023 }} [accessed 1 June 2023]. An 1882 edition of the British newspaper The Graphic referred to "Malagascar" as the name of the island, stating that it is etymologically a word of Malay origin, and may be related to the name of Malacca.{{Cite news |last=W. M. C. |date=December 16, 1882 |title=The Malagasy |work=The Graphic |issue=681 |url=http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/library/1882-12-16thegraphic.pdf |access-date=1 June 2023 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601201347/http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/library/1882-12-16thegraphic.pdf |url-status=live }} In 1891, Saleh bin Osman, a Zanzibari traveler, refers to the island as "Malagaskar" when recounting his journeys, including as part of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition.{{Cite journal |last=Saleh Bin Osman |date=August 1891 |title=The Story of My Life |url=https://onemorevoice.org/html/transcriptions/liv_020002_TEI.html |journal=St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks |issue=18 |pages=795–8 |access-date=1 June 2023 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601201352/https://onemorevoice.org/html/transcriptions/liv_020002_TEI.html |url-status=live }} In 1905, Charles Basset wrote in his doctoral thesis that Malagasikara was the way the island is referred to by its natives, who emphasized that they were Malagasy, and not Madagasy.{{Cite book |last=Basset |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5MoAAAAYAAJ |title=Madagascar et l'oeuvre du Général Galliéni |date=1903 |publisher=A. Rousseau |language=fr}}

{{Main|History of Madagascar}}

File:Malagasy girls Madagascar Merina.jpg ancestry reflects a blend of Southeast Asian, Oceanian and Bantu (Southeast African) roots.]]

Traditionally, archaeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves in outrigger canoes from South Borneo, possibly throughout the period between 350 BC and 550 AD, while others are cautious about dates earlier than AD 250. In either case, these dates make Madagascar one of the most recent major landmasses on Earth to be settled by humans, predating the settlement of Iceland and New Zealand.{{cite journal |last = Crowley |first = B.E. |title = A refined chronology of prehistoric Madagascar and the demise of the megafauna |journal = Quaternary Science Reviews |volume = 29 |issue = 19–20 |pages = 2591–2603 |year = 2010

|doi = 10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.06.030|bibcode = 2010QSRv...29.2591C}} It is proposed that Ma'anyan people were brought as laborers and slaves by Javan and Sumatran-Malays in their trading fleets to Madagascar.{{cite journal|last1=Dewar|first1=Robert E.|last2=Wright|first2=Henry T.|date=1993|title=The culture history of Madagascar|journal=Journal of World Prehistory|volume=7|issue=4|pages=417–466|doi=10.1007/bf00997802|hdl-access=free|hdl=2027.42/45256|s2cid=21753825}}{{cite journal|vauthors=Burney DA, Burney LP, Godfrey LR, Jungers WL, Goodman SM, Wright HT, Jull AJ|date=August 2004|title=A chronology for late prehistoric Madagascar|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=47|issue=1–2|pages=25–63|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.05.005|pmid=15288523|bibcode=2004JHumE..47...25B }}Kumar, Ann (2012). 'Dominion Over Palm and Pine: Early Indonesia's Maritime Reach', in Geoff Wade (ed.), Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies), 101–122. Dates of settlement of the island earlier than the mid-first millennium AD are not strongly supported. However, there is scattered evidence for much earlier human visits and presence. (See History of Madagascar).{{cite news|date=September 10, 2018|title=Ancient bird bones redate human activity in Madagascar by 6,000 years|url=https://www.zsl.org/science/news/ancient-bird-bones-redate-human-activity-in-madagascar-by-6000-years|newspaper=Zoological Society of London (ZSL)}}{{cite web|date=September 12, 2018|title=Ancient bird bones redate human activity in Madagascar by 6,000 years|url=https://phys.org/news/2018-09-ancient-bird-bones-redate-human.html|website=Phys.org}} Archaeological finds such as cut marks on bones found in the northwest and stone tools in the northeast indicate that Madagascar was visited by foragers around 2000 BCE.{{cite journal | last1 = Gommery | first1 = D. | last2 = Ramanivosoa | first2 = B. | last3 = Faure | first3 = M. | last4 = Guérin | first4 = C. | last5 = Kerloc'h | first5 = P. | last6 = Sénégas | first6 = F. | last7 = Randrianantenaina | first7 = H. | title = Oldest evidence of human activities in Madagascar on subfossil hippopotamus bones from Anjohibe (Mahajanga Province) | journal = Comptes Rendus Palevol | volume = 10 | issue = 4 | year = 2011 | pages = 271–278 | doi = 10.1016/j.crpv.2011.01.006}}{{cite journal | last1 = Dewar | first1 = R. E. | last2 = Radimilahy | first2 = C. | last3 = Wright | first3 = H. T. | last4 = Jacobs | first4 = Z. | last5 = Kelly | first5 = G. O. | last6 = Berna | first6 = F. | title = Stone tools and foraging in northern Madagascar challenge Holocene extinction models | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 110 | issue = 31 | year = 2013 | pages = 12583–12588 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1306100110 | pmid=23858456 | pmc=3732966| bibcode = 2013PNAS..11012583D | doi-access = free }}Peter Forster, Shuichi Matsumutra, Matthieu Vizuete-Forster, Petya Belinda Blumbach & Robert Dewar (2008) "The Genetic Prehistory of Madagascar's Female Asian Lineages", In: {{cite book|last1=Matsumura|first1=Shūichi|last2=Forster|first2=Peter|last3=Renfrew|first3=Colin|author-link3=Colin Renfrew|title=Simulations, Genetics and Human Prehistory|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IR3bAAAAMAAJ|year=2008|publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research|isbn=978-1-902937-45-8}}, pp71-72

Upon arrival, early settlers practiced slash-and-burn agriculture to clear the coastal rainforests for cultivation. The first settlers encountered Madagascar's abundance of megafauna,{{cite news |title=Human expansion 1,000 years ago linked to Madagascar's loss of large vertebrates |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221104113440.htm |work=ScienceDaily |date=4 November 2022 |access-date=6 November 2022 |archive-date=6 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106001734/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221104113440.htm |url-status=live }} including 17 species of giant lemurs, the large flightless elephant birds (including possibly the largest bird to ever exist, Aepyornis maximus), the giant fossa, and several species of Malagasy hippopotamus, which have since become extinct because of hunting and habitat destruction.{{cite journal |last = Virah-Sawmy |first = M. |author2 = Willis, K. J.|author3=Gillson, L. |title = Evidence for drought and forest declines during the recent megafaunal extinctions in Madagascar |journal = Journal of Biogeography |volume = 37 |pages = 506–519 |year = 2010 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02203.x |issue = 3|bibcode = 2010JBiog..37..506V |s2cid = 84382916 }} By 600 AD, groups of these early settlers had begun clearing the forests of the central highlands.{{cite journal |last = Campbell |first = Gwyn |title = The Structure of Trade in Madagascar, 1750–1810 |journal = The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume = 26 |issue = 1 |pages = 111–148 |year = 1993 |doi = 10.2307/219188 |jstor = 219188 }}

Arab traders first reached the island between the 7th and 9th centuries.Wink (2004), p. 185 A wave of Bantu-speaking migrants from southeastern Africa arrived around the year 1000.{{Cite journal|last1=Pierron|first1=Denis|last2=Heiske|first2=Margit|last3=Razafindrazaka|first3=Harilanto|last4=Rakoto|first4=Ignace|last5=Rabetokotany|first5=Nelly|last6=Ravololomanga|first6=Bodo|last7=Rakotozafy|first7=Lucien M.-A.|last8=Rakotomalala|first8=Mireille Mialy|last9=Razafiarivony|first9=Michel|last10=Rasoarifetra|first10=Bako|last11=Raharijesy|first11=Miakabola Andriamampianina|date=8 August 2017|title=Genomic landscape of human diversity across Madagascar|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=114|issue=32|pages=E6498–E6506|doi=10.1073/pnas.1704906114|issn=0027-8424|pmc=5559028|pmid=28716916|bibcode=2017PNAS..114E6498P |doi-access=free}} Around this time, zebu from South India were first brought, intermingling with sanga found in East Africa.{{cite journal |last=Magnier |first=Jessica |year=2022 |title=The genetic history of Mayotte and Madagascar cattle breeds mirrors the complex pattern of human exchanges in Western Indian Ocean |url=https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article/12/4/jkac029/6523972?login=false |journal=G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics |volume=12 |issue=4|doi=10.1093/g3journal/jkac029 |pmid=35137043 |pmc=8982424 }} File:Omby soavaly.jpgIrrigated paddy fields were developed in the central highland Betsileo Kingdom and were extended with terraced paddies throughout the neighboring Kingdom of Imerina a century later. The rising intensity of land cultivation and the ever-increasing demand for zebu pasturage had largely transformed the central highlands from a forest ecosystem to grassland by the 17th century.{{cite journal |last=Gade |first=Daniel W. |year=1996 |title=Deforestation and its effects in Highland Madagascar |journal=Mountain Research and Development |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=101–116 |doi=10.2307/3674005 |jstor=3674005}}

The oral histories of the Merina people, who arrived in the central highlands between 600 and 1,000 years ago, describe encountering an established population they called the Vazimba. Probably the descendants of an earlier and less technologically advanced Austronesian settlement wave, the Vazimba were assimilated or expelled from the highlands by the Merina kings Andriamanelo, Ralambo, and Andrianjaka in the 16th and early 17th centuries.{{cite web |last = Domenichini |first = J.P. |title = Antehiroka et Royauté Vazimba |work = Express de Madagascar |publisher = Madatana.com |url = http://www.madatana.com/article-antehiroka-et-royaute-vazimba.php |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714013559/http://www.madatana.com/article-antehiroka-et-royaute-vazimba.php |archive-date = 14 July 2011 |url-status=live |access-date =5 November 2010|language=fr}} Today, the spirits of the Vazimba are revered as tompontany (ancestral masters of the land) by many traditional Malagasy communities.{{cite web |last = Razafimahazo |first = S. |title = Vazimba: Mythe ou Realité? |work = Revue de l'Océan Indien |publisher = Madatana.com |year = 2011 |url = http://www.madatana.com/article-vazimba-mythe-ou-realite.php |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110714013401/http://www.madatana.com/article-vazimba-mythe-ou-realite.php |archive-date = 14 July 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date = 8 November 2010 |language = fr }}

File:Detail_of_Diogo_Dias's_ship_(Cabral_Armada).jpg Diogo Dias recorded the island while participating in the 2nd Portuguese India Armadas.]]

The written history of Madagascar began with the Arabs, who established trading posts along the northwest coast by at least the 10th century and introduced Islam, the Arabic script (used to transcribe the Malagasy language in a form of writing known as sorabe), Arab astrology, and other cultural elements.

The Arabs also contributed to the blood mixture that today forms the Malagasy people. As masters of the entire African coastline, they repeatedly sent numerous migrations to the island, using the Comoros Islands as stopovers. Their traces can still be found along all the coasts, although it is doubtful that they ever penetrated far inland, since their colonies were founded mainly for commercial purposes. The Arabs primarily bought slaves, especially Hova slaves from the center of the island for the Indian Ocean markets. They were never able to convert the indigenous population to Islam, but they did manage to introduce some Muslim practices into local customs, which became widespread across the island. These included circumcision, abstaining from eating pork, and aversion of dogs.These customs led some early European travelers to wrongly believe that several tribes followed the doctrine of Muhammad. Grandidier, Alfred, and Guillaume Grandidier. Collection des ouvrages anciens concernant Madagascar, vol. II, pp. 90–91. Paris, 1904.Barbié du Bocage, V. A. Madagascar, possession française depuis 1642, pp. 66–67, 85. Paris: Arthus Bertrand, Libraire de la Société de Géographie, 21 rue Hautefeuille.

European contact began in 1500, when the Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias sighted the island, while participating in the 2nd Armada of the Portuguese India Armadas. In 1506, the Portuguese failed in their attempts to destroy Arab-Antalaotra settlements in Nothern Madagascar despite violent raids led by Tristão da Cunha and Afonso de Albuquerque. Portuguese efforts of Christianization there also failed when their missionaries were massacred by natives. The Portuguese then resorted to the slave trade, buying slaves from the Arabs or Antalaotra when they did not acquire them directly through deceit or violence. Gérard Naal, Abrégé d'histoire de Madagascar, L'Harmattan, 2015, p. 20Hubert Deschamps, Histoire de Madagascar, p. 63

Matatana was the first Portuguese settlement on the south coast, 10 km west of Fort Dauphin. In 1508, settlers there built a tower, a small village, and a stone column. This settlement was established in 1513 at the behest of the viceroy of Portuguese India, Jeronimo de Azevedo.{{Cite journal|last=Leitão|first=Humberto|title=Os dois descobrimentos da ilha de São Lourenço mandados fazer pelo vice-rei D. Jeronimio de Azevedo nos anos de 1613 à 1616|journal=Caravelle. Cahiers du Monde Hispanique et Luso-Brésilien|year=1971|volume=16|issue=1|page=261|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/carav_0008-0152_1971_num_16_1_1816_t1_0261_0000_2|access-date=9 August 2020|archive-date=30 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034504/https://www.persee.fr/doc/carav_0008-0152_1971_num_16_1_1816_t1_0261_0000_2|url-status=live}}

File:Matatana.jpg

Contacts continued from the 1550s. Several colonization and conversion missions were ordered by King João III and by the Viceroy of India, including one in 1553 by Baltazar Lobo de Sousa. In that mission, according to detailed descriptions by chroniclers Diogo do Couto and João de Barros, emissaries reached the inland via rivers and bays, exchanging goods and even converting one of the local kings.{{cite web|last=Andrada|first=Francisco|title=Cronica do mujto alto e poderoso Rey destes Reynos de Portugal, Dom João o III.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CWlJAAAAcAAJ&q=Tararango+Madagascar&pg=PT292|year=1613|access-date=27 October 2020|archive-date=30 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034502/https://books.google.com/books?id=CWlJAAAAcAAJ&q=Tararango+Madagascar&pg=PT292|url-status=live}}

The French established trading posts along the east coast in the late 17th century. From about 1774 to 1824, Madagascar gained prominence among pirates and European traders, particularly those involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The small island of Nosy Boraha (Île Sainte-Marie) off the northeastern coast of Madagascar is believed to be where the English pirate Henry Every founded his kingdom and reigned as Pirate King or Emperor. Jan Rogozinski, Honor among thieves: Captain Kidd, Henry Every, and the Pirate Democracy in the Indian Ocean, p.80{{Cite web |url=https://digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu/object/ir-1086 |title=Every Kidd Has His Day: A Story of How Pirates Forced the English to Reevaluate Their Foreign Policy in the Indian Ocean (1690-1700) |access-date= |author=Brewer, Benjamin Heymann |date=2010-04-15 |publisher= |website=digitalcollections.wesleyan.edu |page=45}} Antsiranana Bay (Diego Suarez Bay) in northern Madagascar is rumored to be the site where the French pirate Misson founded his legendary pirate utopia, Libertalia. {{Cite web |title=Pirates & Privateers - Captain Misson & Libertalia |url=http://www.cindyvallar.com/Misson.html |website=www.cindyvallar.com |access-date=}} Many European sailors were shipwrecked on the coasts of the island, among them Robert Drury, whose journal is one of the few written depictions of life in southern Madagascar during the 18th century.Kent (1976), pp. 65–71 European accounts until the early 20th century identified Malagasy people as being of Jewish origin.{{Cite journal |last=Jennings |first=Eric T. |date=2017 |title=Perspectives on French Colonial Madagascar |url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-55967-8 |journal=SpringerLink |language=en |doi=10.1057/978-1-137-55967-8 |isbn=978-1-137-59690-1 |access-date=6 March 2024 |archive-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427035701/https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-55967-8 |url-status=live }}

The wealth generated by maritime trade spurred the rise of organized kingdoms on the island, some of which had grown quite powerful by the 17th century.{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/madg_1/hd_madg_1.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110624105133/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/madg_1/hd_madg_1.htm |archive-date = 24 June 2011 |url-status=live |title=Kingdoms of Madagascar: Maroserana and Merina |date = October 2003 |publisher=Metmuseum.org |access-date=25 April 2010}} Among these were the Betsimisaraka alliance of the eastern coast and the Sakalava chiefdoms of Menabe and Boina on the west coast. The Kingdom of Imerina, located in the central highlands with its capital at the royal palace of Antananarivo, emerged at around the same time under the leadership of King Andriamanelo.Ogot (1992), p. 418

{{Main|Merina Kingdom}}

File:Andrianampoinimerina HQ.jpg (1787–1810)]]

