Madagascar

—Madagascan, n., adj.

/mad'euh gas"keuhr/, n.

an island republic in the Indian Ocean, about 240 mi. (385 km) off the SE coast of Africa: formerly a French colony; gained independence 1960. 14,061,627; 227,800 sq. mi. (590,000 sq. km). Cap.: Antananarivo. Formerly, Malagasy Republic.

* * *

Madagascar

Introduction Madagascar -
Background: Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1886, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002 the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. Geography Madagascar
Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique
Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 47 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 587,040 sq km water: 5,500 sq km land: 581,540 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of Arizona
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 4,828 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or 100 NM from the 2,500-m deep isobath
Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m
Natural resources: graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 4.41% permanent crops: 0.93% other: 94.66% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 10,900 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic cyclones Environment - current issues: soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are endangered Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel People Madagascar -
Population: 16,473,477 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 45% (male 3,713,700; female 3,696,478) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 4,227,931; female 4,313,940) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 241,699; female 279,729) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.03% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 42.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 12.15 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/ female total population: 0.99 male(s)/ female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 81.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 55.74 years female: 58.11 years (2002 est.) male: 53.45 years
Total fertility rate: 5.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.15% (1999 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 11,000 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 870 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Malagasy (singular and plural) adjective: Malagasy
Ethnic groups: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran
Religions: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%
Languages: French (official), Malagasy (official)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 80% male: 88% female: 73% (1990 est.) Government Madagascar -
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Madagascar conventional short form: Madagascar local short form: Madagascar former: Malagasy Republic local long form: Republique de Madagascar
Government type: republic
Capital: Antananarivo Administrative divisions: 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara
Independence: 26 June 1960 (from France)
National holiday: Independence Day, 26 June (1960)
Constitution: 19 August 1992 by national referendum
Legal system: based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Jacques SYLLA (27 May 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 December 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006); prime minister appointed by the president from a list of candidates nominated by the National Assembly election results: percent of vote - Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 40.89%, Marc RAVALOMANANA 46.21%; note - on 29 April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner by just over 50% after a recount; RATSIRIKA's prime minister was put under house arrest on 27 May 2002, and SYLLA was appointed the new prime minister by President RAVALOMANANA
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (150 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - the legislature is scheduled to become a bicameral Parliament with the establishment of a Senate; two-thirds of the seats of this Senate will be filled by regional assemblies whose members will be elected by popular vote; the remaining one-third of the seats will be appointed by the president; the total number of seats will be determined by the National Assembly; all members will serve four-year terms elections: National Assembly - last held 17 May 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - AREMA 63, LEADER/ Fanilo 16, AVI 14, RPSD 11, AFFA 6, MFM 3, AKFM/Fanavaozana 3, GRAD/ Iloafo 1, Fihaonana 1, independents 32
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle Political parties and leaders: Action, Truth, Development, and Harmony or AFFA [Professor Albert ZAFY]; Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [leader vacant]; Congress Party for Malagasy Independence or AKFM/Fanavaozana [leader NA]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; Fihaonana Rally or Fihaonana [Guy RAZANAMASY]; Group of Reflection and Action for the Development of Madagascar or GRAD/ Iloafo; Judged by Your Work or AVI [Norbert RATSIRAHONANA]; Movement for the Progress of Madagascar or MFM [Manandafy RAKOTONIRINA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON]; Tranobe (Big House) [Ny Hasina ANDRIAMANJATO] Political pressure groups and Federalist Movement; National
leaders: Council of Christian Churches or FFKM International organization ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-
participation: 77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Zina ANDRIANARIVELO-RAZAFY consulate(s) general: New York FAX: [1] [phone] telephone: [1] [phone], 5526 chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Wanda
US: L. NESBITT embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57 FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39
Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side Economy Madagascar
Economy - overview: Madagascar faces problems of chronic malnutrition, underfunded health and education facilities, a roughly 3% annual population growth rate, and severe loss of forest cover, accompanied by erosion. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is the mainstay of the economy, accounting for one-third of GDP and contributing more than 70% to export earnings. Industry features textile manufacturing and the processing of agricultural products. Growth in output in 1992-97 averaged less than the growth rate of the population. Growth has been held back by antigovernment strikes and demonstrations, a decline in world coffee prices, and the erratic commitment of the government to economic reform. The extent of government reforms, outside financial aid, and foreign investment will be key determinants of future growth.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $14 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $870 (2001 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 34% industry: 11% services: 55% (1999 est.) Population below poverty line: 70% (1994 est.) Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 2.2%
percentage share: highest 10%: 37.3% (1997) Distribution of family income - Gini 46 (1997)
index: Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 7 million (1999)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues: $553 million expenditures: $735 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)
Industries: meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2000 est.) Electricity - production: 820 million kWh (2000) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 36.59% hydro: 63.41% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% Electricity - consumption: 762.6 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products
Exports: $680 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Exports - commodities: coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar; cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products
Exports - partners: France 41%, US 21%, Germany 7%, Japan 4%, UK 1% (2000)
Imports: $919 million (f.o.b., 2000)
Imports - commodities: intermediate manufactures, capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food
Imports - partners: France 38%, Hong Kong 10%, China 5%, Singapore 5%, Japan 3%
Debt - external: $4.5 billion (2000) Economic aid - recipient: $838 million (1997)
Currency: Malagasy franc (MGF)
Currency code: MGF
Exchange rates: Malagasy francs per US dollar - 6,531.4 (December 2001), 6,588.5 (2001), 6,767.5 (2000), 6,283.8 (1999), 5,441.4 (1998), 5,090.9 (1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year Communications Madagascar - Telephones - main lines in use: 55,000 (2000) Telephones - mobile cellular: 63,100 (2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: system is above average for the region domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions international: submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) 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 country code: .mg Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (2000)
Internet users: 30,000 (2000) Transportation Madagascar -
Railways: total: 893 km narrow gauge: 893 km 1.000-m gauge (2001)
Highways: total: 49,837 km paved: 5,781 km unpaved: 44,056 km (1996)
Waterways: note: of local importance only
Ports and harbors: Antsiranana, Antsohimbondrona, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara
Merchant marine: total: 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,199 GRT/37,462 DWT ships by type: cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 (2002 est.)
Airports: 130 (2001) Airports - with paved runways: total: 29 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 2 (2001) Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 101 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 55 under 914 m: 44 (2001) Military Madagascar -
Military branches: People's Armed Forces (comprising Intervention Force, Development Force, Aeronaval [Navy and Air] Force), Gendarmerie, Presidential Security Regiment Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age (2002 est.) Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 3,758,940 (2002 est.) Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 2,229,304 (2002
service: est.) Military manpower - reaching military males: 153,856 (2002 est.)
age annually: Military expenditures - dollar $48.7 million (FY01)
figure: Military expenditures - percent of 1.2% (FY01)
GDP: Transnational Issues Madagascar - Disputes - international: claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France)
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin

* * *

officially Republic of Madagascar

Country, occupying the island of Madagascar, off the southeastern coast of Africa.

