Madagascar

Map of Madagascar Republic of Madagascar National name: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara President: Andry Rajoelina (took over leadership in 2009; legitimacy is in question) Prime Minister: Monja Roindefo (took over leadership in 2009; legitimacy is in question) Current government officials Land area: 224,533 sq mi (581,540 sq km); total area: 226,656 sq mi (587,040 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 20,042,551 (growth rate: 3.0%); birth rate: 38.3/1000; infant mortality rate: 55.5/1000; life expectancy: 62.5; density per sq km: 34 Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Antananarivo, 1,390,800 Monetary unit: Malagasy franc Languages: Malagasy and French (both official) Ethnicity/race: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Côtiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry: Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran Religions: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Islam 7% National Holiday: Independence Day, June 26 Literacy rate: 69% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $18.12 billion; per capita $1,100. Real growth rate: 6.3%. Inflation: 10.3%. Unemployment: 5.9% (1998). Arable land: 5%. Agriculture: coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products. Labor force: 7.3 million (2000). Industries: meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism. Natural resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower. Exports: $951 million f.o.b. (2005 est.): coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products. Imports: $1.4 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food. Major trading partners: U.S., France, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Iran, Mauritius, South Africa (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 55,000 (2000); mobile cellular: 63,100 (2000). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001). Radios: 3.05 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001). Televisions: 325,000 (1997). Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000). Internet users: 35,000 (2002). Transportation: Railways: total: 732 km (2002). Highways: total: 49,827 km; paved: 5,780 km; unpaved: 44,047 km (1999 est.). Waterways: of local importance only. Ports and harbors: Antsiranana, Antsohimbondrona, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara. Airports: 121 (2002). International disputes: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France). Major sources and definitions

Geography | Government | History

Geography

Madagascar lies in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa opposite Mozambique. The world's fourth-largest island, it is twice the size of Arizona. The country's low-lying coastal area gives way to a central plateau. The once densely wooded interior has largely been cut down.

Government

Multiparty republic.

History

The Malagasy are of mixed Malayo-Indonesian and African-Arab ancestry. Indonesians are believed to have migrated to the island about 700. King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810) ruled the major kingdom on the island, and his son, Radama I (1810–1828), unified much of the island. The French made the island a protectorate in 1885, and then, in 1894–1895, ended the monarchy, exiling Queen Rànavàlona III to Algiers. A colonial administration was set up, to which the Comoro Islands were attached in 1908, and other territories later. In World War II, the British occupied Madagascar, which retained ties to Vichy France.

Independence Leads to Ratsiraka's Repressive Regime

An autonomous republic within the French Community since 1958, Madagascar became an independent member of the community in 1960. In May 1973, an army coup led by Maj. Gen. Gabriel Ramanantsoa ousted Philibert Tsiranana, president since 1959. Comdr. Didier Ratsiraka, named president on June 15, 1975, announced that he would follow a socialist course and, after nationalizing banks and insurance companies, declared all mineral resources nationalized. Repression and censorship characterized his regime. Ratsiraka was reelected in 1989 in a suspicious election that led to riots as well as the formation of a multiparty system in 1990. In 1991, Ratsiraka agreed to share power with the democratically minded opposition leader, Albert Zafy, who then overwhelmingly won the presidential elections in Feb. 1993. But Zafy was impeached by parliament for abusing his constitutional powers during an economic crisis and lost the 1996 presidential election to Ratsiraka, who became president in Feb. 1997.

Ratsiraka's Defeat

The Dec. 2001 presidential election between incumbent president Didier Ratsiraka and Marc Ravalomanana, the mayor of Antananarivo, proved inconclusive and a runoff vote was scheduled. But Ravalomanana claimed the election was rigged, and in Feb. 2002 he declared himself president. In response, Ratsiraka proclaimed martial law and set up a rival capital in Toamasina. Madagascar in effect found itself with two presidents and two capitals. After a recount in April, the high constitutional court declared Ravalomanana the winner with 51.5% of the vote. Ratsiraka, after first refusing to accept the outcome, fled to France in July, and Madagascar's six-month civil war ended. In Dec. 2006 Ravalomanana won reelection with 54.8% of the vote. In January 2007, he appointed Charles Rabemananjara as prime minister.

After a bitter, three-month-long power struggle with opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, the former mayor of the capital, Antananariv, Ravalomanana resigned as president in March 2009. He handed power over to the military, which in turn transferred control to Rajoelina. The turmoil began when Rajoelina was elected mayor of the capital in December 2007, defeating the president's candidate. Tension peaked between the two In December 2008 when Ravalomanana, becoming increasingly autocratic, shuttered the mayor’s television channel and radio station. Rajoelina then staged weekly protests that grew increasingly violent. In February 2009, Ravalomanana fired Rajoelina as mayor. Thousands of the mayor's supporters took to the streets of the capital. Police opened fire on the protesters and killed at least 28 people. The country spun further into chaos when some army officers mutinied and threw their support behind Rajoelina; others remained loyal to the president. On March 17, the president submitted to the apparent coup.

See also Encyclopedia: Madagascar
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Madagascar
National Institute of Statistics (In French Only) http://www.cite.mg/instat/index.htm .

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