Upon its emergence in the early 17th century, the highland kingdom of Imerina was initially a minor power relative to the larger coastal kingdoms and grew even weaker in the early 18th century when King Andriamasinavalona divided it among his four sons. Following almost a century of warring and famine, Imerina was reunited in 1793 by King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810).Hodder (1982), p. 59 From his initial capital Ambohimanga,{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/950 |title=Royal Hill of Ambohimanga |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=30 April 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629070952/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/950/|url-status=live |archive-date = 29 June 2011}} and later from the Rova of Antananarivo, this Merina king rapidly expanded his rule over neighbouring principalities. His ambition to bring the entire island under his control was largely achieved by his son and successor, King Radama I (1810–28), who was recognized by the British government as King of Madagascar. Radama concluded a treaty in 1817 with the British governor of Mauritius to abolish the lucrative slave trade in return for British military and financial assistance. Artisan missionary envoys from the London Missionary Society began arriving in 1818 and included such key figures as James Cameron, David Jones and David Griffiths, who established schools, transcribed the Malagasy language using the Roman alphabet, translated the Bible, and introduced a variety of new technologies to the island.Ade Ajayi (1998), pp. 413–422

Radama's successor, Queen Ranavalona I (1828–61), responded to increasing political and cultural encroachment on the part of Britain and France by issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity in Madagascar and pressuring most foreigners to leave the territory. William Ellis of the London Missionary Society described his visits made during her reign in his book Three Visits to Madagascar during the years 1853, 1854, and 1856. The Queen made heavy use of the traditional practice of fanompoana (forced labor as tax payment) to complete public works projects and develop a standing army of between 20,000 and 30,000 Merina soldiers, whom she deployed to pacify outlying regions of the island and further expand the Kingdom of Merina to encompass most of Madagascar. Residents of Madagascar could accuse one another of various crimes, including theft, Christianity and especially witchcraft, for which the ordeal of tangena was routinely obligatory. Between 1828 and 1861, the tangena ordeal caused about 3,000 deaths annually. In 1838, it was estimated that as many as 100,000 people in Imerina died as a result of the tangena ordeal, constituting roughly 20 percent of the population.{{cite journal | last = Campbell | first = Gwyn | date = October 1991 | title = The state and pre-colonial demographic history: the case of nineteenth-century Madagascar | journal = Journal of African History | volume = 23 | issue = 3 | pages = 415–445| doi = 10.1017/S0021853700031534 }} The combination of regular warfare, disease, difficult forced labor, and harsh measures of justice resulted in a high mortality rate among soldiers and civilians alike during her 33-year reign; the population of Madagascar is estimated to have declined from around 5 million to 2.5 million between 1833 and 1839.{{cite journal |last = Campbell |first = Gwyn |date = October 1991 |title = The state and pre-colonial demographic history: the case of nineteenth century Madagascar |journal = Journal of African History |volume = 23 |issue = 3 |pages = 415–445|doi = 10.1017/S0021853700031534 }}

Among those who continued to reside in Imerina were Jean Laborde, an entrepreneur who developed munitions and other industries on behalf of the monarchy, and Joseph-François Lambert, a French adventurer and slave trader, with whom then-Prince Radama II signed a controversial trade agreement termed the Lambert Charter. Succeeding his mother, Radama II attempted to relax the queen's stringent policies but was overthrown two years later by Prime Minister Rainivoninahitriniony and an alliance of Andriana (noble) and Hova (commoner) courtiers, who sought to end the absolute power of the monarch.

Following the coup, the courtiers offered Radama's queen, Rasoherina, the opportunity to rule, if she would accept a power-sharing arrangement with the Prime Minister: a new social contract that would be sealed by a political marriage between them.Oliver (1886), pp. 124–126 Queen Rasoherina accepted, first marrying Rainivoninahitriniony, then later deposing him and marrying his brother, Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony, who would go on to marry Queen Ranavalona II and Queen Ranavalona III in succession.Uwechue (1981), p. 473

Over the course of Rainilaiarivony's 31-year tenure as prime minister, numerous policies were adopted to modernize and consolidate the power of the central government. Schools were constructed throughout the island and attendance was made mandatory. Army organization was improved and British consultants were employed to train and professionalize soldiers.Fage, Flint & Oliver (1986), pp. 522–524 Polygamy was outlawed and Christianity declared the official religion of the court in 1869, was adopted alongside traditional beliefs among a growing portion of the populace.Thompson & Adloff (1965), pp. 9–10 Legal codes were reformed on the basis of British common law and three European-style courts were established in the capital city. In his joint role as Commander-in-Chief, Rainilaiarivony also successfully ensured the defense of Madagascar against several French colonial incursions.

{{Main|Malagasy Protectorate|French Madagascar}} {{See also|Madagascar in World War II}}

File:LaGuerreAMadagascar.jpg]]

Primarily on the basis that the Lambert Charter had not been respected, France invaded Madagascar in 1883 in what became known as the first Franco-Hova War.Van Den Boogaerde (2008), p. 7 At the end of the war, Madagascar ceded the northern port town of Antsiranana (Diego Suarez) to France and paid 560,000 francs to Lambert's heirs.Randier (2006), p. 400 In 1890, the British accepted the full formal imposition of a French protectorate on the island, but French authority was not acknowledged by the government of Madagascar. To force capitulation, the French bombarded and occupied the harbor of Toamasina on the east coast, and Mahajanga on the west coast, in December 1894 and January 1895 respectively.Curtin (1998), p. 186

A French military flying column then marched toward Antananarivo, losing many men to malaria and other diseases. Reinforcements came from Algeria and Sub-Saharan Africa. Upon reaching the city in September 1895, the column bombarded the royal palace with heavy artillery, causing heavy casualties and leading Queen Ranavalona III to surrender.Oliver, Fage & Sanderson (1985), p. 529 Popular resistance to the French capture of Antananarivo—known as the Menalamba rebellion—broke out in December 1895, and was not suppressed until the end of 1897.Oliver, Fage & Sanderson (1985), p. 532{{Cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Gwyn |date=1991 |title=The Menalamba Revolt and Brigandry in Imperial Madagascar, 1820-1897 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/219791 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=259–291 |doi=10.2307/219791 |jstor=219791 |issn=0361-7882 |access-date=6 June 2024 |archive-date=1 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231001210237/https://www.jstor.org/stable/219791 |url-status=live }} France annexed Madagascar in 1896 and declared the island a colony the following year, dissolving the Merina monarchy and sending the royal family into exile on Réunion Island and to Algeria.

The conquest was followed by ten years of civil war, due to the Menalamba insurrection. The "pacification" carried out by the French administration lasted more than fifteen years, in response to the rural guerrillas scattered throughout the country. In total, the repression of this resistance to colonial conquest caused several tens of thousands of Malagasy victims.Jacques Tronchon. L'insurrection malgache de 1947. Essai d'interprétation historique, p 35–45

Under colonial rule, plantations were established for the production of a variety of export crops.Campbell (2005), p. 107 Slavery was abolished in 1896 and approximately 500,000 slaves were freed; many remained in their former masters' homes as servantsShillington (2005), p. 878 or as sharecroppers; in many parts of the island strong discriminatory views against slave descendants are still held today.Regnier (2015), pp. 152–154 Wide paved boulevards and gathering places were constructed in the capital city of AntananarivoFournet-Guérin (2007), pp. 45–54 and the Rova palace compound was turned into a museum.Frémigacci (1999), pp. 421–444 Additional schools were built, particularly in rural and coastal areas where the schools of the Merina had not reached. Education became mandatory between the ages of 6 and 13 and focused primarily on the French language and practical skills.Gallieni (1908), pp. 341–343

File:29 Mars 1947 Monument.jpg commemorating the beginning of the Malagasy Uprising on 29 March 1947. Between 11,000 and 90,000 Malagasy died during the uprising which lasted nearly two years.{{cite book |first=Travis |last=Hannibal |year=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbWdlRL8WzMC&pg=PA138 |title=Genocide, Ethnonationalism, and the United Nations: Exploring the Causes of Mass Killing Since 1945 |publisher=Routledge |page=138 |isbn=9780415531252 |access-date=23 June 2021 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212928/https://books.google.com/books?id=NbWdlRL8WzMC&pg=PA138 |url-status=live }}]]

Huge mining and forestry concessions were granted to large companies. Native chiefs loyal to the French administration were also granted part of the land. Forced labor was introduced in favor of the French companies and peasants were encouraged, through taxation, to work for wages (especially in the colonial concessions) to the detriment of small individual farms. However, the colonial period was accompanied by movements fighting for independence: the Menalamba, the Vy Vato Sakelika, the Democratic Movement for Malagasy Renovation (MDRM). In 1927, major demonstrations were organized in Antananarivo, notably on the initiative of the communist activist François Vittori, who was imprisoned as a result. The 1930s saw the Malagasy anti-colonial movement gain further momentum. Malagasy trade unionism began to appear underground and the Communist Party of the Madagascar region was formed. But in 1939, all the organizations were dissolved by the administration of the colony, which opted for the Vichy regime. The MDRM was accused by the colonial regime of being at the origin of the 1947 insurrection and was pursued by violent repression.Jacques Tronchon. L'insurrection malgache de 1947. Essai d'interprétation historique, p 35-45

The Merina royal tradition of taxes paid in the form of labor was continued under the French and used to construct a railway and roads linking key coastal cities to Antananarivo.Reinsch (1905), p. 377 Malagasy troops fought for France in World War I. In the 1930s, Nazi political thinkers developed the Madagascar Plan that had identified the island as a potential site for the deportation of Europe's Jews.Browning (2004), pp. 81–89 During the Second World War, the island was the site of the Battle of Madagascar between the Vichy French and an Allied expeditionary force.Kennedy (2007), pp. 511–512

The occupation of France during the Second World War tarnished the prestige of the colonial administration in Madagascar and galvanized the growing independence movement, leading to the Malagasy Uprising of 1947.Lehoullier (2010), p. 107 This movement led the French to establish reformed institutions in 1956 under the Loi Cadre (Overseas Reform Act), and Madagascar moved peacefully towards independence.Kitchen (1962), p. 256 The Malagasy Republic was proclaimed on 14 October 1958, as an autonomous state within the French Community. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in 1959 and full independence on 26 June 1960.Pryor (1990), pp. 209–210

{{Main|Malagasy Republic|Democratic Republic of Madagascar|Third Republic of Madagascar}}

File:Philibert Tsiranana 1962.jpg, the first president of Madagascar (1960–1972)]]

Since regaining independence, Madagascar has transitioned through four republics with corresponding revisions to its constitution. The First Republic (1960–72), under the leadership of French-appointed President Philibert Tsiranana, was characterized by a continuation of strong economic and political ties to France. Many high-level technical positions were filled by French expatriates, and French teachers, textbooks and curricula continued to be used in schools around the country. Popular resentment over Tsiranana's tolerance for this "neo-colonial" arrangement inspired a series of farmer and student protests that overturned his administration in 1972.

Gabriel Ramanantsoa, a major general in the army, was appointed interim president and prime minister that same year, but low public approval forced him to step down in 1975. Colonel Richard Ratsimandrava, appointed to succeed him, was assassinated six days into his tenure. General Gilles Andriamahazo ruled after Ratsimandrava for four months before being replaced by another military appointee: Vice Admiral Didier Ratsiraka, who ushered in the Marxist–Leninist Second Republic that ran under his tenure from 1975 to 1993.{{cite web |url=https://www.lechodusud.com/post/%C3%A9lection-pr%C3%A9sidentielle-%C3%A0-madagascar-les-ratsiraka-une-famille-divis%C3%A9e |url-status=dead |title=Élection présidentielle à Madagascar: les Ratsiraka, une famille divisée |access-date=26 August 2023 |work=L'Écho du Sud |language=fr |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826105935/https://www.lechodusud.com/post/%C3%A9lection-pr%C3%A9sidentielle-%C3%A0-madagascar-les-ratsiraka-une-famille-divis%C3%A9e }}

This period saw a political alignment with the Eastern Bloc countries and a shift toward economic insularity. These policies, coupled with economic pressures stemming from the 1973 oil crisis, resulted in the rapid collapse of Madagascar's economy and a sharp decline in living standards, and the country had become completely bankrupt by 1979. The Ratsiraka administration accepted the conditions of transparency, anti-corruption measures and free market policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and various bilateral donors in exchange for their bailout of the nation's broken economy.

Ratsiraka's dwindling popularity in the late 1980s reached a critical point in 1991 when presidential guards opened fire on unarmed protesters during a rally. Within two months, a transitional government had been established under the leadership of Albert Zafy (1993–96), who went on to win the 1992 presidential elections and inaugurate the Third Republic (1992–2010).{{cite web |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/southern-africa/madagascar/166%20Madagascar%20a%20un%20tournant%20critique.ashx |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110725204902/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/southern-africa/madagascar/166%20Madagascar%20a%20un%20tournant%20critique.ashx |archive-date = 25 July 2011 |url-status=dead |title=Madagascar: La Crise a un Tournant Critique? |access-date=25 November 2010 |work=International Crisis Group |language=fr}} The new Madagascar constitution established a multi-party democracy and a separation of powers that placed significant control in the hands of the National Assembly. The new constitution also emphasized human rights, social and political freedoms, and free trade. Zafy's term, however, was marred by economic decline, allegations of corruption, and his introduction of legislation to give himself greater powers. He was consequently impeached in 1996, and an interim president, Norbert Ratsirahonana, was appointed for the three months prior to the next presidential election. Ratsiraka was then voted back into power on a platform of decentralization and economic reforms for a second term which lasted from 1996 to 2001.{{cite journal |last = Marcus |first = Richard |title = Political change in Madagascar: populist democracy or neopatrimonialism by another name? |journal = Occasional Paper No. 89 |publisher = Institute for Security Studies |date = August 2004 |url = http://www.issafrica.org/publications/papers/political-change-in-madagascar-populist-democracy-or-neopatrimonialism-by-another-name |access-date =15 February 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040907223329/http://www.iss.org.za/pubs/papers/89/Paper89.htm |archive-date = 7 September 2004}}

The contested 2001 presidential elections in which then-mayor of Antananarivo, Marc Ravalomanana, eventually emerged victorious, caused a seven-month standoff in 2002 between supporters of Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka. The negative economic impact of the political crisis was gradually overcome by Ravalomanana's progressive economic and political policies, which encouraged investments in education and ecotourism, facilitated foreign direct investment, and cultivated trading partnerships both regionally and internationally. National GDP grew at an average rate of 7 percent per year under his administration. In the latter half of his second term, Ravalomanana was criticised by domestic and international observers who accused him of increasing authoritarianism and corruption.

Opposition leader and then-mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, led a movement in early 2009 in which Ravalomanana was pushed from power in an unconstitutional process widely condemned as a coup d'état.{{Cite book|last=Ratsimbaharison|first=Adrien|title=The Political Crisis of March 2009 in Madagascar: A Case Study of Conflict and Conflict Mediation|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4422-7235-4|location=Lanham, Boulder, New York, London}} In March 2009, Rajoelina was declared by the Supreme Court as the President of the High Transitional Authority, an interim governing body responsible for moving the country toward presidential elections. In 2010, a new constitution was adopted by referendum, establishing a Fourth Republic, which sustained the democratic, multi-party structure established in the previous constitution. Hery Rajaonarimampianina was declared the winner of the 2013 presidential election, which the international community deemed fair and transparent.{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID=31715&Cr=Madagascar&Cr1=#.UrVg67Sp6RM |title=Centre d'actualités de l'ONU – Madagascar : l'ONU salue le bon déroulement du deuxième tour des élections présidentielles |publisher=Un.org |date=20 December 2013 |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-date=3 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703112119/http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID=31715&Cr=Madagascar&Cr1=#.UrVg67Sp6RM |url-status=live }}

In 2018 the first round of the presidential election was held on 7 November and the second round was held on 10 December. Three former presidents and the most recent president were the main candidates of the elections. Rajoelina won the second round of the elections. Ravalomana lost the second round and he did not accept the results because of allegations of fraud. Rajaonarimampianina received very modest support in the first round. In January 2019 the High Constitutional Court declared Rajoelina as the winner of the elections and the new president.{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/6/madagascar-presidential-election-what-you-need-to-know |title=All you need to know about high-stakes Madagascar poll |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034449/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/6/madagascar-presidential-election-what-you-need-to-know |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/8/madagascar-court-declares-rajoelina-as-election-winner |title=Madagascar court declares Rajoelina as election winner |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121032738/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/8/madagascar-court-declares-rajoelina-as-election-winner |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.africanews.com/2018/12/28/madagascar-starts-voting-in-tight-presidential-race/ |title=Madagascar: Ravalomanana challenges results in court, Rajoelina calls for calm |date=28 December 2018 |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108124618/https://www.africanews.com/2018/12/28/madagascar-starts-voting-in-tight-presidential-race// |url-status=live }}

In June 2019 parliamentary elections the Rajoelina's won absolute majority of the seats of the National Assembly. It received 84 seats and the supporters of former president Ravalomana got only 16 seats of 151 seats of the National Assembly. 51 seats of deputies were independent or represented small parties. Rajoelina could rule as a strongman.{{cite web |url=https://www.africanews.com/2019/06/15/madagascar-president-assured-of-winning-majority-seats-in-parliament/ |title=Madagascar President assured of winning majority seats in parliament |date=15 June 2019 |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030200649/https://www.africanews.com/2019/06/15/madagascar-president-assured-of-winning-majority-seats-in-parliament/ |url-status=live}}

Mid-2021 marked the beginning of the 2021–2022 Madagascar famine which, due to a severe drought, caused hundreds of thousands of people to face food insecurity and over one million people were on the verge of a famine.{{cite news |last1=Januta |first1=Andrea |title=Madagascar food crisis caused more by poverty, natural weather than climate change – study |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/madagascar-food-crisis-caused-more-by-poverty-natural-weather-than-climate-2021-12-01/ |work=Reuters |date=1 December 2021 |language=en |access-date=25 January 2022 |archive-date=25 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125102959/https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/madagascar-food-crisis-caused-more-by-poverty-natural-weather-than-climate-2021-12-01/ |url-status=live }}

In November 2023, Rajoelina was re-elected to another term with 58.95% of the vote in the first round of the election amidst an opposition boycott and a controversy about his acquisition of French citizenship and subsequent eligibility. Turnout was 46.36%, the lowest in a presidential election in the country's history.{{cite web |date=25 November 2023 |title=Andry Rajoelina: Madagascar president re-elected in contested poll |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67517143 |access-date=26 November 2023 |work=BBC News |archive-date=5 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205020853/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67517143 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Geography of Madagascar|Geology of Madagascar}}

File:Madagascar topo.jpg

At {{convert|592800|km2}}, Madagascar is the world's 46th largest country,{{cite web |author=Central Intelligence Agency |author-link=CIA |publisher=The World Factbook |title=Madagascar |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ |year=2011 |access-date=24 August 2011 |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214064652/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ |url-status=live }} the second-largest island country{{cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-are-the-island-countries-of-the-world.html |title=Island Countries of the World |publisher=WorldAtlas.com |access-date=10 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207094959/http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-are-the-island-countries-of-the-world.html | archive-date=7 December 2017}} and the fourth-largest island. The country lies mostly between latitudes 12°S and 26°S, and longitudes 43°E and 51°E.Moriarty (1891), pp. 1–2 Neighboring islands include the French territory of Réunion and the country of Mauritius to the east, as well as the state of Comoros and the French territory of Mayotte to the north west. The nearest mainland state is Mozambique, located to the west.

The prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana resulted in the separation of East Gondwana (comprising Madagascar, Antarctica, Australia and the Indian subcontinent) and West Gondwana (Africa–South America) during the Jurassic period, around 185 million years ago. The Indo-Madagascar landmass separated from Antarctica and Australia around 125 million years ago{{Cite journal|last=Reeves|first=Colin V.|date=February 2018|title=The development of the East African margin during Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous times: a perspective from global tectonics|url=http://pg.lyellcollection.org/lookup/doi/10.1144/petgeo2017-021|journal=Petroleum Geoscience|language=en|volume=24|issue=1|pages=41–56|doi=10.1144/petgeo2017-021|bibcode=2018PetGe..24...41R |s2cid=133869410|issn=1354-0793|access-date=6 December 2021|archive-date=3 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303033237/https://pg.lyellcollection.org/content/24/1/41|url-status=live}} and Madagascar separated from the Indian landmass about 84–92 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous.{{Cite journal|last1=Torsvik|first1=T.H.|last2=Tucker|first2=R.D.|last3=Ashwal|first3=L.D.|last4=Carter|first4=L.M.|last5=Jamtveit|first5=B.|last6=Vidyadharan|first6=K.T.|last7=Venkataramana|first7=P.|date=October 2000|title=Late Cretaceous India-Madagascar fit and timing of break-up related magmatism|journal=Terra Nova|language=en|volume=12|issue=5|pages=220–224|doi=10.1046/j.1365-3121.2000.00300.x|bibcode=2000TeNov..12..220T|s2cid=128896193}} This long history of separation from other continents has allowed plants and animals on the island to evolve in relative isolation. Along the length of the eastern coast runs a narrow and steep escarpment containing much of the island's remaining tropical lowland forest. To the west of this ridge lies a plateau in the center of the island ranging in altitude from {{convert|750|to|1500|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} above sea level. These central highlands, traditionally the homeland of the Merina people and the location of their historic capital at Antananarivo, are the most densely populated part of the island and are characterized by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between grassy hills and patches of the subhumid forests that formerly covered the highland region. To the west of the highlands, the increasingly arid terrain gradually slopes down to the Mozambique Channel and mangrove swamps along the coast.{{cite journal|vauthors=Vences M, Wollenberg KC, Vieites DR, Lees DC |title = Madagascar as a model region of species diversification |journal = Trends in Ecology and Evolution |volume = 24 |issue = 8 |pages = 456–465 |date = June 2009 |doi = 10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.011 |url = http://www.mvences.de/p/p1/Vences_A163.pdf |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date = 9 May 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509070414/http://www.mvences.de/p/p1/Vences_A163.pdf |pmid = 19500874|bibcode = 2009TEcoE..24..456V }}

Madagascar's highest peaks rise from three prominent highland massifs: Maromokotro {{convert|2876|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the Tsaratanana Massif is the island's highest point, followed by Boby Peak {{convert|2658|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the Andringitra Massif, and Tsiafajavona {{convert|2643|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the Ankaratra Massif. To the east, the Canal des Pangalanes is a chain of human-made and natural lakes connected by canals built by the French just inland from the east coast and running parallel to it for some {{convert|600|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}}.

The western and southern sides, which lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands, are home to dry deciduous forests, spiny forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands. Due to their lower population densities, Madagascar's dry deciduous forests have been better preserved than the eastern rain forests or the original woodlands of the central plateau. The western coast features many protected harbors, but silting is a major problem caused by sediment from the high levels of inland erosion carried by rivers crossing the broad western plains.{{cite encyclopedia |last = Encyclopædia Britannica|title = Madagascar |encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher = Eb.com |year = 2011 |url = https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/355562/Madagascar |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111219010104/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/355562/Madagascar |archive-date = 19 December 2011 |url-status=live|access-date =25 August 2011}}

File:Koppen-Geiger Map MDG present.svg map of Madagascar]]

{{See also|Geography of Madagascar#Climate}}

The combination of southeastern trade winds and northwestern monsoons produces a hot rainy season (November–April) with frequently destructive cyclones, and a relatively cooler dry season (May–October). Rain clouds originating over the Indian Ocean discharge much of their moisture over the island's eastern coast; the heavy precipitation supports the area's rainforest ecosystem. The central highlands are both drier and cooler while the west is drier still, and a semi-arid climate prevails in the southwest and southern interior of the island.

Tropical cyclones cause damage to infrastructure and local economies as well as loss of life.{{cite web|last = Metz |first = Helen Chapin |author-link = Helen Chapin Metz |year = 1994 |title = Library of Congress Country Studies: Madagascar |url=http://countrystudies.us/madagascar/ |access-date =1 February 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20051109090930/http://countrystudies.us/madagascar/ |url-status=dead |archive-date = 9 November 2005}} In 2004, Cyclone Gafilo became the strongest cyclone ever recorded to hit Madagascar. The storm killed 172 people, left 214,260 homeless{{cite web|author= International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies |publisher=ReliefWeb|date=25 February 2005|access-date=31 March 2011|title=Madagascar: Cyclone Gafilo, Final Report, Appeal 08/04|url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/DDAD-69XMQW?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=2004-0103 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130830093808/http://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-cyclone-gafilo-final-report-appeal-0804 |url-status=live |archive-date = 30 August 2013}} and caused more than US$250 million in damage.{{cite web|author= Integrated Regional Information Networks|publisher=ReliefWeb|date=2 July 2004|access-date=9 September 2012|title= Madagascar: Saving the children from Gafilo's aftermath |url=http://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-saving-children-gafilos-aftermath |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140226232225/http://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-saving-children-gafilos-aftermath |url-status=live|archive-date = 26 February 2014}} In February 2022, Cyclone Batsirai killed 121 people,{{Cite web|date=2022-02-15|title=Southern Africa: Cyclone Season Flash Update No. 6 (Tropical Cyclone Batsirai) (13 February 2022) - Madagascar|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/southern-africa-cyclone-season-flash-update-no-6-tropical-cyclone-batsirai-13|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220215102344/https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/southern-africa-cyclone-season-flash-update-no-6-tropical-cyclone-batsirai-13|archive-date=2022-02-15|access-date=2022-02-15|website=ReliefWeb|language=en}} weeks after Cyclone Ana killed 55 and displaced 130,000 people on the island.{{cite news |last1=Rabary |first1=Lovasoa |title=Cyclone kills at least 10 in Madagascar, destroying homes and cutting power |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/least-three-dead-after-cyclone-batsirai-causes-devastation-southeast-madagascar-2022-02-06/ |work=Reuters |date=6 February 2022 |language=en |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-date=6 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220206233516/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/least-three-dead-after-cyclone-batsirai-causes-devastation-southeast-madagascar-2022-02-06/ |url-status=live }}

A 2022 analysis found that the expected costs for Madagascar, to adapt to and avert the environmental consequences of climate change, are going to be high.{{cite web |last=Laville |first=Sandra |date=2022-07-13 |title=Climate adaptation bill for African countries to dwarf health spending |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/13/climate-adaptation-bill-african-countries-dwarf-health-spending |access-date=2022-07-14 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=12 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912120732/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/13/climate-adaptation-bill-african-countries-dwarf-health-spending |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Wildlife of Madagascar|Flora of Madagascar|Fauna of Madagascar|Agriculture in Madagascar|Ecoregions of Madagascar|List of World Heritage Sites in Madagascar|Deforestation in Madagascar|Illegal logging in Madagascar|}}

Image:Angraecum sesquipedale Orchi 4.jpg), the flowers of this orchid have a very long spur and are pollinated by a species of hawkmoth with a proboscis of matching length.]]

As a result of the island's long isolation from neighbouring continents, Madagascar is home to various endemic plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.{{cite book|last=Tattersall|first=Ian|title=Origin of the Malagasy Strepshirhine Primates|year=2006|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-387-34585-7|pages=1–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nsBtrhsMU5EC&pg=PA3|access-date=14 October 2015|archive-date=6 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406113920/https://books.google.com/books?id=nsBtrhsMU5EC&pg=PA3|url-status=live}} Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are endemic.Hobbes & Dolan (2008), p. 517 This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Madagascar as the "eighth continent",Hillstrom & Collier Hillstrom (2003), p. 50 and the island has been classified by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot.{{cite web |last=Conservation International |title=Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands |work=Biodiversity Hotspots |publisher=Conservation International |year=2007 |url=http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/madagascar/pages/biodiversity.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824110451/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/madagascar/Pages/biodiversity.aspx |archive-date = 24 August 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date = 24 August 2011 }} Madagascar is classed as one of 17 megadiverse countries. The country is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: Madagascar lowland forests, Madagascar subhumid forests, Madagascar dry deciduous forests, Madagascar ericoid thickets, Madagascar spiny forests, Madagascar succulent woodlands, and Madagascar mangroves.{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C. |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |display-authors=1 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free}}

More than 80 percent of Madagascar's 14,883 plant species are found nowhere else in the world, including five plant families.{{cite journal |last1=Callmander |first1=Martin |display-authors=etal |title=The endemic and non-endemic vascular flora of Madagascar updated |journal=Plant Ecology and Evolution |volume=144 |issue=2 |pages=121–125 |year=2011 |doi=10.5091/plecevo.2011.513 |bibcode=2011PlEcE.144..121C |url=http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/curators/pdf/PLECEVO_2011.pdf |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date=31 August 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831072620/http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/curators/pdf/PLECEVO_2011.pdf}} The family Didiereaceae, composed of four genera and 11 species, is limited to the spiny forests of southwestern Madagascar. Four-fifths of the world's Pachypodium species are endemic to the island.{{cite journal |last1 = Lavranos |first1 = John |year = 2004 |title = Pachypodium makayense: A New Species From Madagascar |journal = Cactus and Succulent Journal |volume = 76 |issue = 2|pages = 85–88}} Three-fourths of Madagascar's 860 orchid species are found here alone, as are six of the world's nine baobab species.{{cite journal |doi = 10.1080/106351598260879 |vauthors=Baum DA, Small RL, Wendel JF |year = 1998 |title = Biogeography and floral evolution of baobabs (Adansonia, Bombacaceae) as inferred from multiple data sets |journal = Systematic Biology |volume = 47 |issue = 2|pages = 181–207 |pmid = 12064226|doi-access = free }} The island is home to around 170 palm species, three times as many as on all of mainland Africa; 165 of them are endemic.Bradt (2011), p. 38 Many native plant species are used as herbal remedies for a variety of afflictions. The drugs vinblastine{{cite journal|journal = Molecules|year = 2012|volume = 17|issue = 5|pages = 5893–5914|doi = 10.3390/molecules17055893|title = Modifications on the basic skeletons of vinblastine and vincristine|first1 = Péter|last1 = Keglevich|first2 = Laszlo|last2 = Hazai|first3 = György|last3 = Kalaus|first4 = Csaba|last4 = Szántay|pmid = 22609781|pmc = 6268133|doi-access = free}}{{cite journal|first1 = Justin E.|last1 = Sears|first2 = Dale L.|last2 = Boger|author-link2 = Dale L. Boger|title = Total Synthesis of Vinblastine, Related Natural Products, and Key Analogues and Development of Inspired Methodology Suitable for the Systematic Study of Their Structure-Function Properties|journal = Accounts of Chemical Research|year = 2015|volume = 48|issue = 3|pages = 653–662|doi = 10.1021/ar500400w|pmid = 25586069|pmc = 4363169}} and vincristine{{cite journal|last1 = Kuboyama|first1 = Takeshi|last2 = Yokoshima|first2 = Satoshi|last3 = Tokuyama|first3 = Hidetoshi|last4 = Fukuyama|first4 = Tohru|title = Stereocontrolled total synthesis of (+)-vincristine|journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|year = 2004|volume = 101|issue = 33|pages = 11966–11970|doi = 10.1073/pnas.0401323101|pmid = 15141084|bibcode = 2004PNAS..10111966K|pmc = 514417|doi-access = free}} are vinca alkaloids,{{cite journal|last1 = van der Heijden|first1 = Robert|last2 = Jacobs|first2 = Denise I.|last3 = Snoeijer|first3 = Wim|last4 = Hallard|first4 = Didier|last5 = Verpoorte|first5 = Robert|year = 2004|title = The Catharanthus alkaloids: Pharmacognosy and biotechnology|journal = Current Medicinal Chemistry|volume = 11|issue = 5|pages = 607–628|pmid = 15032608|doi = 10.2174/0929867043455846}}{{cite book|last = Raviña|first = Enrique|title = The evolution of drug discovery: From traditional medicines to modern drugs|year = 2011|publisher = John Wiley & Sons|isbn = 9783527326693|pages = 157–159|chapter = Vinca alkaloids|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iDNy0XxGqT8C&pg=PA157|access-date = 4 September 2017|archive-date = 16 December 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191216205648/https://books.google.com/books?id=iDNy0XxGqT8C&pg=PA157|url-status = live}} used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma,{{cite web|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 29 March 2017|access-date = 22 June 2017|title = Chemotherapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829125716/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}}
{{cite web|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 31 May 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|title = Chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829124015/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}} leukemia,{{cite web|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-lymphocytic-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 18 February 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|title = Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829130745/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-lymphocytic-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}}
{{cite web|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/chronic-myeloid-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 22 February 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|title = Chemotherapy for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829125626/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/chronic-myeloid-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}}
{{cite web|title = Chemotherapy for Childhood Leukemia|date = 3 February 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemia-in-children/treating/chemotherapy.html|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829130958/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemia-in-children/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}} and other cancers,{{cite web|title = Chemotherapy for Neuroblastoma|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/neuroblastoma/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 22 January 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829124717/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/neuroblastoma/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}}
{{cite web|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/brain-spinal-cord-tumors-children/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 21 January 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|title = Chemotherapy for Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors in Children|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829125050/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/brain-spinal-cord-tumors-children/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}}
{{cite web|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-small-cell-lung-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 16 May 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|title = Chemotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 29 August 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170829124227/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-small-cell-lung-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}}
{{cite web|url = https://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicular-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html|date = 12 February 2016|access-date = 22 June 2017|title = Chemotherapy for Testicular Cancer|publisher = American Cancer Society|website = cancer.org|archive-date = 28 July 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170728012354/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicular-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html|url-status = live}} were derived from the Madagascar periwinkle.{{cite journal |last = Foster |first = Steven |title = From Herbs to Medicines: The Madagascar Periwinkle's Impact on Childhood Leukemia: A Serendipitous Discovery for Treatment |journal = Alternative and Complementary Therapies |volume = 16 |issue = 6 |pages = 347–350 |year = 2010 |doi = 10.1089/act.2010.16609|pmid = 20423206 }}{{cite book|chapter = Africa's gift to the world|pages = 46–51|chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aXGmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|title = Botanical Miracles: Chemistry of Plants That Changed the World|first1 = Raymond|last1 = Cooper|first2 = Jeffrey John|last2 = Deakin|publisher = CRC Press|year = 2016|isbn = 9781498704304|access-date = 4 September 2017|archive-date = 21 May 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200521173802/https://books.google.com/books?id=aXGmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46|url-status = live}} The traveler's palm, known locally as ravinalaEllis (1859), p. 302 and endemic to the eastern rain forests,{{cite web|url=http://www.floridata.com/ref/R/rave_mad.cfm|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110307131656/http://www.floridata.com/ref/r/rave_mad.cfm |archive-date = 7 March 2011|url-status=live|title= Ravenala madagascariensis |publisher=Floridata.com |access-date=14 September 2009 |date=16 May 2000|last = McLendon |first = Chuck}} is highly iconic of Madagascar and is featured in the national emblem as well as the Air Madagascar logo.{{cite web |last = Lambahoany Ecotourism Centre |title = Nature of Madagascar |publisher = Lambahoany Ecotourism Centre |date = 24 August 2011 |url = http://www.lambahoany.org/madagascar/nature-of-madagascar/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111213210103/http://www.lambahoany.org/madagascar/nature-of-madagascar/ |archive-date = 13 December 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date =24 August 2011}}