The island is the world's fourth largest, about 976 mi (1,570 km) long and 355 mi (571 km) wide. It is separated from the African coast by the Mozambique Channel. Area: 226,658 sq mi (587,041 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 16,473,000. Capital: Antananarivo. Almost all of the population belongs to about 20 Malayo-Indonesian groups. Languages: Malagasy, French. Religions: traditional religions, Christianity (Roman Catholicism, Protestantism), Islam. Currency: Malagasy franc. Madagascar's high central plateau rises to 9,436 ft (2,876 m) at the volcanic Tsaratanana massif; the island was once heavily forested, and forests still cover one-fourth of the land area. Agriculture dominates the economy, with staple crops, including rice and cassava, and cash crops, including coffee, cloves, and vanilla. Madagascar is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Indonesians migrated to Madagascar с AD 700. The first European to visit the island was Portuguese navigator Diogo Dias in 1500. Trade in arms and slaves allowed the development of Malagasy kingdoms at the beginning of the 17th century. In the 18th century the Merina kingdom became dominant; with British assistance, it gained control of a large part of Madagascar in the early 19th century. In 1868 Merina signed a treaty granting France control over the northwestern coast, and in 1895 French troops took the island. Madagascar became a French overseas territory in 1946. In 1958 France agreed to let the territory decide its own fate; as the Malagasy Republic, it gained independence in 1960. It severed ties with France in the 1970s, taking its present name in 1975. A new constitution was adopted in 1992.

* * *

▪ 2009

Area:

587,051 sq km (226,662 sq mi)

Population

(2008 est.): 20,215,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Marc Ravalomanana, assisted by Prime Minister Charles Rabemananjara

      Though the cyclones that hit the northern part of Madagascar in February 2008 did not do as much damage as the particularly severe ones of the previous year, hundreds of thousands of people were left without homes, and much of the harvest in the areas affected was destroyed. The south of the island suffered severe drought, and the steep rise in food and fuel prices in 2008 brought further hardship to many. Rice was the country's main crop, and Madagascar had the potential to meet its needs, but more than 200,000 tons were imported—at relatively high prices. The World Bank aided the government to try to boost local production of rice above the current 3.5 million metric tons and to diversify agricultural production, especially by growing sorghum in the south. Madagascar was the world's main supplier of vanilla and accounted for roughly two-thirds of global production.

      The government's poverty-reduction strategy, the Madagascar Action Plan, aimed to reduce the proportion of people living on less than $2 a day to 50%. In 2008 it was estimated that 85% of the population of 20 million still fell into that category and that half of all children below the age of five suffered from chronic malnutrition.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2008

Area:

587,051 sq km (226,662 sq mi)

Population

(2007 est.): 19,683,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President M arc Ravalomanana

      After winning election (with 54.8% of the vote) to a second five-year term in office in December 2006, Pres. Marc Ravalomanana pushed through a number of amendments to the Magdagascar constitution in 2007. They included reducing the size of the National Assembly from 160 to 127 seats, ending the autonomy of Madagascar's provinces, and giving the president increased powers, including authority to make laws directly if a state of emergency were declared. More than 70% of those who voted in a national referendum held in April supported the constitutional changes, though the parliamentary opposition, which said that the new laws gave too much power to the president, called for a boycott. One of the changes meant that English would be introduced as an official language, alongside French. France, the former colonial power, was the leading foreign investor, followed by Mauritius and China, and the government hoped to attract more Anglophone investment. In May a violent protest erupted in Tulear in southwestern Madagascar owing to the lack of electricity. The incident revealed the deep resentment among coastal people for the “highlanders,” the Merina people who dominated the island's politics.

      In July President Ravalomanana dissolved the National Assembly, saying that its size did not reflect the results of the referendum, and called a new parliamentary election for September. This meant that voters went to the polls for the third time in less than a year. In the balloting Ravalomanana's I Love Madagascar (TIM) party secured 106 of the 127 seats (before the constitutional reforms, TIM held 108 of 160 seats). The turnout was low, however, estimated at fewer than 50% overall and only 20% in the capital, Antananarivo.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2007

Area:

587,051 sq km (226,662 sq mi)

Population

(2006 est.): 19,105,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Marc Ravalomanana

      Though in 2006 much of the population continued to earn only $1 a day, and Madagascar was the world's 11th poorest country, Pres. Marc Ravalomanana's investor-friendly policies had brought the country over 5% economic growth and $100 million of foreign investment in the previous year. It was the first country to win large funds from the U.S.'s Millennium Challenge Account, which imposed strict conditions on the award of grants, and the IMF granted Madagascar substantial debt relief. Ravalomanana hoped that the country's membership in the Southern African Development Community (since 2005) would promote closer ties with South Africa in particular.

      Potentially the biggest news for the island state was the discovery of offshore oil. U.S.-based Exxon Mobil and a British company planned to drill in waters that some estimated held five billion barrels of oil, and other companies scrambled for offshore permits. Should predictions that Madagascar could produce 60,000 bbl per day in three to four years be true, the oil industry would become the main contributor to GDP.

 As the December presidential election approached, the first to be held since the highly divisive balloting in 2001, political tensions rose. The main opposition coalition, 3FN, which included toppled former president Didier Ratsiraka's AREMA party, boycotted talks with the president. Though Ravalomanana spoke out strongly against corruption, the opposition criticized him for being too close to foreign investors and for allowing his own companies to benefit from government contracts. Among those challenging him was Philippe Tsiranana, son of the country's first postcolonial president, but it was expected that Ravalomanana, one of the country's wealthiest men and an important Christian religious figure, would be reelected, though he was blamed for high inflation, the rise in the price of rice, the staple food, and the low salaries paid to civil servants and the army. He unveiled plans to expand manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and eco-tourism.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2006

Area:

587,051 sq km (226,662 sq mi)

Population

(2005 est.): 18,606,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Marc Ravalomanana

      After having gradually gained acceptance among other African countries in the aftermath of the political crisis of 2002–03, Madagascar welcomed the news in 2005 that it had been accepted into the Southern African Development Community. Madagascar remained one of the poorest countries in the world, but its economy was gradually being reformed under the government of Pres. Marc Ravalomanana, which took a strong line against corruption. Some 7 of 10 people still lived on less than a dollar a day, and one child in 10 was chronically malnourished, but child mortality rates had dropped by almost half since 1997, and the government's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), prepared in consultation with the IMF and the World Bank, aimed to halve poverty by 2015.

      In the poor south of the country, however, polio reemerged in August, and the authorities had to launch a nationwide immunization campaign for children under five. Farmers in the northeast suffered as the price of vanilla, the country's chief export, fell from $180 per kilogram in 2004 to $50 in early 2005. The price had been artificially high, however, because of cyclones in the area and the political crisis, and Madagascar remained the largest producer of vanilla in the world in terms of value. With unemployment high and inflation soaring to 27% in 2004, antigovernment demonstrations continued to take place, and the abolition of the international agreement guaranteeing clothing and textile export quotas to less-developed countries cost jobs in the clothing and textile sector, but there was hope for new jobs in mining and tourism. After the country had reached the completion point under the World Bank/IMF's highly indebted poor countries initiative in October 2004, the Bank approved $239 million in 2005 to help Madagascar implement its PRSP programs, fight HIV/AIDS, and stimulate economic growth.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2005

Area:

587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

Population

(2004 est.): 17,082,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Marc Ravalomanana

      Two major cyclones hit Madagascar in January and March 2004, killing 295 people, ruining rice fields, and destroying infrastructure. High world oil prices and a collapse of the Malagasy franc helped force up the price of rice, the major staple, which led to mass street demonstrations. With three-quarters of the population living on less than a dollar a day, the government was forced to import cheap rice to try to stabilize prices. Meanwhile, the government of Pres. Marc Ravalomanana continued to consolidate its position in the aftermath of the 2002 crisis. It engaged in months of negotiations with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to secure a write-off of part of the country's debt. Its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper pledged good governance, budgetary control, and more privatization. In October it was announced that the institutions would write off $1.9 billion of the total $4 billion debt in accordance with the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. While open opposition to Ravalomanana decreased, critics of the government denounced the terms on which the debt relief was secured.

      The extension of trade benefits in the version of the African Growth and Opportunity Act signed by U.S. Pres. George W. Bush in July boosted the textile industry and saved thousands of jobs that had been threatened in Madagascar's manufacturing and export sectors. On the other hand, inequality and poverty increased, and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS rose. Madagascar wanted to attract as many tourists as Mauritius and the Seychelles did, but poor facilities hampered this. With new emphasis put on ecotourism and adventure, however, 120,000 tourists arrived in the first half of 2004, nearly as many as in all of 2003.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2004

Area:

587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

Population

(2003 est.): 16,606,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Marc Ravalomanana

      In 2003 Madagascar was trying to recover from the political crisis that in 2002 had left 70 people dead and hundreds of thousands without work. After having his TIM (“I Love Madagascar”) party score a landslide in the parliamentary elections in December 2002, Pres. Marc Ravalomanana began in 2003 to implement a program designed to boost economic growth and recovery; the AREMA party of former president Didier Ratsiraka had won only three seats. After the 2002 election, Ravalomanana, who had disputed the 2001 election results and had himself sworn in as president, was accepted by the African Union as the country's legitimate president. Representatives of the World Bank and the IMF visited Madagascar, and investment began to pick up. In September the African Development Fund approved a loan of $34.4 million to Madagascar to assist humanitarian and economic-recovery programs. Some of the factories that had closed during the unrest began to reopen. On the other hand, much of the country's infrastructure had been damaged, and the population largely remained in dire poverty. Malnutrition was rife, and many people in urban areas lived on the streets.

      Madagascar, which produced half the world supply of vanilla, saw the price rise to an all-time high, but this was partly due to scarcity; more than 20% of the crop had been destroyed in a cyclone in 2000.

      Some 200 political prisoners, including a former prime minister, remained in jail and faced charges ranging from corruption to endangering the state. Ratsiraka, having lived in exile in France since July 2002, seemed beyond the reach of attempts to bring him to trial. In December, however, former prime minister Tantely Andrianarivo, who had led Ratsiraka's government, was sentenced to 12 years' hard labour and fined $7 million. Sporadic antigovernment demonstrations occurred throughout the year.

      In September Ravalomanana told the fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, S.Af., that his government would more than triple the size of the areas under protection over the next five years, create wildlife corridors that would connect existing parks, preserve rare habitats, and protect watersheds.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2003

Area:

587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

Population

(2002 est.): 16,473,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

Presidents Didier Ratsiraka and, from May 6, Marc Ravalomanana

      In 2002 Madagascar was plunged into its most serious crisis since independence. Official results for the December 2001 presidential election, announced in January, gave incumbent Pres. Didier Ratsiraka 40% of the vote and challenger Marc Ravalomanana, the wealthy mayor of Antananarivo, 46%. (See Biographies (Ravalomanana, Marc ).) The High Constitutional Court ruled that because Ravalomanana had not obtained at least 50% of the vote, a runoff should be held, but Ravalomanana insisted that he had won a majority of votes and alleged that the results had been rigged. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Antananarivo in Ravalomanana's support, but Ratsiraka refused to give way. Ravalomanana then declared himself president and installed his own cabinet, while Ratsiraka's administration fled to Tamatave, the country's main port. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) brokered an agreement between the two men, who were brought together in Dakar, Senegal, and consented to a recount. In April the Constitutional Court found that Ravalomanana had indeed won 51% of the vote, to Ratsiraka's 36%. Before the verdict was announced, however, Ratsiraka alleged that the court had not been appointed legally and said that he would not accept its recount. The OAU also refused to accept Ravalomanana as the legitimate president and maintained that a referendum should be held. Ravalomanana, whose support base lay in the capital, saw no need for delay and was officially sworn in as president on May 6.

      Ravalomanana soon won recognition from the U.S., though not from most other African governments. There were threats of secession from provinces loyal to Ratsiraka, but after France recognized the new president, Ratsiraka suddenly left the island. Though he had won the struggle for power, Ravalomanana continued to be cold-shouldered by most other African states and was not invited to the African Union summit in Durban, S.Af., in July. The political crisis had a negative effect on the economy of a country where some 75% of the population lived below the government's official poverty line and 55% were illiterate. The country owed $4.4 billion by 2002, yet the per capita income was only $250 a year.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2002

Area:

587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

Population

(2001 est.): 15,983,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Didier Ratsiraka, assisted by Prime Minister Tantely Andrianarivo

      At the beginning of May 2001, Pres. Didier Ratsiraka reinstated the country's Senate, which he had suspended after he came to power in 1975. The Senate was inaugurated in new $6 million premises in the centre of the capital, Antananarivo. The 90 senators, one-third of whom were nominated by the president, elected a former director of the civil service as Senate leader. It remained to be seen what role the new body would play in checking executive power, for the president's Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar, with its allies, retained an overwhelming majority in the parliament.Though early results from the presidential election in mid-December suggested that Antananarivo Mayor Marc Ravalomanana had a slight lead over President Ratsiraka, neither had a majority of votes and a second round of elections would be needed in February 2002.

      One of the president's projects aimed at providing as many as possible of the almost 16 million people of the island with glasses to protect them against the solar eclipse in June. A special budget of 23 billion Malagasy francs (about $3.6 million), mostly from foreign donors, was established, for this total was larger than the annual budget for essential medicines.

      Salegy (pronounced sa-leg)—a new Madagascan rhythm that combined tuska, a fast beat from the south of the island, and bassessa, a slow beat from the east—already immensely popular at home, began to sweep round the world in 2001, thanks to Eusebe Jaojoby, its creator. Also bringing Madagascar some international attention during the year was the discovery of the 70-million-year-old remains of several specimens of dinosaurs.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2001

Area:

587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

Population

(2000 est.): 15,506,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Didier Ratsiraka, assisted by Prime Minister Tantely Andrianarivo

      In early 2000 northeastern Madagascar was hard hit by a series of cyclones and tropical storms. As a result of Cyclone Eline and Tropical Storm Gloria in February and Cyclone Hudah in April, more than 100 people were killed, large numbers of people lost their homes, and much agricultural land was destroyed. Tens of thousands moved to the capital, Antananarivo, to join others living on the streets in abject poverty. The storms were also blamed for intensifying a long-running cholera epidemic that had killed more than 1,000. Then in September the south of the island was severely affected by drought, and thousands more died.

      The country's total debt, which had tripled during the past two decades, rose to more than $4 billion in 2000. More than twice as much was spent on debt servicing as on national health and education combined, and more than one-third of the money received in grants was paid back in debt service. The infant mortality rate remained among the highest in the world, and investment in infrastructure was so low that during the rainy season many parts of the country were accessible only by air. Madagascar was supposed to benefit from the international initiatives to relieve the debt burden on Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, but there was little significant relief; in July, however, Germany announced that it was canceling DM 52 million (about $25 million) of the country's outstanding debt.

      In August the first announcement of candidacy was made for the presidential elections scheduled for 2001. In late December, Jean-Eugène Voninahitsy, the vice president of Madagascar's national assembly, was imprisoned for defaming Pres. Didier Ratsiraka, among other charges. Voninahitsy had sharply criticized Ratsiraka for his plan to collect tolls at floating bridges that were used to replace bridges destroyed by the cyclones.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 2000

Area:

587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

Population

(1999 est.): 14,873,000

Capital:

Antananarivo

Chief of state and head of government:

President Didier Ratsiraka, assisted by Prime Minister Tantely Andrianarivo

      Madagascar's ruling party, Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution, was challenged in 1999 by a new grouping of opposition parties, named by the media the new G6 Alliance. The group was united by dislike of the authoritarian style of Pres. Didier Ratsiraka but remained divided on key issues, including economic policy. The economy grew by nearly 3.9% in 1998, and growth promised to be higher in 1999, but the main challenge facing Ratsiraka was to make his country less dependent on international financial organizations. In 1999 it remained wholly dependent on them for new loans. It was one of the conditions of a World Bank structural adjustment credit that Ratsiraka push ahead unpopular policies: privatization, which would cause large-scale job losses; fiscal discipline; and improved tax collection.