File:OaklandZooLemurs.jpg is one of over 100 known species and subspecies of lemur found only in Madagascar.{{cite web |editor1-last = Mittermeier |editor1-first = R.A. |editor2-last = Wallis |editor2-first = J. |editor3-last = Rylands |editor3-first = A.B. |editor4-last = Ganzhorn |editor4-first = J.U. |editor5-last = Oates |editor5-first = J.F. |editor6-last = Williamson |editor6-first = E.A. |editor7-last = Palacios |editor7-first = E. |editor8-last = Heymann |editor8-first = E.W. |editor9-last = Kierulff |editor9-first = M.C.M. |editor11-first = J. |editor12-last = Roos |editor12-first = C. |editor13-last = Walker |editor13-first = S. |editor14-last = Cortés-Ortiz |editor14-first = L. |editor15-last = Schwitzer |editor15-first = C. |others = Illustrated by S.D. Nash |year = 2009 |title = Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2008–2010 |publisher = IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, International Primatological Society, and Conservation International |pages = 1–92 |url = http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/PDF/Primates.in.Peril.2008-2010.pdf |editor10-first = Long |editor10-last = Yongcheng |editor11-last = Supriatna |access-date = 27 August 2012 |archive-date = 1 February 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140201174835/http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/PDF/Primates.in.Peril.2008-2010.pdf |url-status = live }}]]

Like its flora, Madagascar's fauna is diverse and exhibits a high rate of endemism. Lemurs have been characterized as "Madagascar's flagship mammal species" by Conservation International. In the absence of monkeys and other competitors, these primates have adapted to a wide range of habitats and diversified into numerous species. {{As of|2012}}, there were officially 103 species and subspecies of lemur,{{cite news |last=Black |first=Richard |title=Lemurs sliding toward extinction |newspaper=BBC News |date=13 July 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18825901 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729093708/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18825901 |archive-date=29 July 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2012}} 39 of which were described by zoologists between 2000 and 2008.{{cite journal |title=Lemur diversity in Madagascar |author=Mittermeier, R. |author2=Ganzhorn, J. |author3=Konstant, W. |author4=Glander, K. |author5=Tattersall, I. |author6-link=Colin Groves |author6=Groves, C. |author7=Rylands, A. |author8=Hapke, A. |author9=Ratsimbazafy, J. |author10=Mayor, M. |author11=Louis, E. |author12=Rumpler, Y. |author13=Schwitzer, C. |author14=Rasoloarison, R. |s2cid=17614597 |journal=International Journal of Primatology |doi=10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y |pages=1607–1656 |volume=29 |issue=6 |date=December 2008 |hdl=10161/6237 |author-link=Russell Mittermeier |url=https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/6237/1/08%20lemur%20diversity.pdf |access-date=24 September 2019 |archive-date=15 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215163911/https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/6237/08 |url-status=dead }} They are almost all classified as rare, vulnerable, or endangered. At least 17 species of lemur have become extinct since humans arrived on Madagascar, all of which were larger than the surviving lemur species.{{cite journal |author1=Jungers, W.L. |author2=Godfrey, L.R. |author3=Simons, E.L. |author4=Chatrath, P.S. |title=Phalangeal curvature and positional behaviour in extinct sloth lemurs (Primates, Palaeopropithecidae) |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA |volume=94 |issue=22 |pages=11998–2001 |year=1997|pmid=11038588 |pmc=23681 |doi=10.1073/pnas.94.22.11998 |bibcode=1997PNAS...9411998J|doi-access=free }}

A number of other mammals, including the catlike fossa, are endemic to Madagascar. Over 300 species of birds have been recorded on the island, of which over 60 percent (including four families and 42 genera) are endemic. The few families and genera of reptiles that have reached Madagascar have diversified into more than 260 species, with over 90 percent of these being endemic (including one endemic family). The island is home to two-thirds of the world's chameleon species,{{cite journal |vauthors=Okajima Y, Kumazawa Y |title = Mitogenomic perspectives into iguanid phylogeny and biogeography: Gondwanan vicariance for the origin of Madagascan oplurines |journal = Gene |volume = 441 |issue = 1–2 |pages = 28–35 |year = 2009 |pmid = 18598742|doi = 10.1016/j.gene.2008.06.011}} including the smallest known.{{Cite journal |last1 = Glaw |first1 = F. |last2 = Köhler |first2 = J. R. |last3 = Townsend |first3 = T. M. |last4 = Vences |first4 = M. |editor1-last = Salamin |editor1-first = Nicolas |title = Rivaling the World's Smallest Reptiles: Discovery of Miniaturized and Microendemic New Species of Leaf Chameleons (Brookesia) from Northern Madagascar |doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0031314 |journal = PLOS ONE |volume = 7 |issue = 2 |pages = e31314 |year = 2012 |pmid =22348069|pmc =3279364|bibcode = 2012PLoSO...731314G |doi-access = free }}

Endemic fish of Madagascar include two families, 15 genera and over 100 species, primarily inhabiting the island's freshwater lakes and rivers. Although invertebrates remain poorly studied in Madagascar, researchers have found high rates of endemism among the known species. All 651 species of terrestrial snail are endemic, as are a majority of the island's butterflies, scarab beetles, lacewings, spiders, and dragonflies.

{{multiple image

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|alt1 = Burning Malagasy rainforest

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}}

Madagascar's varied fauna and flora are endangered by human activity.{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11291024 |title=Everglades, Madagascar Rain Forest on UNESCO List |work=ABC News |date=30 July 2010|access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511063211/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11291024 |url-status=live |archive-date=11 May 2011}} Since the arrival of humans around 2,350 years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90 percent of its original forest.{{NatGeo ecoregion|name = Madagascar subhumid forests|id=at0118|access-date =30 April 2006}} This forest loss is largely fueled by tavy ("fat"), a traditional slash-and-burn agricultural practice imported to Madagascar by the earliest settlers. Malagasy farmers embrace and perpetuate the practice not only for its practical benefits as an agricultural technique, but for its cultural associations with prosperity, health and venerated ancestral custom (fomba malagasy).Kull (2004), p. 153 As human population density rose on the island, deforestation accelerated beginning around 1,400 years ago.{{cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Gwyn |title=The Structure of Trade in Madagascar, 1750–1810 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=111–148 |year=1993 |doi=10.2307/219188|jstor=219188 }} By the 16th century, the central highlands had been largely cleared of their original forests. More recent contributors to the loss of forest cover include the growth in cattle herd size since their introduction around 1,000 years ago, a continued reliance on charcoal as a fuel for cooking, and the increased prominence of coffee as a cash crop over the past century.Emoff (2004), pp. 51–62

According to a conservative estimate, about 40 percent of the island's original forest cover was lost from the 1950s to 2000, with a thinning of remaining forest areas by 80 percent.{{cite journal |last1=Harper |first1=Grady J. |last2=Steininger |first2=Marc |last3=Tucker |first3=Compton |last4=Juhn |first4=Daniel |last5=Hawkins |first5=Frank |title=Fifty years of deforestation and forest fragmentation in Madagascar |journal=Environmental Conservation |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=325–333 |year=2007 |doi=10.1017/S0376892907004262 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |s2cid=86120326}} In addition to traditional agricultural practice, wildlife conservation is challenged by the illicit harvesting of protected forests, as well as the state-sanctioned harvesting of precious woods within national parks. Although banned by then-President Marc Ravalomanana from 2000 to 2009, the collection of small quantities of precious timber from national parks was re-authorized in January 2009 and dramatically intensified under the administration of Andry Rajoelina as a key source of state revenues to offset cuts in donor support following Ravalomanana's ousting.

{{anchor|Invasive species}}Invasive species have likewise been introduced by human populations. Following the 2014 discovery in Madagascar of the Asian common toad, a relative of a toad species that has severely harmed wildlife in Australia since the 1930s, researchers warned the toad could "wreak havoc on the country's unique fauna."{{cite news |last=Morelle |first=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27607978 |title=Asian relative of cane toad threatens Madagascar havoc |work=BBC News |date=29 May 2014 |access-date=29 July 2014 |archive-date=10 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710130139/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27607978 |url-status=live}} Habitat destruction and hunting have threatened many of Madagascar's endemic species or driven them to extinction. The island's elephant birds, a family of endemic giant ratites, became extinct in the 17th century or earlier, most probably because of human hunting of adult birds and poaching of their large eggs for food.Davies (2003), pp. 99–101 Numerous giant lemur species vanished with the arrival of human settlers to the island, while others became extinct over the course of the centuries as a growing human population put greater pressures on lemur habitats and, among some populations, increased the rate of lemur hunting for food.{{cite web |last=Handwerk |first=Brian |title=Lemurs Hunted, Eaten Amid Civil Unrest, Group Says |publisher=National Geographic News |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090821-lemurs-killing-madagascar.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110510012833/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090821-lemurs-killing-madagascar.html |date=21 August 2009 |archive-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=15 March 2011}} A July 2012 assessment found that the exploitation of natural resources since 2009 has had dire consequences for the island's wildlife: 90 percent of lemur species were found to be threatened with extinction, the highest proportion of any mammalian group. Of these, 23 species were classified as critically endangered. A 2023 study published in Nature Communications found that 120 of the 219 mammal species only found on Madagascar are threatened with extinction.{{cite news |last=Weston |first=Phoebe |date=January 10, 2023 |title=Madagascar's unique wildlife faces imminent wave of extinction, say scientists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/10/madagascar-unique-wildlife-extinction-aoe |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=January 16, 2023 |archive-date=18 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175716/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/10/madagascar-unique-wildlife-extinction-aoe |url-status=live }}

In 2003, Ravalomanana announced the Durban Vision, an initiative to more than triple the island's protected natural areas to over {{convert|60000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} or 10 percent of Madagascar's land surface. {{As of|2011}}, areas protected by the state included five Strict Nature Reserves (Réserves Naturelles Intégrales), 21 Wildlife Reserves (Réserves Spéciales) and 21 National Parks (Parcs Nationaux).{{cite web|last = Madagascar National Parks |title = The Conservation |publisher = parcs-madagascar.com |year = 2011 |url = http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/madagascar-national-parks_en.php?Navigation=26 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110731040310/http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/madagascar-national-parks_en.php?Navigation=26 |archive-date = 31 July 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date =25 August 2011}} In 2007 six of the national parks were declared a joint World Heritage Site under the name Rainforests of the Atsinanana. These parks are Marojejy, Masoala, Ranomafana, Zahamena, Andohahela and Andringitra.{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1257 |title=Rainforests of the Atsinanana |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=30 April 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110903171219/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1257 |url-status=live |archive-date = 3 September 2011}} Local timber merchants are harvesting scarce species of rosewood trees from protected rainforests within Marojejy National Park and exporting the wood to China for the production of luxury furniture and musical instruments.{{cite news |last = Bearak |first = Barry |title = Shaky Rule in Madagascar Threatens Trees |newspaper = New York Times |date = 24 May 2010 |access-date =20 March 2011 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/world/africa/25madagascar.html |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120906105104/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/world/africa/25madagascar.html?_r=1 |url-status=live |archive-date = 6 September 2012}}

{{Main|Government of Madagascar|Cabinet of Madagascar}}

File:Antananarivo05.jpg is the political and economic capital of Madagascar.]]

Madagascar is a semi-presidential representative democratic multi-party republic, wherein the popularly elected president is the head of state and selects a prime minister, who recommends candidates to the president to form his cabinet of ministers. According to the constitution, executive power is exercised by the government while legislative power is vested in the ministerial cabinet,{{cite web|url=http://mg.mofcom.gov.cn/article/chinanews/202110/20211003206640.shtml|title=Liste des institutions gouvernementales de Madagascar (août 2021)|website=mofcom.gov.cn|access-date=13 October 2021|archive-date=13 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013121808/http://mg.mofcom.gov.cn/article/chinanews/202110/20211003206640.shtml|url-status=live}} the Senate and the National Assembly, although in reality these two latter bodies have very little power or legislative role. The constitution establishes independent executive, legislative and judicial branches and mandates a popularly elected president limited to three five-year terms.

The public directly elects the president and the 151 members of the National Assembly to five-year terms. All 18 members of the Senate serve six-year terms, with 12 senators elected by local officials and 6 appointed by the president.

At the local level, the island's 23 regions are administered by a governor and regional council. Provinces are further subdivided into regions and communes. The judiciary is modeled on the French system, with a High Constitutional Court, High Court of Justice, Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, criminal tribunals, and tribunals of first instance.Nalla (2010), pp. 122–128 The courts, which adhere to civil law, lack the capacity to quickly and transparently try the cases in the judicial system, often forcing defendants to pass lengthy pretrial detentions in unsanitary and overcrowded prisons.

Antananarivo is the administrative capital and largest city of Madagascar. It is located in the highlands region, near the geographic center of the island. King Andrianjaka founded Antananarivo as the capital of his Imerina Kingdom around 1610 or 1625 upon the site of a captured Vazimba capital on the hilltop of Analamanga. As Merina dominance expanded over neighboring Malagasy peoples in the early 19th century to establish the Kingdom of Madagascar, Antananarivo became the center of administration for virtually the entire island. In 1896 the French colonizers of Madagascar adopted the Merina capital as their center of colonial administration. The city remained the capital of Madagascar after regaining independence in 1960. In 2017, the capital's population was estimated at 1,391,433 inhabitants.{{cite web|url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/madagascar-population/cities/|title=Population of Cities in Madagascar (2017)|website=worldpopulationreview.com|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=15 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015204227/http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/madagascar-population/cities/|url-status=live}} The next largest cities are Antsirabe (500,000), Toamasina (450,000) and Mahajanga (400,000).

{{Main|Politics of Madagascar|Foreign relations of Madagascar|Human rights in Madagascar}}

File:Andry Rajoelina greeting crowd.jpg]]

Since Madagascar gained independence from France in 1960, the island's political transitions have been marked by numerous popular protests, several disputed elections, an impeachment, two military coups and one assassination. The island's recurrent political crises are often prolonged, with detrimental effects on the local economy, international relations and Malagasy living standards. The eight-month standoff between incumbent Ratsiraka and challenger Marc Ravalomanana following the 2001 presidential elections cost Madagascar millions of dollars in lost tourism and trade revenue as well as damage to infrastructure, such as bombed bridges and buildings damaged by arson.{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=47721 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110613014315/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=47721 |archive-date = 13 June 2011|url-status=live |title=MADAGASCAR: Former president sentenced to five years in prison |publisher=Irinnews.org |date= 17 December 2003 |access-date=25 April 2010}} A series of protests led by Andry Rajoelina against Ravalomanana in early 2009 became violent, with more than 170 people killed.{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83838 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110613015554/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83838 |archive-date = 13 June 2011 |url-status=live |title=Madagascar: Appeal launched despite political uncertainty |publisher=Irinnews.org |date= 7 April 2009 |access-date=25 April 2010}} Modern politics in Madagascar are colored by the history of Merina subjugation of coastal communities under their rule in the 19th century. The consequent tension between the highland and coastal populations has periodically flared up into isolated events of violence.{{cite news |last = Leithead |first = Alastair |title = Ethnic strife rocks Madagascar |newspaper=BBC News |date = 14 May 2002 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1987383.stm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120326234124/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1987383.stm |archive-date = 26 March 2012 |url-status=live |access-date =22 January 2012}}

Madagascar has historically been perceived as being on the margin of mainstream African affairs despite being a founding member of the Organisation of African Unity, which was established in 1963 and dissolved in 2002 to be replaced by the African Union. Madagascar was not permitted to attend the first African Union summit because of a dispute over the results of the 2001 presidential election, but rejoined the African Union in July 2003 after a 14-month hiatus. Madagascar was again suspended by the African Union in March 2009 following the unconstitutional transfer of executive power to Rajoelina.{{cite news |title = Pressure grows on Madagascar coup |work=BBC News |date = 20 March 2009 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7954356.stm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629015627/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7954356.stm |archive-date = 29 June 2011 |url-status=live |access-date =30 March 2009}} Madagascar is a member of the International Criminal Court with a Bilateral Immunity Agreement of protection for the United States military. Eleven countries have established embassies in Madagascar, including France, the United Kingdom, the United States, China and India,{{cite web|title=Numéros utiles |publisher=AirMadagascar.com |date=28 January 2012 |url=http://www.airmadagascar.com/contact/numeros-utiles |access-date=28 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226120416/http://www.airmadagascar.com/contact/numeros-utiles |archive-date=26 December 2011 |language=fr |url-status=dead}} while Madagascar has embassies in sixteen other countries.