      After an International Monetary Fund visit in April 1999, the first installment of a new loan was authorized on the condition that the national carrier Air Madagascar, the telecommunications company Telma, and the oil- and petroleum-derivative conglomerate Solima be privatized. With a debt of over $3.5 billion, the country stood to benefit from the debt write-off authorized by the World Bank in October. By then $1 was worth more than 5,000 Malagasy francs. The World Bank calculated that Madagascar had recorded the fifth lowest rate of economic growth in the world in recent decades and that over 75% of its population was living in poverty.

Christopher Saunders

▪ 1999

      Area: 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

      Population (1998 est.): 14,463,000

      Capital: Antananarivo

      Chief of state and, from July 23, head of government: President Didier Ratsiraka

      Head of government: Prime Ministers Pascal Rakotomavo and, from July 23 in a reduced role, Tantely Andrianarivo

      In April 1998 the High Constitutional Court confirmed the results of a national referendum, held on March 15, in which 50.96% of the voters approved a set of amendments to the constitution. These not only shifted the country from a unitary to a federal system, involving the grant of a large measure of autonomy to the nation's six provinces, but also shifted power from the legislature to the executive branch, reducing the power of the National Assembly and creating a strong presidential regime.

      In the election that followed in mid-May, the party of Pres. Didier Ratsiraka, the Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution (AREMA), gained a more sweeping victory than expected over the main opposition party of former prime minister Norbert Ratsirahonana. Before the election AREMA had held a small minority of seats; afterward it had 63 seats in the 150-seat Assembly. The opposition spoke of fraud but accepted the result. In early July, l8 ministers left the government in an attempt to force Ratsiraka to replace the prime minister. When Prime Minister Pascal Rakotomavo resigned, Ratsiraka became head of government as well as chief of state, with a new prime minister, Tantely Andrianarivo, serving in a subsidiary capacity.

      The country's economic crisis continued, with the International Monetary Fund threatening to withhold aid if the government did not pursue fiscal reforms, such as controlling inflation and improving tax collection. In addition, the World Bank continued to press for the privatization of state-owned enterprises such as Air Madagascar and Telecom Malagasy.

CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS

▪ 1998

      Area: 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi)

      Population (1997 est.): 14,062,000

      Capital: Antananarivo

      Chief of state: Presidents Norbert Ratsirahonana (acting) and, from January 31, Didier Ratsiraka

      Head of government: Prime Ministers Norbert Ratsirahonana and, from February 21, Pascal Rakotomavo

      During the first round of Madagascar's presidential elections, which were held on Nov. 3, 1996, Didier Ratsiraka took the lead with 36.61% of the vote, followed by former president Albert Zafy with 23.39%. The second round was held on December 29. Voter turnout was low in this round, but Ratsiraka secured the necessary majority to win, tallying 50.71% to Zafy's 49.29%, and was formally declared president on Jan. 31, 1997.

      Ratsiraka, a former military leader, had ruled Madagascar for 16 years before his overthrow in 1991. On February 21 Ratsiraka made the surprising appointment of Pascal Rakotomavo, the chief executive of a finance firm, as prime minister. Most observers had expected Norbert Ratsirahonana to remain in that office. In April Rakotomavo named his Cabinet, which included a number of ministers who had served in the outgoing government.

      Legislative elections, which were originally scheduled to be held in August, were pushed back for at least 10 months in order to allow time for the distribution of identity cards to Madagascar's four million eligible voters. In early May the government passed a law that required citizens to possess the cards in order to register to vote and participate in elections.

      The delay, which allowed 138 members of the National Assembly to continue in office well past the expiration of their mandate, angered opposition leaders. Zafy accused the government of acting in "flagrant violation of the constitution" and called in vain for Ratsiraka to step down.

      Swarms of locusts caused major damage in Madagascar in 1997. Crops, including rice plantations, were destroyed after locusts overran several districts on the island. Bush fires used to ward off the locusts were also responsible for destroying vegetation. The Agriculture Ministry assured residents that it would eradicate all of the swarms by October.

GUY ARNOLD

▪ 1997

      The republic of Madagascar occupies the island of the same name and minor adjacent islands in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. Area: 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi). Pop. (1996 est.): 13,671,000. Cap.: Antananarivo. Monetary unit: Malagasy franc, with (Oct. 11, 1996) a free rate of FMG 3,950 to U.S. $1 (FMG 6,222 = £1 sterling). Presidents in 1996, Albert Zafy and, from September 5 (acting), Norbert Ratsirahonana; prime ministers, Emmanuel Rakotovahiny and, from May 28, Norbert Ratsirahonana.

      On May 20, 1996, Prime Minister Emmanuel Rakotovahiny resigned following a motion of censure in the National Assembly. The motion appeared to be a consequence of comments made by International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Michel Camdessus while visiting Madagascar; he said the IMF would not reach an agreement with the existing government, which, he claimed, lacked cohesion and would not be fully committed to implementing an IMF program. Pres. Albert Zafy then appointed Norbert Ratsirahonana, the president of the Constitutional High Court, prime minister.

      In late July the National Assembly voted to begin impeachment proceedings against President Zafy, whom it accused of violating the constitution. Zafy announced that he would step down on September 5, although he insisted he had done nothing wrong. After two rounds of elections for a new president, Didier Ratsiraka, a former military ruler, held a narrow lead.

      (GUY ARNOLD)

▪ 1996

      The republic of Madagascar occupies the island of the same name and minor adjacent islands in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. Area: 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi). Pop. (1995 est.): 14,763,000. Cap.: Antananarivo. Monetary unit: Malagasy franc, with (Oct. 6, 1995) a free rate of FMG 3,300 to U.S. $1 (FMG 5,217 = £1 sterling). President in 1995, Albert Zafy; prime ministers, Francisque Ravony and, from October 30, Emmanuel Rakotovahiny.

      The need to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) so that the government could carry out its promise to tackle the economy led to demonstrations against Pres. Albert Zafy at the end of 1994. The opposition Movement for Proletarian Power called for the dismissal of Zafy as well as of the National Assembly president and the prime minister. The National Assembly president, Richard Andriamanjato, was accused of making "shady financial agreements" with the president, while Zafy himself was accused of overstepping his "constitutional powers."

      On January 11 the governor of the central bank was dismissed following demands for his departure by the IMF and the World Bank, which accused him of various questionable financial deals. The minister of finance, José Yvon Raserijaona, also resigned. Prime Minister Francisque Ravony took over the Finance portfolio and stated his belief that negotiations with the IMF and World Bank could continue.

      In August, following six weeks of political deadlock after the failure of a no-confidence motion against the prime minister by supporters of the president, an agreement between Zafy and Ravony was reached. Zafy accepted a new government in which his opponents would be in a majority. A referendum in September increased the president's powers, notably to dismiss and appoint the prime minister. Ravony resigned on October 13, and Zafy appointed the agriculture minister, Emmanuel Rakotovahiny, on October 30. Rakotovahiny named his new government on November 10.

      The death in January of British environmentalist Andrew Lees, who was campaigning to prevent the multinational mining firm RTZ from opening up the southern coastline near Tolanaro to mine titanium dioxide, highlighted the conflict between environmental preservation and mining development, since the operation would lead to the destruction of unique fauna and flora. (GUY ARNOLD)

▪ 1995

      The republic of Madagascar occupies the island of the same name and minor adjacent islands in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa. Area: 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 13,702,000. Cap.: Antananarivo. Monetary unit: Malagasy franc, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a free rate of FMG 3,343 to U.S. $1 (FMG 5,317 = £1 sterling). President in 1994, Albert Zafy; prime minister, Francisque Ravony.