Human rights in Madagascar are protected under the constitution and the state is a signatory to numerous international agreements including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Religious, ethnic and sexual minorities are protected under the law. Freedom of association and assembly are also guaranteed under the law, although in practice the denial of permits for public assembly has occasionally been used to impede political demonstrations.{{cite web |author = ((Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor)) |title = 2010 Human Rights Report: Madagascar |publisher = U.S. Department of State |date = 8 April 2011 |url = https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/160130.pdf |access-date = 10 July 2011 |archive-date = 20 March 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200320140731/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/160130.pdf |url-status = live }} Torture by security forces is rare and state repression is low relative to other countries with comparably few legal safeguards, although arbitrary arrests and the corruption of military and police officers remain problems. Ravalomanana's 2004 creation of BIANCO, an anti-corruption bureau, resulted in reduced corruption among Antananarivo's lower-level bureaucrats in particular, although high-level officials have not been prosecuted by the bureau. Accusations of media censorship have risen due to the alleged restrictions on the coverage of government opposition.{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200904230849.html|title=Madagascar: Media Under Attack One Month After New President Installed, allafrica.com|access-date=2 May 2020|archive-date=13 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013163152/http://allafrica.com/stories/200904230849.html|url-status=live}} Some journalists have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news.{{cite news |title=Madagascar journalist Arphine Helisoa jailed on false news, incitement allegation |url=https://cpj.org/2020/04/madagascar-journalist-arphine-helisoa-jailed-on-fa.php |work=Committee to Protect Journalists |date=22 April 2020 |access-date=2 May 2020 |archive-date=1 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501132014/https://cpj.org/2020/04/madagascar-journalist-arphine-helisoa-jailed-on-fa.php |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Military of Madagascar|Law enforcement in Madagascar}}

The rise of centralized kingdoms among the Sakalava, Merina and other ethnic groups produced the island's first standing armies by the 16th century, initially equipped with spears but later with muskets, cannons and other firearms.Barendse (2002), pp. 259–274 By the early 19th century, the Merina sovereigns of the Kingdom of Madagascar had brought much of the island under their control by mobilizing an army of trained and armed soldiers numbering as high as 30,000.Freeman & Johns (1840), p. 25 French attacks on coastal towns in the later part of the century prompted then-Prime Minister Rainilaiarivony to solicit British assistance to provide training to the Merina monarchy's army. Despite the training and leadership provided by British military advisers, the Malagasy army was unable to withstand French weaponry and was forced to surrender following an attack on the royal palace at Antananarivo. Madagascar was declared a colony of France in 1897.Chapus & Mondain (1953), p. 377

The political independence and sovereignty of the Malagasy armed forces, which comprises an army, navy and air force, was restored with independence from France in 1960.{{cite web |title = The Military Balance 2010 |publisher = International Institute of Strategic Studies |pages = 314–315, 467 |url = http://moorishwanderer.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/2010_report.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110511202850/http://moorishwanderer.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/2010_report.pdf |archive-date = 11 May 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date =1 April 2011}} Since this time the Malagasy military has never engaged in armed conflict with another state or within its own borders, but has occasionally intervened to restore order during periods of political unrest. Under the socialist Second Republic, Admiral Didier Ratsiraka instated mandatory national armed or civil service for all young citizens regardless of sex, a policy that remained in effect from 1976 to 1991.Sharp (2002), p. 87Strakes (2006), p. 86 The armed forces are under the direction of the Minister of Defense and have remained largely neutral during times of political crisis, as during the protracted standoff between incumbent Ratsiraka and challenger Marc Ravalomanana in the disputed 2001 presidential elections, when the military refused to intervene in favor of either candidate. This tradition was broken in 2009, when a segment of the army defected to the side of Andry Rajoelina, then-mayor of Antananarivo, in support of his attempt to force President Ravalomanana from power.

The Minister of Interior is responsible for the national police force, paramilitary force (gendarmerie) and the secret police. The police and gendarmerie are stationed and administered at the local level. However, in 2009 fewer than a third of all communes had access to the services of these security forces, with most lacking local-level headquarters for either corps. Traditional community tribunals, called dina, are presided over by elders and other respected figures and remain a key means by which justice is served in rural areas where state presence is weak. Historically, security has been relatively high across the island. Violent crime rates are low, and criminal activities are predominantly crimes of opportunity such as pickpocketing and petty theft, although child prostitution, human trafficking and the production and sale of marijuana and other illegal drugs are increasing. Budget cuts since 2009 have severely impacted the national police force, producing a steep increase in criminal activity in recent years.

{{Main|Regions of Madagascar|Districts of Madagascar}}

Madagascar is subdivided into 23 regions (faritra). The regions are further subdivided into 119 districts, 1,579 communes, and 17,485 fokontany.{{cite press release |title = Presentation des resultats de la cartographie numerique en preparation du troisieme recensement generale de la population et de l'habitation |publisher = Institut nationale de la statistique (INSTAT), Government of Madagascar |year = 2010|url = http://www.instat.mg/pdf/carto_poly.pdf |access-date =15 January 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120126200807/http://www.instat.mg/pdf/carto_poly.pdf |archive-date = 26 January 2012|url-status=dead |language=fr}}

{{stack|File:Regions_of_Madagascar_(2021).svg}}

Madagascar became a member state of the United Nations on 20 September 1960, shortly after gaining its independence on 26 June 1960.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2006/org1469.doc.htm|title=United Nations Member States {{!}} Meetings Coverage and Press Releases|website=www.un.org|language=en|access-date=2 February 2017|archive-date=5 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033119/http://www.un.org/press/en/2006/org1469.doc.htm|url-status=live}} As of January 2017, 34 police officers from Madagascar are deployed in Haiti as part of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2017/jan17_5.pdf|title=UN Mission's Contributions by Country|last=United Nations|date=31 January 2017|website=www.un.org|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=23 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223133954/http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2017/jan17_5.pdf|url-status=live}} Starting in 2015, under the direction of and with assistance from the UN, the World Food Programme started the Madagascar Country Programme with the two main goals of long-term development and reconstruction efforts, and addressing the food insecurity issues in the southern regions of Madagascar.{{cite web|url=http://www1.wfp.org/operations/200733-madagascar-country-programme-2015-2019|title=Madagascar Country Programme (2015–2019) {{!}} World Food Programme |website=www1.wfp.org|language=en|access-date=22 February 2017|archive-date=22 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222195051/http://www1.wfp.org/operations/200733-madagascar-country-programme-2015-2019|url-status=live}} These goals plan to be accomplished by providing meals for specific schools in rural and urban priority areas and by developing national school feeding policies to increase consistency of nourishment throughout the country. Small and local farmers have also been assisted in increasing both the quantity and quality of their production, as well as improving their crop yield in unfavorable weather conditions. In 2017, Madagascar signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament – No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Economy of Madagascar|Tourism in Madagascar}}

File:Madagascar GDP per capita, 1950 to 2022.png

File:Nosy-iranja-beach.jpg is one of the international tourism destinations in Madagascar]]

Madagascar's GDP in 2015 was estimated at US$9.98 billion, with a per capita GDP of $411.82.{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&hl=en&dl=en|title=World Bank|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=29 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029052604/http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&hl=en&dl=en#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_pcap_cd&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&ifdim=region&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false|title=World Development Indicators – Google Public Data Explorer|website=www.google.com|access-date=22 February 2017|archive-date=29 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029052604/http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_pcap_cd&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&ifdim=region&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false|url-status=live}} Approximately 69 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line threshold of one dollar per day.{{cite web |title = Madagascar at a glance |publisher = World Bank |date = 25 February 2011 |url = http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/mdg_aag.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120313084616/http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/mdg_aag.pdf |archive-date = 13 March 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=4 February 2012 }} According to the United Nations Development Programme, as of 2021, 68.4 percent of the population is multidimensionally poor. During 2011–15, the average growth rate was 2.6% but was expected to have reached 4.1% in 2016, due to public works programs and a growth of the service sector.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/madagascar/overview|title=Madagascar Overview|website=www.worldbank.org|language=en|access-date=22 February 2017|archive-date=9 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409090650/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/madagascar/overview|url-status=live}} The agriculture sector constituted 29 percent of Malagasy GDP in 2011, while manufacturing formed 15 percent of GDP. Madagascar's other sources of growth are tourism, agriculture and the extractive industries.{{cite web|title=African Economic Outlook 2011: Madagascar |vauthors=AFDB, OECD, UNDP, UNECA |publisher=AfricanEconomicOutlook.org |year=2011 |url=http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/fileadmin/uploads/aeo/Country_Notes/2011/Full/Madagascar.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109020440/http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/fileadmin/uploads/aeo/Country_Notes/2011/Full/Madagascar.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2011 |access-date=28 January 2012 |url-status=dead}} The fishing sector represents 800 millions USD or 6% of GNP with 200 000 direct jobs.{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexpress.mg/2024/01/filiere-peche-la-transparence-comme.html |title=La filiere Peche |date=27 January 2024 |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130044353/https://www.lexpress.mg/2024/01/filiere-peche-la-transparence-comme.html |url-status=live }}

Tourism focuses on the niche eco-tourism market, capitalizing on Madagascar's unique biodiversity, unspoiled natural habitats, national parks and lemur species.{{cite journal |first1 = Iain |last1 = Christie |first2 = Elizabeth |last2=Crompton |title = Republic of Madagascar: Tourism Sector Study |journal = Africa Region Working Paper No. 63 |publisher = World Bank |date = November 2003 |location = Antananarivo |url = http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp63.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120210070045/http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp63.pdf |archive-date = 10 February 2012 |url-status=live |access-date =28 January 2012 }} An estimated 365,000 tourists visited Madagascar in 2008, but the sector declined during the political crisis with 180,000 tourists visiting in 2010. However, the sector has been growing steadily for a few years. In 2016, 293,000 tourists landed in the African island with an increase of 20% compared to 2015. For 2017 the country has the goal of reaching 366,000 visitors, while for 2018 government estimates are expected to reach 500,000 annual tourists.{{cite web |url=http://www.guidaviaggi.it/notizie/183551/madagascar-obiettivo- |title=Madagascar: obiettivo 500mila visitatori nel 2018 |work=Guida Viaggi |date=10 February 2017 |language=it |trans-title=Madagascar: Targeting 500 Thousand Visitors in 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808193816/http://www.guidaviaggi.it/notizie/183551/madagascar-obiettivo- |archive-date=8 August 2017 |url-status=live}}

The island is still a very poor country in 2018; structural brakes remain in the development of the economy: corruption and the shackles of the public administration, lack of legal certainty, and backwardness of land legislation. The economy, however, has been growing since 2011, with GDP growth exceeding 4% per year;{{cite web|url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=66&c=ma&l=en|title=Madagascar – GDP – real growth rate – Historical Data Graphs per Year|website=www.indexmundi.com|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210626/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=66&c=ma&l=en|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.agenzianova.com/a/0/1532830/2017-03-26/business-news-fmi-economia-del-madagascar-manifesta-segnali-incoraggianti|title=Business news: Fmi, economia del Madagascar manifesta segnali "incoraggianti"|website=Agenzia Nova|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=28 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195756/http://www.agenzianova.com/a/0/1532830/2017-03-26/business-news-fmi-economia-del-madagascar-manifesta-segnali-incoraggianti|url-status=live}} almost all economic indicators are growing, the GDP per capita was around $1600 (PPP) for 2017,{{cite web | url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=67&c=ma&l=en | title=Madagascar – GDP – per capita (PPP) – Historical Data Graphs per Year | access-date=24 November 2018 | archive-date=13 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210611/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=67&c=ma&l=en | url-status=live }} one of the lowest in the world, although growing since 2012; unemployment was also cut, which in 2016 was equal to 2.1%{{cite web|url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=74&c=ma&l=en|title=Madagascar – Unemployment rate – Historical Data Graphs per Year|website=indexmundi.com|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210651/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=74&c=ma&l=en|url-status=live}} with a work force of 13.4 million as of 2017.{{cite web|url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=72&c=ma&l=en|title=Madagascar – Labor force – Historical Data Graphs per Year|website=www.indexmundi.com|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234209/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=72&c=ma&l=en|url-status=live}} The main economic resources of Madagascar are tourism, textiles, agriculture, and mining.

Poverty affects 92% of the population in 2017. The country ranks fourth in the world in terms of chronic malnutrition. Nearly one in two children under the age of five is stunted. In addition, Madagascar is among the five countries where access to water is the most difficult for the population. Twelve million people do not have access to clean water, according to the NGO WaterAid.{{cite web|url=https://www.unicef.org/madagascar/en/programme/pse|title=Social policy and social protection|access-date=19 December 2021|archive-date=19 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219014609/https://www.unicef.org/madagascar/en/programme/pse|url-status=live}}

File:Raffia animals created by artisans in Madagascar.jpg, a native palmRodd & Stackhouse (2008), p. 246]]

Madagascar's natural resources include a variety of agricultural and mineral products. Agriculture (including the growing of raffia), mining, fishing and forestry are mainstays of the economy. In 2017 the top exports were vanilla (US$894M), nickel metal (US$414M), cloves (US$288M), knitted sweaters (US$184M) and cobalt (US$143M).{{cite web |title=Madagascar Economic Statistics |url=https://tradecouncil.org/madagascar-economics-statistics-2019/ |publisher=International Trade Council |access-date=16 April 2020 |location=Washington D.C. |date=2019 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Madagascar is the world's principal supplier of vanilla, cloves{{cite web |author = United Nations |title = FAO Stat |publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization |url = http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx |year = 2013 |access-date = 13 April 2013 |archive-date = 13 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110713020710/http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx |url-status = live }} and ylang-ylang. The island supplies 80% of the world's natural vanilla.{{cite news|last=Pilling|first=David|date=5 June 2018|title=The real price of Madagascar's vanilla boom|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/02042190-65bc-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56|access-date=20 September 2018|archive-date=20 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920195743/https://www.ft.com/content/02042190-65bc-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56|url-status=live}} Other key agricultural resources include coffee, lychees and shrimp. Key mineral resources include various types of precious and semi-precious stones, and it currently provides half of the world's supply of sapphires, which were discovered near Ilakaka in the late 1990s.Pezzotta (2001), p. 32

Madagascar has one of the world's largest reserves of ilmenite (titanium ore), as well as important reserves of chromite, coal, iron, cobalt, copper and nickel. Several major projects are underway in the mining, oil and gas sectors that are anticipated to give a significant boost to the Malagasy economy. These include such projects as ilmenite and zircon mining at the Mandena mine by Rio Tinto,{{cite web |title= About QMM |publisher= Rio Tinto |year= 2009 |access-date= 19 September 2012 |url= http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120702181446/http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |url-status=dead |archive-date= 2 July 2012 }} extraction of nickel by the Ambatovy mine near Moramanga and its processing near Toamasina by Sherritt International,{{cite web |title= Metals – Ambatovy Joint Venture |publisher= Sherritt International Corporation |year= 2012 |access-date= 19 September 2012 |url= http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120702181446/http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |url-status=dead |archive-date= 2 July 2012 }} and the development of the giant onshore heavy oil deposits at Tsimiroro and Bemolanga by Madagascar Oil.{{cite web |title= Madagascar's oil fortunes evolving slowly |publisher= PennWell Corporation |date= 7 February 2012 |access-date= 19 September 2012 |url= http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/vol-110/issue-2/exploration-developmet/madagascar-s-oil.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130208082330/http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/vol-110/issue-2/exploration-developmet/madagascar-s-oil.html |url-status=live |archive-date = 8 February 2013}}

Exports formed 28 percent of GDP in 2009. Most of the country's export revenue is derived from the textiles industry, fish and shellfish, vanilla, cloves and other foodstuffs. France is the nation's main trading partner, although the United States, Japan and Germany also have strong economic ties. High-value cash crops for export such as lychees are more recent growth areas, with 18,000 tons sold abroad in 2023, of which 16,000 tons were exported to Europe.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-17 |title=Madagascar's lychee growers in crisis as production plummets |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241117-madagascar-prized-lychee-growers-face-crisis-as-production-plunges-climate |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=RFI |language=en}}

The Madagascar-U.S. Business Council was formed in May 2003, as a collaboration between USAID and Malagasy artisan producers to support the export of local handicrafts to foreign markets.{{cite web |last1 = Ashamu |first1 = Charlotte |first2 = Diego |last2 = Gomez-Pickering |first3 = Amanda |last3 = Luke |last4 = Morrison |first4 = Paul |first5 = Mark |last5 = Pedersen |first6 = Mara |last6 = Symes |first7 = Marthe |last7 = Weyandt |title = Made in Madagascar: Exporting Handicrafts to the U.S. Market: Final Report |publisher = United Nations Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development |year=2005 |url = http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/academics/concentrations/epd/documents/2004-5/MalagasyHandicrafts_Report.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120320070928/http://www.sipa.columbia.edu/academics/concentrations/epd/documents/2004-5/MalagasyHandicrafts_Report.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date =10 July 2011}} Imports of such items as foodstuffs, fuel, capital goods, vehicles, consumer goods and electronics consume an estimated 52 percent of GDP. The main sources of Madagascar's imports include China,{{cite web|url=http://mg2.mofcom.gov.cn/article/bilateralcooperation/201908/20190802895188.shtml|title=Aperçu de la coopération économique entre la Chine et Madagascar|website=mofcom.gov.cn|access-date=30 November 2019|archive-date=4 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204131452/http://mg2.mofcom.gov.cn/article/bilateralcooperation/201908/20190802895188.shtml|url-status=live}} France, Iran, Mauritius and Hong Kong.

{{Main|Transport in Madagascar|Telecommunications in Madagascar|List of newspapers in Madagascar}}

File:Antananarivo Madagascar people reading news.JPG

File:AmbatolampyOchsenkarren.jpg]]

In 2010, Madagascar had approximately {{convert|7617|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of paved roads, {{convert|854|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of railways and {{convert|432|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of navigable waterways. The majority of roads in Madagascar are unpaved, with many becoming impassable in the rainy season. Largely paved national routes connect the six largest regional towns to Antananarivo, with minor paved and unpaved routes providing access to other population centers in each district. Construction of the Antananarivo–Toamasina toll highway, the country's first toll highway, began in December 2022. The approximately {{Currency|1000000000|first=}} infrastructure project, which will connect Madagascar's capital to its largest seaport, is expected to take four years to complete.{{Cite news |date=5 December 2022 |title=Madagascar starts works on first motorway |work=Africanews |url=https://www.africanews.com/2022/12/04/madagascar-starts-works-on-first-motorway// |access-date=19 February 2023 |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219235236/https://www.africanews.com/2022/12/04/madagascar-starts-works-on-first-motorway// |url-status=live }} Another project meant to create {{convert|348|km}} of roads and create better connections costs €235.5 million. This includes a €116 million grant from the European Union, a €110 million loan from the European Investment Bank, and €4.8 million in finance from the Republic of Madagascar.{{Cite web |title=Road projects to combat climate events in Madagascar |url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/madagascar-climate-roads |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424081522/https://www.eib.org/en/stories/madagascar-climate-roads |url-status=live }} Since 2016, €100.4 million has been paid to the Republic of Madagascar through this project.{{Cite web |title=Madagascar: Project to modernise the RN13 and RN6 national highways - €73.6 million disbursement from EIB and European Union |url=https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2022-550-projet-de-modernisation-des-routes-nationales-rn13-et-rn6-a-madagascar-decaissement-de-736-millions-d-euros-de-la-bei-et-de-l-union-europeenne |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424101606/https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2022-550-projet-de-modernisation-des-routes-nationales-rn13-et-rn6-a-madagascar-decaissement-de-736-millions-d-euros-de-la-bei-et-de-l-union-europeenne |url-status=live }}

There are several rail lines in Madagascar. Antananarivo is connected to Toamasina, Ambatondrazaka and Antsirabe by rail, and another rail line connects Fianarantsoa to Manakara. The most important seaport in Madagascar is located on the east coast at Toamasina. Ports at Mahajanga and Antsiranana are significantly less used because of their remoteness. Madagascar's government hopes to expand the ports of Antsiranana in the north and Taolagnaro in the south, connecting them to improved road networks, since many imports are every day necessities and Madagascar also relies on export money.{{Cite web |title=High prices in Southern Madagascar limit poor households' food access {{!}} FEWS NET |url=https://fews.net/southern-africa/madagascar/food-security-outlook/february-2019 |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=fews.net |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424085751/https://fews.net/southern-africa/madagascar/food-security-outlook/february-2019 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Madagascar - COUNTRY ECONOMIC MEMORANDUM |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/699781575279412305/pdf/Madagascar-Country-Economic-Memorandum-Scaling-Success-Building-a-Resilient-Economy.pdf |access-date=24 April 2023 |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424085750/https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/699781575279412305/pdf/Madagascar-Country-Economic-Memorandum-Scaling-Success-Building-a-Resilient-Economy.pdf |url-status=live }} The island's newest port at Ehoala, constructed in 2008 and privately managed by Rio Tinto, will come under state control upon completion of the company's mining project near Tôlanaro around 2038. Air Madagascar services the island's many small regional airports, which offer the only practical means of access to many of the more remote regions during rainy season road washouts.

Running water and electricity are supplied at the national level by a government service provider, Jirama, which is unable to service the entire population. {{As of|2009}}, only 6.8 percent of Madagascar's fokontany had access to water provided by Jirama, while 9.5 percent had access to its electricity services. Fifty-six percent of Madagascar's power is provided by hydroelectric power plants, with the remaining 44% provided by diesel engine generators.{{cite web |title = Production Electricité |publisher = Jirama |year = 2011 |url = http://www.jirama.mg/index.php?w=scripts&f=Jirama-page.php&act=pdcelec |access-date = 28 August 2013 |language = fr |archive-date = 16 August 2013 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130816055715/http://www.jirama.mg/index.php?w=scripts&f=Jirama-page.php&act=pdcelec |url-status = live }} Mobile telephone and internet access are widespread in urban areas but remain limited in rural parts of the island. Approximately 30% of the districts are able to access the nations' several private telecommunications networks via mobile telephones or land lines. The World Bank estimates that 17 million people in Madagascar's rural areas live more than two kilometres away from an all-season road.{{Cite web |title=The World Bank Connectivity for Rural Livelihood Improvement Project |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/fr/810821574132477851/pdf/Madagascar-Connectivity-for-Rural-Livelihood-Improvement-Project.pdf |access-date=24 April 2023 |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424091253/https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/fr/810821574132477851/pdf/Madagascar-Connectivity-for-Rural-Livelihood-Improvement-Project.pdf |url-status=live }} In Madagascar, 11% of the rural population has access to power.{{Cite web |title=Madagascar Set to Expand Access to Renewable Energy and Digital Services thanks to $400 Million Credit |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/04/07/madagascar-afe-set-to-expand-access-to-renewable-energy-and-digital-services-thanks-to-400-million-credit |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=World Bank |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424085751/https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/04/07/madagascar-afe-set-to-expand-access-to-renewable-energy-and-digital-services-thanks-to-400-million-credit |url-status=live }}

Radio broadcasts remain the principal means by which the Malagasy population access international, national, and local news. Only state radio broadcasts are transmitted across the entire island. Hundreds of public and private stations with local or regional range provide alternatives to state broadcasting. In addition to the state television channel, a variety of privately owned television stations broadcast local and international programming throughout Madagascar. Several media outlets are owned by political partisans or politicians themselves, including the media groups MBS (owned by Ravalomanana) and Viva (owned by Rajoelina),{{cite web |last1 = Bachelard |first1 = Jerome |last2 = Marcus |first2 = Richard |title = Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Madagascar |publisher = Freedom House |year = 2011 |url =http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/MADAGASCARfinal.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120608195355/http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/MADAGASCARfinal.pdf |archive-date = 8 June 2012 |url-status=live |access-date = 25 August 2012}} contributing to political polarization in reporting.

The media have historically come under varying degrees of pressure to censor their criticism of the government. Reporters are occasionally threatened or harassed, and media outlets are periodically forced to close. Accusations of media censorship have increased since 2009 because of the alleged intensification of restrictions on political criticism. Access to the internet has grown dramatically in the 21st century; in December 2011, an estimated 352,000 residents of Madagascar accessed the internet from home or in one of the nation's many internet cafés .{{cite news |title = Madagascar Profile: Media |work = BBC News |date = 20 June 2012 |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861846 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120816011234/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861846 |archive-date = 16 August 2012 |url-status=live |access-date = 25 August 2012}} By January 2022, 22.3 percent of the population (6.43 million people) had internet access, mostly through mobile phones.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-16 |title=Digital 2022: Madagascar |url=https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-madagascar |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=DataReportal – Global Digital Insights |language=en-GB}}

{{Main|Demographics of Madagascar|List of cities in Madagascar}}

File:Map of various tribes in Madagascar.jpg

Agriculture has long influenced settlement on the island. Almost 60% of the nation's population live in rural areas.{{Citation |title=Madagascar |date=2024-08-07 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/#people-and-society |access-date=2024-09-08 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}

In 2024, the population of Madagascar was estimated at 32 million, up from 2.2 million in 1900.{{Cite web |last=Division |first=United Nations Population |title=By Location {{!}} Pivot Table {{!}} Data Portal |url=https://population.un.org/dataportal/data/indicators/49/locations/450/start/2019/end/2026/table/pivotbylocation?df=e023316d-87af-4918-8ee3-fe083aa8d4b1 |access-date=2024-09-08 |website=Population Division Data Portal |language=en}} The annual population growth rate in Madagascar was approximately 2.4% in 2024.

Approximately 39.3 percent of the population is younger than 15 years of age, while 57.3 percent are between the ages of 15 and 64. Those aged 65 and older form 3.4 percent of the total population. Only two general censuses, in 1975 and 1993, have been carried out after independence. The most densely populated regions of the island are the eastern highlands and the eastern coast, contrasting most dramatically with the sparsely populated western plains.

{{Main|Ethnic groups of Madagascar}}

File:Antanosy Girl Fort Dauphin.jpg girl with dark blond hair]]

The Malagasy ethnic group forms over 90 percent of Madagascar's population and is typically divided into 18 ethnic subgroups. Recent DNA research revealed that the genetic makeup of the average Malagasy person constitutes an approximately equal blend of Southeast Asian, Oceanian and East African genes,{{cite journal |vauthors=Hurles ME, Sykes BC, Jobling MA, Forster P |year=2005 |title=The dual origin of the Malagasy in Island Southeast Asia and East Africa: evidence from maternal and paternal lineages |url=http://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/press/2005/050504.html |url-status=dead |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=894–901 |doi=10.1086/430051 |pmc=1199379 |pmid=15793703 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303210750/http://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/press/2005/050504.html |archive-date=3 March 2011 |access-date=30 April 2011}}{{cite journal |vauthors = Tofanelli S, Bertoncini S, Castrì L, Luiselli D, Calafell F, Donati G, Paoli G |year = 2009 |title = On the origins and admixture of Malagasy: new evidence from high-resolution analyses of paternal and maternal lineages |journal = Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume = 26 |issue = 9|pages = 2109–2124 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msp120 |pmid = 19535740|doi-access = free }}{{cite journal|last1=Cox|first1=Murray P.|last2=Nelson|first2=Michael G.|last3=Tumonggor|first3=Meryanne K.|last4=Ricaut|first4=François-X.|last5=Sudoyo|first5=Herawati|date=2012|title=A small cohort of Island Southeast Asian women founded Madagascar|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=279|issue=1739|pages=2761–2768|doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.0012 |doi-access=free|pmc=3367776|pmid=22438500}} although the genetics of some communities show a predominance of Southeast Asian or East African origins or some Arab, Indian, or European ancestry.Adelaar (2006), pp. 205–235

Southeast Asian features – specifically from the southern part of Borneo – are most predominant among the Merina of the central highlands, who form the largest Malagasy ethnic subgroup at approximately 26 percent of the population, while certain communities among the western coastal peoples (collectively called côtiers) have relatively stronger East African features. The largest coastal ethnic subgroups are the Betsimisaraka (14.9 percent) and the Tsimihety and Sakalava (6 percent each). Peoples along the east and southeastern coasts often have a roughly equal blend of Austronesian and Bantu ancestry; coastal peoples also usually show the largest genetic influence from the centuries of Arab, Somali, Gujarati, and Tamil traders and merchants of the area, compared to the inland highlander peoples.

Chinese, Indian and Comoran minorities are present in Madagascar, as well as a small European (primarily French) populace. Emigration in the late 20th century has reduced these minority populations, occasionally in abrupt waves, such as the exodus of Comorans in 1976, following anti-Comoran riots in Mahajanga. By comparison, there has been no significant emigration of Malagasy peoples. The number of Europeans has declined since independence, reduced from 68,430 in 1958 to 17,000 three decades later. There were an estimated 25,000 Comorans, 18,000 Indians, and 9,000 Chinese living in Madagascar in the mid-1980s.

{{Largest cities of Madagascar}}

File:Madagascar Kids 5 (4814978342).jpg

{{Main|Malagasy language|Languages of Madagascar}}

The Malagasy language is of Malayo-Polynesian origin and is generally spoken throughout the island. The numerous dialects of Malagasy, which are generally mutually intelligible,Rajaonarimanana (2001), p. 8 can be clustered under one of two subgroups: eastern Malagasy, spoken along the eastern forests and highlands including the Merina dialect of Antananarivo, and western Malagasy, spoken across the western coastal plains. The Malagasy language derives from the Southeast Barito languages, with the Ma'anyan language being its closest relative, incorporating numerous Malay and Javanese loanwords.Otto Chr. Dahl, Malgache et Maanjan: une comparaison linguistique, Egede-Instituttet Avhandlinger, no. 3 (Oslo: Egede-Instituttet, 1951), p. 13.There are also some Sulawesi loanwords, which Adelaar attributes to contact prior to the migration to Madagascar: See K. Alexander Adelaar, "The Indonesian Migrations to Madagascar: Making Sense of the Multidisciplinary Evidence", in Truman Simanjuntak, Ingrid Harriet Eileen Pojoh and Muhammad Hisyam (eds.), Austronesian Diaspora and the Ethnogeneses of People in Indonesian Archipelago, (Jakarta: Indonesian Institute of Sciences, 2006), pp. 8–9.

French became the official language during the colonial period, when Madagascar came under the authority of France. In the first national Constitution of 1958, Malagasy and French were named the official languages of the Malagasy Republic. Madagascar is a francophone country, and French is mostly spoken as a second language among the educated population and used for international communication.

Among the upper class in large cities, French is spoken as a native language.{{Cite web |last=Øyvind |first=Dahl |date=June 19, 2024 |title=Linguistic policy challenges in Madagascar |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/225930576.pdf }}

No official languages were mentioned in the Constitution of 1992, although Malagasy was identified as the national language. Nonetheless, many sources still claimed that Malagasy and French were official languages, eventually leading a citizen to initiate a legal case against the state in April 2000, on the grounds that the publication of official documents only in the French language was unconstitutional. The High Constitutional Court observed in its decision that, in the absence of a language law, French still had the character of an official language.{{cite web|url=http://www.saflii.org/mg/cases/MGHCC/2000/1.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110727232647/http://www.saflii.org/mg/cases/MGHCC/2000/1.html |archive-date = 27 July 2011 |url-status=live |title=Haute Cour Constitutionnelle De Madagascar, Décision n°03-HCC/D2 Du 12 avril 2000 |publisher=Saflii.org |date=12 April 2000 |access-date=25 April 2010 |language=fr}}

The Constitution of 2007 recognised three official languages, Malagasy, French, and English.{{cite web |title = Madagascar: 2007 Constitutional referendum |publisher = Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa |date = June 2010 |url = http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/mad2007results.htm |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080828215517/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/mad2007results.htm |archive-date = 28 August 2008 |url-status=dead |access-date =22 January 2012}} A fourth Constitution, adopted in 2010 following a referendum, recognised only Malagasy and French.

{{Main|Religion in Madagascar}}

File:Antsirabe_-_église.JPG in Antsirabe]]

File:130415-Eglise de Faravohitra.jpg Church in Antananarivo]]

Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Madagascar. According to the most recent national census completed in 1993, a majority of the population (52 percent) adhered to indigenous beliefs, with Christianity being the largest single religion at 41 percent, followed by Islam at 7 percent. However, according to the Pew Research Center in 2020, 85% of the population identified as Christian, while just 4.5% exclusively practiced folk religions; Protestants comprise a plurality of Christians, followed by Roman Catholics.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/madagascar#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2020®ion_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015 |title=Religions in Madagascar | PEW-GRF |publisher=Globalreligiousfutures.org |access-date=20 September 2017 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109064122/http://globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/madagascar#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010®ion_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015 |url-status=live}} In contrast, a 2020 study conducted by the Association of Religion Data Archives found 58.1% of the population was Christian, 2.1% Muslim, 39.2% practiced traditional faiths, and 0.6% was nonreligious or adhered to other faiths.{{cite web | url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=137c | title=National Profiles | access-date=29 September 2022 | archive-date=27 December 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227190017/https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=137c | url-status=live }}

The inconsistency in religious data reflects the common practice of alternating between religious identities or syncretizing different faith traditions. Christians integrate and combine their religious beliefs with the deeply rooted practice of honoring ancestors. For instance, they may bless their dead at church before proceeding with traditional burial rites or invite a Christian minister to consecrate a famadihana reburial. Christianity is predominant in the highlands.{{cite web |title=Madagascar |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/madagascar/ |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929132734/https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/madagascar/ |url-status=live }} The Malagasy Council of Churches comprises the four oldest and most prominent Christian denominations of Madagascar (Roman Catholic, Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, Lutheran, and Anglican) and has been influential in Malagasy politics.{{cite web |author=((Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor)) |year=2006 |title=International Religious Freedom Report: Madagascar |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71310.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120123150701/http%3A//www%2Estate%2Egov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71310%2Ehtm |archive-date=23 January 2012 |access-date=22 January 2012 |publisher=U.S. Department of State}}

The veneration of ancestors has led to the widespread tradition of tomb building, as well as the highlands practice of the famadihana, whereby a deceased family member's remains are exhumed and re-wrapped in fresh silk shrouds, before being replaced in the tomb. The famadihana is an occasion to celebrate the beloved ancestor's memory, reunite with family and community, and enjoy a festive atmosphere. Residents of surrounding villages are often invited to attend the party, where food and rum are typically served, and a hiragasy troupe or other musical entertainment is commonly present.{{cite news |last = Bearak |first = Barry |title = Dead Join the Living in a Family Celebration |newspaper = New York Times |page = A7 |date = 5 September 2010 |url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/world/africa/06madagascar.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120127041227/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/world/africa/06madagascar.html |archive-date = 27 January 2012 |url-status=live |access-date =13 January 2012}} Consideration for ancestors is also demonstrated through adherence to fady, taboos that are respected during and after the lifetime of the person who establishes them. It is widely believed that by showing respect for ancestors in these ways, they may intervene on behalf of the living. Conversely, misfortunes are often attributed to ancestors whose memory or wishes have been neglected. The sacrifice of zebu is a traditional method used to appease or honor the ancestors. In addition, the Malagasy traditionally believe in a creator god, called Zanahary or Andriamanitra.Bradt (2011), pp. 13–20

Islam was first brought to Madagascar in the Middle Ages by Arab and Somali Muslim traders, who established several Islamic schools along the eastern coast. While the use of Arabic script and loan words, and the adoption of Islamic astrology, would spread across the island, Islam took hold in only a handful of southeastern coastal communities. In 2020, Muslims constituted 2% of the population of Madagascar. They are largely concentrated in the northwestern provinces of Mahajanga and Antsiranana. Muslims are divided between ethnic Malagasy and Indians, Pakistanis and Comorans.