      In March 1994 the Council of Ministers introduced a set of austerity measures to deal with Madagascar's deteriorating economic situation. On March 13 Pres. Albert Zafy informed the ministers that the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank demanded a wage freeze and a reduction in the size of the civil service. At the same time, as an austerity gesture, the ministers reduced their own salaries by 10%.

      The state of the Madagascan economy—or its level of development—could be judged by a comparison of a series of figures over a 20-year period. Thus, between 1976 and 1992 the per capita income increased only from $200 to $230. In 1975 average life expectancy stood at 48, and in 1990 it had increased only to 55. Figures for adult literacy showed a better achievement, from 50% in 1970 to 80% in 1990. In what represented an absolute decline in basic welfare, however, the daily calorie supply as a percentage of requirements was 108% in 1964-66 but had dropped to 95% for 1988-90.

      The new government expressed its desire to tackle economic development, and there were welcome signs that it was prepared to do so without reference to doctrine. At the same time, the country remained overwhelmingly dependent upon agriculture, which employed 78% of the workforce and accounted for most exports. The manufacturing sector, on the other hand, accounted for less than 12% of gross domestic product.

      On January 27 Israel restored diplomatic relations with Madagascar. At the end of 1993 Madagascar was admitted to membership in the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and Southern African States (PTA); 15 countries (of 16 present), including Madagascar, signed an agreement to establish the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). (GUY ARNOLD)

▪ 1994

      The republic of Madagascar occupies the island of the same name and minor adjacent islands in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa. Area: 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi). Pop. (1993 est.): 13,255,000. Cap.: Antananarivo. Monetary unit: Malagasy franc, with (Oct. 4, 1993) a free rate of FMG 1,824 to U.S. $1 (FMG 2,764 = £1 sterling). Presidents in 1993, Didier Ratsiraka and, from March 9, Albert Zafy; prime ministers, Guy Razanamasy and, from August 9, Francisque Ravony.

      Barely failing to obtain an overall majority in the first round of Madagascar's presidential elections in November 1992, Albert Zafy won convincingly in the runoff on Feb. 10, 1993, over incumbent Didier Ratsiraka; he took 66.62% of the votes cast. His victory had been assured in January when Francisque Ravony, the first deputy prime minister, deserted Ratsiraka, launched the Committee for the Support of Democracy and Development in Madagascar, and spearheaded the campaign to elect Zafy. The election brought an end to Ratsiraka's 17-year period of rule after a long struggle with Zafy's Committee of Active Forces.

      The newly elected president pledged his readiness to maintain the unitary constitution, which had been approved by referendum in 1992. In accordance with the constitution, President Zafy resigned his post as chairman of the National Union for Democracy and Development in May. A month later the Committee of Active Forces had an easy win in the elections for the legislature, although there was considerable violence at the polls and 30-40% abstention by voters. Ravony was elected prime minister on August 9, and he announced his Cabinet appointments on August 27.

      In a fresh approach to foreign affairs, President Zafy in April announced the recognition of Israel, South Africa, and South Korea. Under Ratsiraka's Marxist regime, Madagascar had withdrawn from the franc zone and turned for economic investment to the Eastern bloc (although without much success). The quality of life in Madagascar generally had deteriorated following the withdrawal from its affairs of the World Bank, the IMF, and France. (GUY ARNOLD)

* * *

Introduction

Madagascar, flag of   island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. Although located some 250 miles (400 km) from the African continent, Madagascar's population is primarily related not to African peoples but rather to those of Indonesia, more than 3,000 miles (4,800 km) to the east. The Malagasy peoples, moreover, do not consider themselves to be Africans, but, because of the continuing bond with France that resulted from former colonial rule, the island developed political, economic, and cultural links with the French-speaking countries of western Africa. The animal life and vegetation of the island are equally anomalous, differing greatly from that of nearby Africa and being in many respects unique. Although the coastlands have been known to Europeans for more than 400 years and to Arabs for much longer, recent historical development has been more intense and concentrated in the central plateau, which contains the capital city of Antananarivo (formerly Tananarive).

Aidan William Southall

Land (Madagascar)

 Madagascar is located in the southwestern Indian Ocean and is separated from the African coast by the 250-mile- (400-km-) wide Mozambique Channel.

Relief

      Madagascar consists of three parallel longitudinal zones—the central plateau, the coastal strip in the east, and the zone of low plateaus and plains in the west.

      Situated between 2,500 and 4,500 feet (800 and 1,400 metres) above sea level, the plateau has been uplifted and worn down several times and is tilted to the west. Three massifs are more than 8,500 feet (2,600 metres) high. The Tsaratanana region in the north is separated from the rest of the plateau by the Tsaratanana Massif, whose summit, Maromokotro, reaches 9,436 feet (2,876 metres) and is the highest point on the island. Ankaratra Massif (Ankaratra) in the centre is an enormous volcanic mass whose summit, Tsiafajavona, is 8,671 feet (2,643 metres) high. Ankaratra is a major watershed divide separating three main river basins. Farther south, Andringitra is a vast granite massif north of Tôlaaro (Faradofay); it rises to 8,720 feet (2,658 metres) at Boby Peak.

      The plateau slopes with some regularity toward the extreme southern plain, but its boundaries to the east and west are more abrupt. To the east it descends in a sharp fault, by vertical steps of 1,000 to 2,000 feet (300 to 600 metres). This cliff, which is called the Great Cliff or the Cliff of Angavo, is often impassable and is itself bordered by the Betsimisaraka Escarpment, a second and lower cliff to the east, which overhangs the coastal plain. Behind the scarp face are the remains of ancient lakes, including one called Alaotra. To the south the two steep gradients meet and form the Mahafaly and the Androy plateaus, which overhang the sea in precipitous cliffs. Toward the west the descent is made in a series of steps. However, in places the central plateau is bordered by an impassable escarpment, such as the Cliff of Bongolava in the west-central part of the island. To the extreme north the plateau is bordered by the low belt of the Ambohitra Mountains, which include a series of volcanic craters.

      The coastal strip has an average width of about 30 miles (50 km). It is a narrow alluvial plain that terminates in a low coastline bordered with lagoons linked together by the Pangalanes (Ampangalana) Canal, which is more than 370 miles (600 km) long. To the south of Farafangana the coast becomes rocky, and in the southeast there occur many little bays. To the northeast is the deep Bay of Antongil (Antongila).

 The western zone is between 60 and 125 miles (100 and 200 km) wide. Its sedimentary layers slope toward the Mozambique Channel and produce a succession of hills. The inland (eastern) side of these steep hills dominates the hollows formed in the soft sediments of the interior, while the other side descends to the sea in rocky slopes. The coastline is straight, bordered by small dunes and fringed with mangroves. The currents in the Mozambique Channel have favoured the offshore deposit of alluvium and the growth of river deltas. On the northwestern coast there are a number of estuaries and bays. This coast is bordered by coral reefs and volcanic islands, such as Nosy Be (Nossi-Bé), which protects Ampasindava Bay.

Jean Dresch

Drainage

      The steep eastern face of the plateau is drained by numerous short, torrential rivers, such as the Mandrare, the Mananara, the Faraony, the Ivondro, and the Maningory, which discharge either into the coastal lagoons or directly into the sea over waterfalls and rapids. The more gently sloping western side of the plateau is crossed by longer and larger rivers, including the Onilahy, the Mangoky, the Tsiribihina, and the Betsiboka, which bring huge deposits of fertile alluvium down into the vast plains and many-channeled estuaries; the river mouths, while not completely blocked by this sediment, are studded with numerous sandbanks.