Hinduism was introduced to Madagascar through Gujarati people immigrating from the Saurashtra region of India in the late 19th century. Most Hindus in Madagascar speak Gujarati or Hindi at home, reflecting the faiths concentration among those of Indian ancestry.{{cite web |title = Report of the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora |publisher = Ministry of External Affairs, India |year = 2004 |url = http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter8.pdf |access-date = 22 January 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030629092115/http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter8.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date = 29 June 2003 }}

Rabbinic Judaism emerged on the island in the 21st century, as the common belief in a myth of Jewish origin for the Malagasy peoples inspired Messianic Jews in Antananarivo to begin researching Judaism and studying the Torah. In 2016, 121 members of the Malagasy Jewish community were formally converted to Orthodox Judaism.{{Citation |title=FACES OF AFRICA: The Jews of Madagascar | date=27 February 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ra7mq7wBM |access-date=2024-01-13 |language=en |archive-date=13 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113014116/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ra7mq7wBM |url-status=live }}

{{main|Healthcare in Madagascar}}

Medical centers, dispensaries, and hospitals are found throughout the island, although they are concentrated in urban areas and particularly in Antananarivo. Access to medical care remains beyond the reach of many Malagasy, especially in the rural areas, and many recourse to traditional healers.{{cite journal|last1=Legrip-Randriambelo|first1=Olivia|last2=Regnier|first2=Denis|title=The place of healers-diviners (ombiasa) in Betsileo medical pluralism|journal=Health, Culture and Society|volume=7|issue=1|pages=28–37|url=http://hcs.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/hcs/article/viewFile/188/219|doi=10.5195/hcs.2014.188|year=2014|doi-access=free|access-date=21 July 2016|archive-date=29 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829070004/http://hcs.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/hcs/article/viewFile/188/219|url-status=live}} In addition to the high expense of medical care relative to the average Malagasy income, the prevalence of trained medical professionals remains extremely low. In 2010, Madagascar had an average of three hospital beds per 10,000 people and a total of 3,150 doctors, 5,661 nurses, 385 community health workers, 175 pharmacists, and 57 dentists for a population of 22 million. Fifteen percent of government spending in 2008 was directed toward the health sector. Approximately 70 percent of spending on health was contributed by the government, while 30 percent originated with international donors and other private sources. The government provides at least one basic health center per commune. Private health centers are concentrated within urban areas and particularly those of the central highlands.

Despite these barriers to access, health services have shown a trend toward improvement over the past twenty years. Child immunizations against such diseases as hepatitis B, diphtheria, and measles increased an average of 60 percent in this period, indicating low but increasing availability of basic medical services and treatments. The Malagasy fertility rate in 2009 was 4.6 children per woman, declining from 6.3 in 1990. Teen pregnancy rates of 14.8 percent in 2011, much higher than the African average, are a contributing factor to rapid population growth.{{cite book | title = World Health Statistics 2011 | publisher = World Health Organization | year = 2011 | location = Paris | url = http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/resources/docs/main_report/en_SOWMR_Full.pdf | isbn = 978-92-4-156419-9 | access-date =21 January 2012| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111125020623/http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN_WHS2011_Full.pdf | url-status=live | archive-date = 25 November 2011 }} In 2010, the maternal mortality rate was 440 per 100,000 births, compared to 373.1 in 2008 and 484.4 in 1990, indicating a decline in perinatal care following the 2009 coup. The infant mortality rate in 2011 was 41 per 1,000 births, with an under-five mortality rate at 61 per 1,000 births.{{cite web|url=http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/report/home.html|title=The State of the World's Midwifery|publisher=United Nations Population Fund|date= August 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111225024306/http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/report/home.html |access-date =22 January 2012 |url-status=live|archive-date = 25 December 2011 }} Schistosomiasis, malaria, and sexually transmitted diseases are common in Madagascar, although infection rates of AIDS remain low relative to many countries in mainland Africa, at 0.2 percent of the adult population. The malaria mortality rate is also among the lowest in Africa at 8.5 deaths per 100,000 people, in part because of the highest frequency use of insecticide treated nets in Africa. Adult life expectancy in 2009 was 63 years for men and 67 years for women.

Madagascar had outbreaks of the bubonic plague and pneumonic plague in 2017 (2575 cases, 221 deaths) and 2014 (263 confirmed cases, 71 deaths).{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/19/madagascar-plague-death-toll-reaches-74 |title='It is a dangerous moment': Madagascar plague death toll reaches 74 |first=Peter |last=Beaumont |work=The Guardian |date=19 October 2017 |access-date=21 October 2017 |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519165330/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/19/madagascar-plague-death-toll-reaches-74 |url-status=live }} In 2019, Madagascar had a measles outbreak, resulting in 118,000 cases and 1,688 deaths. In 2020, Madagascar was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Undernourishment and hunger rates were at 42% in 2018.{{cite report |date=February 2021 |title=WFP Madagascar Country Brief |url=https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000125015/download/?_ga=2.216094418.577338328.1616525997-700118633.1616525997 |publisher=World Food Programme |access-date=23 March 2021 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034436/https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000125015/download/?_ga=2.216094418.577338328.1616525997-700118633.1616525997 |url-status=live }} According to the United Nations, more than one million people in southern Madagascar are struggling to get enough to eat,{{cite web|date=2021-10-21|title=Madagascar: Severe drought could spur world's first climate change famine|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103712|access-date=2022-02-09|website=UN News|language=en|archive-date=8 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208102451/https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103712|url-status=live}} due to what could become the first famine caused by climate change.{{cite news |title=How climate change is turning once green Madagascar into a desert |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/03/20/how-climate-change-is-turning-once-green-madagascar-into-a-desert |work=Euronews |date=20 March 2022 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023215848/https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/03/20/how-climate-change-is-turning-once-green-madagascar-into-a-desert |url-status=live }}

{{Main|Education in Madagascar}}

File:Diego Suarez Antsiranana urban public primary school (EPP) Madagascar.jpg access and quality were prioritized under Ravalomanana.]]

Prior to the 19th century, all education in Madagascar was informal and typically served to teach practical skills as well as social and cultural values, including respect for ancestors and elders. The first formal European-style school was established in 1818 at Toamasina by members of the London Missionary Society (LMS). The LMS was invited by King Radama I to expand its schools throughout Imerina to teach basic literacy and numeracy to aristocratic children. The schools were closed by Ranavalona I in 1835,Ralibera (1993), p. 196 but reopened and expanded in the decades after her death.

By the end of the 19th century, Madagascar had the most developed and modern school system in pre-colonial Sub-Saharan Africa. Access to schooling was expanded in coastal areas during the colonial period, with French language and basic work skills becoming the focus of the curriculum. During the post-colonial First Republic, a continued reliance on French nationals as teachers, and French as the language of instruction, displeased those desiring a complete separation from the former colonial power. Consequently, under the socialist Second Republic, French instructors and other nationals were expelled, Malagasy was declared the language of instruction, and a large cadre of young Malagasy were rapidly trained to teach at remote rural schools under the mandatory two-year national service policy.{{cite web |last = Ranaivoson |first = Samuel|title = La formation du personnel enseignant de l'éducation de base à Madagascar: Une etude de cas. Quelques reflections intéressant la programmation de l'assistance de l'UNICEF |location = Paris |website = UNESCO |url = http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0004/000404/040436Fb.pdf |access-date =10 July 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120604233852/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0004/000404/040436Fb.pdf |archive-date = 4 June 2012 |url-status=live |year = 1980|language=fr}}

This policy, known as malgachization, coincided with a severe economic downturn and a dramatic decline in the quality of education. Those schooled during this period generally failed to master the French language or many other subjects and struggled to find employment, forcing many to take low-paying jobs in the informal or black market that mired them in deepening poverty. Excepting the brief presidency of Albert Zafy, from 1992 to 1996, Ratsiraka remained in power from 1975 to 2001 and failed to achieve significant improvements in education throughout his tenure.{{cite journal |last = Mukonoweshuro |first = E.G. |title = State "resilience" and chronic political instability in Madagascar |journal = Canadian Journal of African Studies |volume = 24 |issue = 3 |pages = 376–398 |year = 1990 |doi = 10.2307/485627|jstor = 485627}}

Education was prioritized under the Ravalomanana administration (2002–09), and is currently free and compulsory from ages 6 to 13.{{cite journal |first1 = Gerard |last1 = Lassibille |first2 = Jee-Peng |last2 = Tan |first3 = Cornelia |last3 = Jesse |first4 = Trang Van |last4 = Nguyen |title = Managing for results in primary education in Madagascar: Evaluating the impact of selected workflow interventions |journal = The World Bank Economic Review |volume = 24 |issue = 2 |pages = 303–329 |date = 6 August 2010 |url = http://www.povertyactionlab.org/publication/managing-results-primary-education-madagascar-evaluating-impact-selected-workflow-interventions |doi = 10.1093/wber/lhq009 |access-date =10 February 2012 |archive-url = https://www.webcitation.org/65MknBr6d?url=http://www.povertyactionlab.org/publication/managing-results-primary-education-madagascar-evaluating-impact-selected-workflow-interventions |url-status=dead |archive-date = 11 February 2012|hdl = 10986/4523 |hdl-access = free }} The primary schooling cycle is five years, followed by four years at the lower secondary level and three years at the upper secondary level. During Ravalomanana's first term, thousands of new primary schools and additional classrooms were constructed, older buildings were renovated, and tens of thousands of new primary teachers were recruited and trained. Primary school fees were eliminated, and kits containing basic school supplies were distributed to primary students.

Government school construction initiatives have ensured at least one primary school per fokontany and one lower secondary school within each commune. At least one upper secondary school is located in each of the larger urban centers. The three branches of the national public university are located at Antananarivo, Mahajanga, and Fianarantsoa. These are complemented by public teacher-training colleges and several private universities and technical colleges.

As a result of increased educational access, enrollment rates more than doubled between 1996 and 2006. However, education quality is weak, producing high rates of grade repetition and dropout. Education policy in Ravalomanana's second term focused on quality issues, including an increase in minimum education standards for the recruitment of primary teachers from a middle school leaving certificate (BEPC) to a high school leaving certificate (BAC), and a reformed teacher training program to support the transition from traditional didactic instruction to student-centered teaching methods to boost student learning and participation in the classroom.{{cite book |last = Ministère de l'Education Secondaire et l'Education de Base |title = Curriculum de formation des élèves-maîtres |publisher = Government Printing Office |location = Antananarivo, Madagascar |year = 2005 |language=fr}} Public expenditure on education was 2.8 percent of GDP in 2014. The literacy rate is estimated at 64.7%.

{{Main|Culture of Madagascar}}

Each of the many ethnic subgroups in Madagascar adhere to their own set of beliefs, practices and ways of life that have historically contributed to their unique identities. However, there are a number of core cultural features that are common throughout the island, creating a strongly unified Malagasy cultural identity. In addition to a common language and shared traditional religious beliefs around a creator god and veneration of the ancestors, the traditional Malagasy worldview is shaped by values that emphasize fihavanana (solidarity), vintana (destiny), tody (karma), and hasina, a sacred life force that traditional communities believe imbues and thereby legitimates authority figures within the community or family. Other cultural elements commonly found throughout the island include the practice of male circumcision; strong kinship ties; a widespread belief in the power of magic, diviners, astrology and witch doctors; and a traditional division of social classes into nobles, commoners, and slaves.

Although social castes are no longer legally recognized, ancestral caste affiliation often continues to affect social status, economic opportunity, and roles within the community.Middleton (1999), pp. 259–262, 272, 309 Malagasy people traditionally consult Mpanandro ("Makers of the Days") to identify the most auspicious days for important events such as weddings or famadihana, according to a traditional astrological system introduced by Arabs. Similarly, the nobles of many Malagasy communities in the pre-colonial period would commonly employ advisers known as the ombiasy (from olona-be-hasina, "man of much virtue") of the southeastern Antemoro ethnic group, who trace their ancestry back to early Somali settlers.Ames (2003), p. 101

The diverse origins of Malagasy culture are evident in its tangible expressions. The most emblematic instrument of Madagascar, the valiha, is a bamboo tube zither carried to Madagascar by early settlers from southern Borneo, and is very similar in form to those found in Indonesia and the Philippines today.{{cite journal |last = Blench |first = Roger |title = Evidence for the Indonesian origins of certain elements of African culture |journal = African Music |volume = 6 |issue = 2 |pages = 81–93 |year = 1982 |jstor = 30249759|doi = 10.21504/amj.v6i2.1118 |doi-access = }} Traditional houses in Madagascar are likewise similar to those of southern Borneo in terms of symbolism and construction, featuring a rectangular layout with a peaked roof and central support pillar.{{cite journal |last1 = Kus |first1 = Susan |last2 = Raharijaona |first2 = Victor |title = House to Palace, Village to State: Scaling up Architecture and Ideology |journal = American Anthropologist |series=New Series |issue = 102 |volume = 1 |pages = 98–113 |year = 2000 |doi = 10.1525/aa.2000.102.1.98}} Reflecting a widespread veneration of the ancestors, tombs are culturally significant in many regions and tend to be built of more durable material, typically stone, and display more elaborate decoration than the houses of the living.Acquier (1997), pp. 143–175 The production and weaving of silk can be traced back to the island's earliest settlers, and Madagascar's national dress, the woven lamba, has evolved into a varied and refined art.Kusimba, Odland & Bronson (2004), p. 12

The Southeast Asian cultural influence is also evident in Malagasy cuisine, in which rice is consumed at every meal, typically accompanied by one of a variety of flavorful vegetable or meat dishes. African influence is reflected in the sacred importance of zebu cattle and their embodiment of their owner's wealth, traditions originating on the African mainland. Cattle rustling, originally a rite of passage for young men in the plains areas of Madagascar where the largest herds of cattle are kept, has become a dangerous and sometimes deadly criminal enterprise as herdsmen in the southwest attempt to defend their cattle with traditional spears against increasingly armed professional rustlers.

{{main|Media of Madagascar}}

{{Main|Music of Madagascar}}

File:Hira gasy dancer Madagascar.jpg dancer.]]

A wide variety of oral and written literature has developed in Madagascar. One of the island's foremost artistic traditions is its oratory, as expressed in the forms of hainteny (poetry), kabary (public discourse) and ohabolana (proverbs).Fox (1990), p. 39{{cite web |last = Ravalitera |first = P |title = Origine Confuse des Vazimba du Betsiriry |work = Journal Express |publisher = Madatana.com |url=http://www.madatana.com/article-origine-confuse-des-vazimba-du-betsiriry.php |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20110714013534/http://www.madatana.com/article-origine-confuse-des-vazimba-du-betsiriry.php |access-date =11 November 2010 |archive-date = 14 July 2011|url-status=live |language=fr}} An epic poem exemplifying these traditions, the Ibonia, has been handed down over the centuries in several different forms across the island, and offers insight into the diverse mythologies and beliefs of traditional Malagasy communities.{{cite web |title = Ibonia: the text in 17 sections |last = Unknown |publisher = University of Virginia |access-date =15 November 2010 |url = http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Public/Ibonia/text.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110605051817/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Public/Ibonia/text.html |url-status=dead |archive-date = 5 June 2011}} This tradition was continued in the 20th century by such artists as Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, who is considered Africa's first modern poet,Rabearivelo (2007), p. x and Elie Rajaonarison, an exemplar of the new wave of Malagasy poetry.Auzias & Labourdette (2007), p. 142 Madagascar has also developed a rich musical heritage, embodied in dozens of regional musical genres such as the coastal salegy or highland hiragasy that enliven village gatherings, local dance floors and national airwaves.Randrianary (2001), pp. 109–137 Madagascar also has a growing culture of classical music fostered through youth academies, organizations and orchestras that promote youth involvement in classical music.

The plastic arts are also widespread throughout the island. In addition to the tradition of silk weaving and lamba production, the weaving of raffia and other local plant materials has been used to create a wide array of practical items such as floor mats, baskets, purses and hats. Wood carving is a highly developed art form, with distinct regional styles evident in the decoration of balcony railings and other architectural elements. Sculptors create a variety of furniture and household goods, aloalo funerary posts, and wooden sculptures, many of which are produced for the tourist market.Heale & Abdul Latif (2008), pp. 108–111 The decorative and functional woodworking traditions of the Zafimaniry people of the central highlands was inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.{{cite web |title = Woodcrafting Knowledge of the Zafimaniry |publisher = UNESCO |access-date = 24 August 2012 |url = http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/00080 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121023071416/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/00080 |url-status=live |archive-date = 23 October 2012}}

Among the Antaimoro people, the production of paper embedded with flowers and other decorative natural materials is a long-established tradition that the community has begun to market to eco-tourists. Embroidery and drawn thread work are done by hand to produce clothing, as well as tablecloths and other home textiles for sale in local crafts markets. Malagasy artists such as Madame Zo have incorporated textile traditions of Madagascar directly into their work.{{cite web|url= https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/05/04/is-antananarivo-the-capital-of-madagascar-africas-new-art-capital|title= Is Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, Africa's newest art hub?|website= theartnewspaper.com|date= 4 May 2023|access-date= 9 Jul 2023|archive-date= 12 June 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230612102331/https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2023/05/04/is-antananarivo-the-capital-of-madagascar-africas-new-art-capital|url-status= live}} A small but growing number of fine art galleries in Antananarivo, and several other urban areas, offer paintings by local artists, and annual art events, such as the Hosotra open-air exhibition in the capital, contribute to the continuing development of fine arts in Madagascar.{{cite news |title = Des nouveaux talents mis en relief |newspaper = L'Express de Madagascar |publisher = l'expressmada.com |date = 7 August 2009 |url = http://www.lexpressmada.com/4376/hosotra-2009-madagascar/284-des-nouveaux-talents-mis-en-relief.html |access-date = 24 August 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509031614/http://www.lexpressmada.com/4376/hosotra-2009-madagascar/284-des-nouveaux-talents-mis-en-relief.html|archive-date = 9 May 2013|url-status=dead |language=fr}}

File:Moraingy fighting Madagascar sport.jpg is a traditional martial art of Madagascar.]]

A number of traditional pastimes have emerged in Madagascar. Moraingy, a type of hand-to-hand combat, is a popular spectator sport in coastal regions. It is traditionally practiced by men, but women have recently begun to participate.Ratsimbazafy (2010), pp. 14–18 The wrestling of zebu cattle, which is named savika or tolon-omby, is also practiced in many regions.Kusimba, Odland & Bronson (2004), p. 87 In addition to sports, a wide variety of games are played. Among the most emblematic is fanorona, a board game widespread throughout the Highland regions. According to folk legend, the succession of King Andrianjaka after his father Ralambo was partially the result of the obsession that Andrianjaka's older brother may have had with playing fanorona to the detriment of his other responsibilities.{{cite web |last=City of Antananarivo |title=Antananarivo: Histoire de la commune |url=http://www.iarivo-town.mg/histoire.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223014034/http://www.iarivo-town.mg/histoire.php |access-date=2 August 2010 |archive-date=23 February 2010|url-status=dead |language=fr}}

Western recreational activities were introduced to Madagascar over the past two centuries. Rugby union is considered the national sport of Madagascar.{{cite web |url=http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/regional/newsid=53025.html |access-date=24 July 2012 |title=Madagascar take Sevens honours |date = 23 August 2007 |publisher = International Rugby Board |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121024222252/http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/regional/newsid=53025.html |url-status=dead |archive-date = 24 October 2012}} Soccer is also popular. Madagascar has produced a world champion in pétanque, a French game similar to lawn bowling, which is widely played in urban areas and throughout the Highlands.{{cite web |last = Vegar |first = Ness |title = Madagascar won the World Championship |publisher = petanque.org |date = 4 October 1999 |url = http://www.petanque.org/news/admin/61.shtml |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110317032530/http://www.petanque.org/news/admin/61.shtml |archive-date = 17 March 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date =14 January 2011}} School athletics programs typically include soccer, track and field, judo, boxing, women's basketball and women's tennis. Madagascar sent its first competitors to the Olympic Games in 1964, and has also competed in the African Games. Scouting is represented in Madagascar by its own local federation of three scouting clubs. Membership in 2011 was estimated at 14,905.{{cite web |title=Triennal review: Census as of 1 December 2010|url=http://scout.org/en/content/download/22261/199900/file/Census.pdf |publisher=World Organization of the Scout Movement |access-date=13 January 2011 |date = 1 December 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120508035838/http://www.scout.org/en/content/download/22261/199900/file/Census.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-date = 8 May 2012}}

Because of its advanced sports facilities, Antananarivo gained the hosting rights for several of Africa's top international basketball events, including the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship,[http://madagascar2011.fiba.com/ 2011 FIBA Africa Championship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828040545/http://madagascar2011.fiba.com/ |date=28 August 2011 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015. the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship for Women,[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6996/_/2009_FIBA_Africa_Championship_for_Women/index.html 2009 FIBA Africa Championship for Women] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208025248/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6996/_/2009_FIBA_Africa_Championship_for_Women/index.html |date=8 February 2015 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015. the 2014 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship,[http://u18madagascar2014.fibaafrica.com/ 2014 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812204620/http://u18madagascar2014.fibaafrica.com/ |date=12 August 2014 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015. the 2013 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship,[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/AFMCM/sid/9678/_/2013_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Men/index.html 2013 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021181708/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/AFMCM/sid/9678/_/2013_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Men/index.html |date=21 October 2013 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015. and the 2015 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship for Women.[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid//sid/11791/_/2015_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Women/index.html 2015 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship for Women] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130021741/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/sid/11791/_/2015_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Women/index.html |date=30 January 2016 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015. Madagascar's national 3x3 basketball team won the gold medal at the 2019 African Games.

{{Main|Malagasy cuisine}}

Malagasy cuisine reflects the diverse influences of Southeast Asian, African, Oceania, Indian, Chinese, and European culinary traditions. The complexity of Malagasy meals can range from the simple, traditional preparations introduced by the earliest settlers, to the refined festival dishes prepared for the island's 19th-century monarchs. Throughout almost the entire island, the contemporary cuisine of Madagascar typically consists of a base of rice (vary) served with an accompaniment (laoka). The many varieties of laoka may be vegetarian or include animal proteins, and typically feature a sauce flavored with such ingredients as ginger, onion, garlic, tomato, vanilla, coconut milk, salt, curry powder, green peppercorns or, less commonly, other spices or herbs. In parts of the arid south and west, pastoral families may replace rice with maize, cassava, or curds made from fermented zebu milk. A wide variety of sweet and savory fritters as well as other street foods are available across the island, as are diverse tropical and temperate-climate fruits. Locally produced beverages include fruit juices, coffee, herbal teas and teas, and alcoholic drinks such as rum, wine, and beer.Bradt (2011), p. 312 Three Horses Beer is the most popular beer on the island{{cite web | title = THB Pilsener | url = http://www.brasseries-star.com/produits/bieres/thb-pilsener | work = Brasseries Star| year = 2015 | access-date = 5 June 2015 | language = fr | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150605195142/http://www.brasseries-star.com/produits/bieres/thb-pilsener | archive-date = 5 June 2015 | url-status=dead }} and is considered emblematic of Madagascar.{{cite web | last = Marsaud | first = Olivia | title = THB, star de la bière à Madagascar | url = https://www.afrik.com/thb-star-de-la-biere-a-madagascar | publisher = Afrik.com | date = 12 July 2008 | access-date = 5 June 2015 | language = fr | archive-date = 6 November 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181106195645/https://www.afrik.com/thb-star-de-la-biere-a-madagascar | url-status = live }}

{{portal|Madagascar}}

• Index of Madagascar-related articles
• Outline of Madagascar

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin|30em}}

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• {{cite book |last1 = Heale |first1 = Jay |last2 = Abdul Latif |first2 = Zawiah |title = Cultures of the World: Madagascar |publisher = Marshall Cavendish |location = Tarrytown, NY |year = 2008 |isbn = 978-0-7614-3036-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PJWLCYGo2RgC |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 12 March 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210312201506/https://books.google.com/books?id=PJWLCYGo2RgC |url-status = live }}
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• {{cite book |last = Ogot |first = Bethwell |title = Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century |publisher = UNESCO |location = Paris |year = 1992 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=WAQbp7aLpZkC |isbn = 978-92-3-101711-7 |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 July 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200715221905/https://books.google.com/books?id=WAQbp7aLpZkC |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book |last1 = Oliver |first1 = Roland |first2 = John Donnelly |last2 = Fage |first3 = G.N. |last3 = Sanderson |date = 1983 |title = The Cambridge History of Africa |journal = Journal of Arid Environments |publisher = Cambridge University Press |volume = 6 |issue = 2 |page = 195 |location = Cambridge, U.K. |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=xh-QcHRG3OwC |isbn = 978-0-521-22803-9 |bibcode = 1983JArEn...6..195S |doi = 10.1016/S0140-1963(18)31535-0 }}
• {{cite book |first = Samuel Pasfield |last = Oliver |author-link = Samuel Pasfield Oliver |title = Madagascar: an historical and descriptive account of the island and its former dependencies, Volume 1 |place = London |publisher = Macmillan |year = 1886 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=lKtBAAAAIAAJ |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 26 July 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200726123956/https://books.google.com/books?id=lKtBAAAAIAAJ |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book |last = Pezzotta |first = Federico |title = Madagascar: a mineral and gemstone paradise |place = Ann Arbor, MI |publisher = University of Michigan |year = 2001 |isbn = 978-0-9715371-0-1}}
• {{cite book |last=Pryor |first=Frederic L. |title=The political economy of poverty, equity, and growth: Malawi and Madagascar |publisher=World Bank |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-19-520823-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0P0fDzMA5lEC |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=10 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110044240/https://books.google.com/books?id=0P0fDzMA5lEC |url-status=live }}
• {{cite book |last1 = Rabearivelo |first1 = Jean-Joseph |title = Translated from the Night |location = Pittsburgh, PA |publisher = Lascaux Editions |year = 2007 |orig-year = 1936 (translation by Robert Ziller) |isbn = 978-1-60461-552-4 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=F-5I6QlMfJEC |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 July 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200715221903/https://books.google.com/books?id=F-5I6QlMfJEC |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book |last = Rajaonarimanana |first = Narivelo |title = Grammaire moderne de la langue malgache |publisher = Langues et mondes – l'Asiatheque |series = Langues INALCO |year = 2001 |location = Paris |isbn = 978-2-911053-79-5|language=fr}}
• {{cite book |last = Ralibera |first = Daniel |title = Madagascar et le christianisme |location = Paris |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GOeAT76TGN0C |publisher = Editions Karthala |year = 1993 |isbn = 978-92-9028-211-2 |language = fr |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 15 July 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200715221351/https://books.google.com/books?id=GOeAT76TGN0C |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book |last=Randier |first=Jean |title=La Royale: L'histoire illustrée de la Marine nationale française |year=2006 |publisher=Babouji |location= Maîtres du Vent – La Falaise |isbn=978-2-35261-022-9|language=fr}}
• {{cite book |last = Randrianary |first = Victor |title = Madagascar: les chants d'une île |publisher = Actes Sud |location = Paris |year = 2001 |isbn = 978-2-7427-3556-3|language=fr}}
• {{cite book |last1=Ratsimbaharison |first1=Adrien |title=The Political Crisis of March 2009 in Madagascar: A Case Study of Conflict and Conflict Mediation |date=2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, Boulder, New York, London |isbn=978-1-4422-7235-4}}
• {{cite book |last = Ratsimbazafy |first = Ernest |editor-last = Green |editor-first = Thomas |editor2-last = Svinth |editor2-first = Joseph |title = Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation, Volume 2 |contribution = Moraingy |publisher = ABC CLIO |location = Santa Barbara, CA |year = 2010 |isbn = 978-1-59884-243-2 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=P-Nv_LUi6KgC |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 8 March 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170308220952/https://books.google.com/books?id=P-Nv_LUi6KgC |url-status = live }}
• {{cite journal|last1=Regnier|first1=Denis|title=Clean people, unclean people: the essentialisation of 'slaves' among the southern Betsileo of Madagascar|journal=Social Anthropology|volume=23|issue=2|year=2015|pages=152–158|doi=10.1111/1469-8676.12107|url=https://philpapers.org/rec/REGCPU|access-date=24 October 2018|archive-date=25 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025070918/https://philpapers.org/rec/REGCPU|url-status=live}}
• {{cite book |last = Reinsch |first = Paul Samuel |title = Colonial Administration |publisher = Macmillan |location = New York |year = 1905 |url = https://archive.org/details/colonialadminis00reingoog }}
• {{cite book |last1 = Rodd |first1 = Tony |last2 = Stackhouse |first2 = Jennifer |title = Trees: A Visual Guide |publisher = University of California Press |location = Los Angeles |year = 2008 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Mpsc2hsYk1YC |isbn = 978-0-520-25650-7 |access-date = 4 July 2020 |archive-date = 30 March 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034513/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mpsc2hsYk1YC |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book |last = Room |first = Adrian |title = Placenames of the world: origins and meanings of the names for 6,600 countries, cities, territories, natural features, and historic sites |publisher = McFarland |location = Jefferson, NC |year = 2006 |isbn = 978-0-7864-2248-7 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 29 March 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170329060933/https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book |last = Sharp |first = Leslie |title = The Sacrificed Generation: Youth, History, and the Colonized Mind in Madagascar |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5IFbKsKxYQYC |location = Berkeley, CA |publisher = University of California Press |year = 2002 |isbn = 978-0-520-22951-8 |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 14 July 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200714114457/https://books.google.com/books?id=5IFbKsKxYQYC |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book|last=Shillington|first= Kevin|title=Encyclopedia of African history|publisher=CRC Press|location = New York |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-57958-453-5}}
• {{cite encyclopedia |last = Strakes |first = Jason |contribution = Armed Forces of the People |year = 2006 |title = Encyclopedia of the developing world |editor-last = Leonard |editor-first = Thomas M. |volume = 1 |place = New York |publisher = Taylor & Francis |isbn = 978-1-57958-388-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=3mE04D9PMpAC |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 19 May 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150519041852/https://books.google.com/books?id=3mE04D9PMpAC |url-status = live }}
• {{cite book |last1 = Thompson |first1 = Virginia |last2 = Adloff |first2 = Richard |year = 1965 |title = The Malagasy Republic: Madagascar today |url = https://archive.org/details/malagasyrepublic0000thom |url-access = registration |publisher = Stanford University Press |isbn = 978-0-8047-0279-9 |location = San Francisco, CA }}
• {{cite book |last = Uwechue |first = Raph |title = Makers of modern Africa: profiles in history, Volume 1 |publisher = Africa Books Ltd |location = Dearborne, MI |year = 1981 |isbn = 978-0-903274-14-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Van Den Boogaerde |first=Pierre |title=Shipwrecks of Madagascar |year=2008 |publisher=AEG Publishing Group |location=New York |isbn=978-1-60693-494-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_S1D8cnTiEC&pg=PT19 |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-date=2 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802074021/https://books.google.com/books?id=I_S1D8cnTiEC&pg=PT19 |url-status=live }}
• {{cite book |last = Wink |first = André |title = Volume 3 of Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Indo-Islamic society, 14th–15th centuries |publisher = Brill |location = Leiden, The Netherlands |year = 2004 |isbn = 978-90-04-13561-1 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C |access-date = 14 October 2015 |archive-date = 29 May 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160529144236/https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C |url-status = live }}

{{Refend}}

{{Sister project links|Madagascar|voy=Madagascar|d=Q1019}}

• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861843 Country Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729052321/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861843 |date=29 July 2018 }} from BBC News
• [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ Madagascar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214064652/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ |date=14 February 2021 }}. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120829212249/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/madagascar.htm Madagascar] from UCB Libraries GovPubs
• {{wikiatlas|Madagascar}}
• [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=MG Key Development Forecasts for Madagascar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119105615/http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=MG |date=19 November 2020 }} from International Futures
• {{osmrelation-inline|447325}}
• [https://www.nli.org.il/en/maps/NNL_ALEPH002492934/NLI#$FL13737163 Map of Madagascar, 1666] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203131355/https://www.nli.org.il/en/maps/NNL_ALEPH002492934/NLI#$FL13737163 |date=3 February 2021 }}, (in French). Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel

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