      There are many lakes of volcanic origin on the island, such as Lake Itasy. Alaotra is the last surviving lake of the eastern slope. Lake Tsimanampetsotsa, near the coast south of Toliara (formerly Tuléar), is a large body of saline water that has no outlet.

Soils

      The central plateau and the eastern coast are mainly composed of gneiss, granite, quartz, and other crystalline rock formations. The gneiss decomposes into red murrum, laterite, and deeper and more fertile red earths, giving Madagascar its colloquial name the Great Red Island. Fertile alluvial soils in the valleys support intensive cultivation. There also are scattered volcanic intrusions that produce fertile but easily erodible soils. Lake Alaotra is a large sedimentary pocket in the central plateau containing some of the island's most productive farmland. The western third of the island consists entirely of deposits of sedimentary rock, giving rise to soils of medium to low fertility.

Climate

      The hot, wet season extends from November to April and the cooler, drier season from May to October. The climate is governed by the combined effects of the moisture-bearing southeast trade and northwest monsoon winds as they blow across the central plateau. The trade winds, which blow throughout the year, are strongest from May to October. The east coast is to the windward and has a high annual rate of precipitation, reaching nearly 150 inches (3,800 mm) at Maroantsetra on the Bay of Antongil. As the winds cross the plateau, they lose much of their humidity, causing only drizzle and mists on the plateau itself and leaving the west in a dry rain shadow. The southwest in particular is almost desert, with the dryness aggravated by a cold offshore current.

      The monsoon, bringing rain to the northwest coast of Madagascar and the plateau, is most noticeable during the hot, humid season. The wind blows obliquely onto the west coast, which receives a moderate amount of precipitation annually; the southwest, which is protected, remains arid. Annual precipitation drops from about 80 inches (about 2,000 mm) on the northwestern island of Nosy Be to about 40 inches (1,000 mm) at Maintirano on the west coast to about 14 inches (360 mm) at Toliara in the southwest. The plateau receives moderate levels of precipitation, with about 50 inches (1,200 mm) falling annually at both Antananarivo and Fianarantsoa, which lies about 200 miles (320 km) farther south.

      July is the coolest month, with mean monthly temperatures around the island ranging from the low 50s F (low 10s C) to the high 70s F (mid-20s C), and December is the hottest month, with temperatures between the low 60s and mid-80s F (mid 10s and high 20s C). Temperatures generally decrease with elevation, being highest on the northwest coast and lowest on the plateau.

      Tropical cyclones are an important climatic feature. They form far out over the Indian Ocean, especially from December to March, and approach the eastern coast, bringing torrential rains and destructive floods.

Plant and animal life

  Much of the island was once covered with evergreen and deciduous forest, but little now remains except on the eastern escarpment and in scattered pockets in the west. The plateau is particularly denuded and suffers seriously from erosion. The forest has been cut in order to clear rice fields, to obtain fuel and building materials, and to export valuable timber such as ebony, rosewood, and sandalwood. About seven-eighths of the island is covered with prairie grasses and bamboo or small thin trees. There also are screw pines, palms, and reeds on the coasts. In the arid south of the island grow thorn trees, giant cacti, dwarf baobab trees, pachypodium succulents, and other xerophytes (xerophyte) (drought-resistant plants) that are peculiar to the island.

   Because of the island's isolation, many zoologically primitive primates have survived and evolved into unique forms. About 40 species of lemurs (lemur) are indigenous to Madagascar. Several unique hedgehoglike insectivores, such as the tenrec, have evolved there, and there are also many kinds of chameleons of varying size. Birds are numerous and include guinea fowl, partridges, pigeons, herons, ibis, flamingos, egrets, cuckoos, Asian robins, and several kinds of birds of prey. There are about 800 species of butterflies, many moths, and a variety of spiders. The only large or dangerous animals are the crocodiles, which occupy the rivers. The snakes, including the do, which is 10 to 13 feet (3 to 4 metres) in length, are harmless.

 Inland waters contain tilapia (an edible perchlike fish), rainbow trout, and black bass. Marine fish and crustaceans abound on the coasts and in the lagoons, estuaries, and even in some upland streams. They include groupers, giltheads, tuna, sharks, sardines, whitings, crayfish, crabs, shrimps, mussels, and oysters. The coelacanth, referred to as a living fossil and once thought extinct for millions of years, inhabits offshore waters.

Aidan William Southall

People (Madagascar)

      Madagascar has been inhabited by human beings for the relatively short period of about 1,300 years. Language and culture point unequivocally to Indonesian origins, but there is no empirical evidence of how, why, or by what route the first settlers came to the island. Although studies of the winds and currents of the Indian Ocean indicate that the voyage from Indonesia could have been made, there is considerable controversy about the nature of the journey. Some scholars argue that the first settlers came directly from Indonesia, possibly in a single voyage, and that the African elements found in the population and its culture were added later, as the result of migration and the slave trade. Others suggest that the peopling of the island was the result of several voyages that proceeded along the coast of India, the Arabian Peninsula, and Africa and that the population that settled the island was already mixed.

      There is also widespread evidence—from linguistics, archaeology, and tradition—of influence from Afro-Arab settlers on the coasts before 1000 CE. There is slighter evidence of an Indian influence in vocabulary, but there is no trace of Hinduism in Malagasy culture. Evidence of Sunni (Sunnite) Islam appears only in later coastal settlements.

Ethnic groups

      More than nine-tenths of the population is Malagasy, which is divided into about 20 ethnic groups. The largest and most dominant of the groups is the Merina people, who are scattered throughout the island. The name Merina (Imerina) is said to mean Elevated People, deriving from the fact that they lived on the plateau. The second largest group is the Betsimisaraka (The Inseparable Multitude), who live generally in the east. The third most numerous group is the Betsileo (The Invincible Multitude), who inhabit the plateau around Fianarantsoa. Other important peoples are the Tsimihety (Those Who Do Not Cut Their Hair), the Sakalava (People of the Long Valley), the Antandroy (People of the Thorn Bush), the Tanala (People of the Forest), the Antaimoro (People of the Banks), and the Bara (a name of uncertain origin). Smaller groups are the Antanosy (People of the Island), the Antaifasy (People of the Sand), the Sihanaka (People of the Lake), the Antakarana (People of the Rocks), the Betanimena (People of the Red Soil), who are now largely absorbed by the Merina, the Bezanozano (Those with Many-Braided Hair), and the Mahafaly (Those Who Make Taboos). These ethnic names do not stand for clear-cut cultural boundaries, for in many cases one group shades imperceptibly into another. Moreover, the conventional translations are by no means reliable, and most of the names themselves are of somewhat recent origin, probably crystallized and rigidified by the exigencies of colonial administration more than by the realities of indigenous culture. In many cases these people represent endogamous (endogamy) and often non-unilinear descent groups.

Languages

 Most inhabitants of Madagascar speak Malagasy (Malagasy languages), the national language. Although Madagascar is located geographically close to Bantu (Bantu languages)-speaking Africa, Malagasy—which is written in the Latin alphabet—is a standardized version of Merina, an Austronesian language (Austronesian languages). Nevertheless, there are a number of Bantu words in the language, as well as some phonetic and grammatical modifiers of Bantu origin. There exist numerous local variations of Malagasy, all of which are mutually intelligible, and Bantu elements, which exist in every dialect, appear to have been established for some time. French (French language) is also widely spoken and is officially recognized. It is used as a medium of instruction, especially in the upper grade levels, as is Malagasy. English (English language), although not widely spoken, is also recognized as an official language. Comorian is spoken among a sizable community of immigrants from Comoros.

Religion

      Some two-fifths of the population practice traditional religion, which is based upon ancestor worship. The dead are buried in tombs and are believed to reward or punish the living. There is a supreme being called Zanahary (the Creator) or Andriamanitra (the Fragrant One). There is also a belief in local spirits, and a complex system of taboos constrains traditional Malagasy life.

      Almost half of the population is Christian (Christianity), with more than one-fourth of the population adherent to Protestantism (Protestant Heritage) and about one-fifth to Roman Catholicism. Conversion to Christianity has not eliminated the observation of traditional religious rites, however, particularly those involving the dead. A significant community of Sunni Muslims is found in the northwest.

Settlement patterns

 Despite the importance of intensive rice cultivation, the land is used primarily for pastoral purposes. Cattle are kept in all parts of the island; although fewer are found in the dense forest areas of the eastern escarpment, elsewhere pastoralism predominates, most often in coexistence with the cultivation of subsistence crops. On the plateau the valley floors and irrigable slopes are mainly used for growing rice. The forest peoples traditionally grew hill rice, after cutting and burning the forest; this practice continues, although it is discouraged by the government, which promotes the establishment of permanent irrigated rice fields.

      The older villages of the Merina and Betsileo were often perched on hilltops and defended by huge ditches. Today, villages have been rebuilt on lower ground, and hamlets and homesteads are scattered over the landscape. On the plateau, cattle enclosures are built of stone walls; the landscape is also dotted with funerary monuments, which take the form of beautifully carved wooden posts.

  Small towns began to develop at the administrative centres of the island's several kingdoms at least by the 18th century. Antananarivo, Fianarantsoa, and Toamasina, three of Madagascar's oldest cities, predate French rule. The most populous cities are Antananarivo, in the central plateau; Mahajanga (formerly Majunga), on the northwest coast; Fianarantsoa, in the southern plateau; Toamasina (formerly Tamatave), on the east coast; Antsiranana, in the north; Toliara, in the southwest; and Antsirabe, south of Antananarivo, mainly a tourist centre. Antananarivo is by far the most populous of these; perched on two precipitous mountain ridges, the old part of the city is dominated by the ruins of the Queen's Palace (Manjakamiadana) and has an extremely picturesque, almost medieval appearance. Owing to internal migration, most cities are composed of a mixture of ethnic groups, although people from the same areas of the island tend to settle in the same neighbourhoods; immigrants, such as those from Comoros, follow a similar pattern.

Demographic trends

      The major foreign communities are French, Comorian, Indian and Pakistani, and Chinese, although emigration in the late 20th century has significantly reduced their populations. There has been no significant emigration of Malagasy peoples abroad.

      Births greatly outnumber deaths and are well above the world average. The population is growing at a relatively rapid rate, and more than two-fifths of the population is under age 15, portending continued high growth rates well into the 21st century. Life expectancy for both men and women in Madagascar is below the world average.

      The eastern part of the central plateau is the region of highest population density and contains almost all the major cities and towns. The eastern coastal plain has the second highest density. The eastern forest zone and the northeastern coast rank as the next most densely populated regions. Most of the western two-thirds of the country is sparsely inhabited.

Social and economic divisions

      Malagasy society was traditionally divided into three heredity-based classes—the nobles (aristocracy), the freemen, and the former slaves (slavery) and their descendants. These social distinctions are no longer strict and are manifest only on ceremonial occasions, such as weddings and funerals. They do, however, form the basis of other economic and social distinctions. During the 19th century the Merina elite conquered the island, established themselves as rulers, and adopted Protestant Christianity; in the late 1800s some became Roman Catholics. Under French rule in the 20th century, the Merina retained their supremacy in education, business, and the professions, while the remainder of the population retained its sense of “difference” from the dominant peoples, and some adopted Roman Catholicism.

      A further distinction is made between the peoples of the plateau and those of the coast. The coastal peoples, who are called côtiers, long felt deprived of the education, power, and wealth that is concentrated on the plateau. Since independence the government has been composed primarily of côtiers, and a conscious effort has been made to keep the Merina elite of the plateau from power. One of the difficulties of the government of Pres. Albert Zafy (1993–96) was that it was dominated by Merina, thereby tipping the delicate balance established under previous regimes. The move toward federalism, begun with the constitutional revision of 1998, was in part the result of the desire to reduce the powers of the central government, should this situation arise again.

Economy

      Before 1972 the government had established producers' cooperatives, which collected and processed most of the rice crop (at prices that were bitterly resented by the peasants); state farms, intended to increase the commercial production of rice, cattle, coffee, oil palm, cotton, and silk; a rural development program; and a national consumers' cooperative with retail shops located in most towns.

      The control of Madagascar's economy by France, which had received nearly half of the island's exports and supplied more than half of its imports, ended with the changes in government that occurred during the turbulent years of 1972–75. Whereas currency, banking, finance, loans, and economic planning had been influenced by accords with France and by French personnel in government, commerce, and technical assistance, the emergent military regime replaced the already constrained free-trade economy with one whose goal was to achieve “a socialist paradise under divine protection” by the year 2000. Nationalization made state corporations out of foreign firms, transforming the five French banks into three state banks for agriculture, industry, and trade. In addition, foreign insurance companies were converted into two state insurance corporations, and state monopolies were formed for import-export trading and shipping and for the textile, cotton, and power industries, as well as for the new agencies created for the extension of irrigation.

      The economy responded with a relentless decline. Exports fell, inflation rose, and debt was significantly expanded. Debt services took more than half of the country's export earnings, and imports nearly ceased for lack of foreign exchange. Industrial production fell to a quarter of the 1975 level, and foreign investment declined to almost nothing, while devaluation deeply reduced the value of the Malagasy franc. Under these adverse conditions the country's infrastructure and social services deteriorated greatly. The rural population was reduced to subsistence levels, bartering with cattle and bags of paddy. Bankrupt by 1982, the country was forced to adopt a program of structural adjustment imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and face a humiliating turnabout to re-liberalize the economy. Abolition of the state monopolies was accepted, and any state enterprise that could not pay its way was threatened with privatization. Private business took years to regain any confidence, however.

      The relationship with the IMF and the World Bank continued to be crucial to the Malagasy economy and important in its politics. Although Pres. Didier Ratsiraka (1976–93, 1997–2002) agreed to begin the process of privatization of state-controlled industries and enterprises in the 1980s, he did so slowly, and often to the benefit of those with political connections. Relations with the international financial institutions became even more difficult in the period immediately before and during Zafy's period in office. Aid had been suspended in 1991, and, unwilling or unable to accept the IMF's conditions for the resumption of aid, Zafy unsuccessfully sought private sources of investment. Zafy's impeachment in 1996 led to the creation of an interim government that was able to reach agreement with the IMF, and the subsequent return of Ratsiraka, newly converted to the free market, was greeted with satisfaction. Programs initiated under the presidency of Marc Ravalomanana were also well received, and in 2004 the IMF and World Bank announced that about half of Madagascar's debt was to be written off.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

  rice occupies the largest share of total crop acreage. Many varieties of dry, wet, and irrigated rice are grown in the central plateau; dry rice is also grown in the eastern forests and wet rice in the lower river valleys and along the estuaries, mainly by populations who migrated from overpopulated parts of the plateau. Costly imports are still required.

      Slash-and-burn (slash-and-burn agriculture) techniques are used in the escarpment forest and along the east coast for temporary clearance of land for agriculture. In the river valleys of the west, cultivation is permanent; irrigation techniques are heavily utilized.

      Sugarcane is grown on plantations in the northwest, around Mahajanga, and on the east coast near Toamasina. Cassava (manioc) is a staple grown all over the island, and potatoes and yams are cultivated mainly in the highland region of Ankaratra. Bananas are produced commercially on the east coast, and corn (maize) is grown mainly on the central plateau, in the south, and in the west. Fruits grown include apples, grapefruits, avocados, plums, grapes, oranges, litchis, pineapples, guavas, papayas, passion fruits, and bananas. Robusta coffee is grown on the east coast and arabica coffee on the plateau. Other significant crops are beans, peanuts (groundnuts), pois du cap (lima beans), coconuts, pepper, vanilla, cacao, sisal, raffia, tobacco, copra, cotton, and castor beans.

  cattle (mainly zebu (Brahman)) are distributed throughout the island. Large numbers of pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys are found mainly on the plateau. The accumulation of cattle as a sign of wealth and for use in religious sacrifice has frustrated government efforts to increase the use of cattle for domestic meat consumption and for export.

 A significant area of the forest is degraded (i.e., regenerated after repeated burnings, with many original species lost and replaced by more-ubiquitous vegetation); the rest is wet or dry tropical forest. Major reforestation efforts have been undertaken, but, with more than four-fifths of domestic fuel needs supplied by wood and charcoal, the country's total forested area continues to decline drastically.

      Madagascar's waters are rich in marine wildlife, including a variety of fish, shellfish, and crustaceans. The country's industrialized fisheries sector has experienced great expansion, and the export of shrimp and prawns in particular provides a significant source of revenue. Illegal fishing remains problematic, however, and Madagascar largely lacks the resources to combat the issue. Overfishing also threatens the sector, although fish farming—especially along the western coast—has been increasingly developed as an alternative. There is considerable raising of fish in the irrigated rice fields, mainly for home consumption.

Resources and power

      Considerable small-scale gold mining was conducted toward the end of the 19th century, by both French and Malagasy prospectors; those who hoped to discover precious metals in large quantities there, however, were largely disappointed. There is a wide variety of gems and semiprecious stones, including garnet, amethyst, tourmaline, and beryl, and the discovery of sapphires (sapphire) in Madagascar in the late 1990s was especially significant: by the beginning of the 21st century, about half of the world's sapphires were mined in Madagascar.

 Mineral deposits include chromite, which is found north of Antananarivo and in the southeast at Ranomena; ilmenite ( titanium ore), found on the southeast coast at Tôlaaro, a source thought to represent one of the world's largest reserves of titanium; low-grade iron ore, found in scattered deposits in the southern half of the island; and low-grade coal, north of Toliara and inland from Besalampy. Nickel and cobalt are mined at Toamasina; the mine, opened in 2007, is among the largest in the world. Nickel is also extracted near Fianarantsoa. Copper is mined north of Ampanihy and near Ambilobe. Madagascar also contains smaller deposits of zircon, monazite, bauxite, lead, graphite, quartzite, jasper, gold, uranothorianite, bentonite, kaolin, columbite, and alunite.

      Although there are many narrow valleys and magnificent waterfalls, especially on the eastern escarpment, only a small number of them have been harnessed for electric power generation. Hydroelectric power stations provide more than two-thirds of the country's electricity requirements; the remainder is supplied by coal-burning thermal stations. Many mines and factories also generate their own electricity with diesel- or steam-powered generators. Bituminous shales have been discovered at Bemolanga, oil at Tsimiroro, and natural gas off the coast of Morondava.

Manufacturing

      The country's manufacturing industry processes products such as textiles and footwear, wood, paper pulp, fertilizer, oils, soap, sugar, cigarettes and tobacco, beer, cement, and foods and beverages. Industrial centres are located mainly in and around Antananarivo, Antsirabe, and Toamasina. Merina jewelers polish and set semiprecious stones at small workshops in most of the towns of the plateau.

Finance

      The official currency is the ariary, which replaced the Malagasy franc in 2003. Prior to that, the Malagasy franc had replaced the CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine) franc in 1963, and Madagascar was a member of the Franc Zone until 1973. The Central Bank issues all currency.

Trade and services

      Export revenue is derived chiefly from clothing and textiles, vanilla, cloves, fish and shellfish, and various food products. Some agricultural exports, particularly cloves and vanilla, have been threatened by world overproduction or by the manufacture of synthetic substitutes. Imports include crude petroleum, chemical and metal products, machinery and equipment, vehicles, cotton textiles and other basic manufactures, and essential foods and live animals. Although trade with France fell sharply after 1972, France remains Madagascar's main trading partner. Other important trading partners include the United States, Germany, Japan, and Italy.

      Madagascar's unique biodiversity and rich cultural heritage have the potential to form the foundation of a thriving tourism industry. In the late 1980s the Malagasy government introduced a program designed to encourage tourism to the country, and progress has been made, with tourist arrivals to Madagascar—though interrupted by the political conflict of the 2001 election—on the increase.

Labour and taxation

      Most union members hold office jobs or work in industry. Popular and extensive trade unions include the Fédération des Syndicats des Travailleurs de Madagascar, the Sendika Kristianina Malagasy (Christian Confederation of Malagasy Trade Unions), and the Union des Syndicats Autonomes de Madagascar.

      Tax revenue is derived mainly from trade taxes, taxes on domestic goods and services, and tax applied to corporate income and profit; income derived from property tax is the least significant. Tax collection and revenue are generally quite centralized, and tax evasion remains a significant problem in Madagascar. At the beginning of the 21st century, the proportion of Madagascar's income derived from tax revenue was quite low, and increasing revenue in order to reduce Madagascar's ongoing dependence on aid remained an important goal.

Transportation and telecommunications

      Transport facilities serve primarily the plateau and the east coast. Facilities are less developed on the western half of the island, although the country's best natural harbours are located there.

      The majority of roads are unpaved. Roads down the eastern escarpment and across the western coastal strip, as well as minor roads everywhere, become impassable during the wet season. The main paved road runs south from Antananarivo to Fianarantsoa, where branches include those that head southwest to Toliara, southeast to Tôlaaro via Ihosy, and east to Mananjary and Manakara. There are also paved roads that run east from Antananarivo toward Toamasina, west to Analavory, and north to Mahajanga and Antsiranana (Antsiraana).

      Railways include those connecting the plateau with the east coast, which run from Antananarivo to Toamasina and from Fianarantsoa to Manakara; plateau routes include those that run from Antananarivo south to Antsirabe, to Fianarantsoa, and north to Ambatondrazaka.

 Two main ports are located at Toamasina, which has a fine deepwater harbour equipped with quay berths and directly linked to Antananarivo by rail, air service, and road, and at Mahajanga, which is second in importance. The port at Toamasina has been badly damaged on several occasions by the cyclones that intermittently strike the island.

      Although remote from the main centres of economic activity, the harbour at Antsiranana is one of the finest natural harbours in the world; it contains the former French naval base, arsenal, and dry dock and also has a small commercial port. The coastal lagoons and swamps of the Pangalanes Canal on the east coast, which are linked by artificial channels where necessary, provide a waterway that is more than 370 miles (600 km) long.

      Numerous airfields are found throughout the island, aiding domestic travel across the sizable and difficult landscape. The main international airport is at Ivato, near Antananarivo, and some international flights make secondary landings at Toamasina, Nosy Be, and Mahajanga. Air Madagascar provides domestic and international service, as do other airlines.

      Although Madagascar's telephone service is considered to be better than the regional average, overall only a small proportion of Malagasy have access to landline or mobile telephone service. Internet access is mainly limited to urban areas.

Government and society

Constitutional framework

      The Malagasy Republic became independent in 1960, after a brief period as an autonomous republic in the French Community from 1958. Between 1972 and 1975 Madagascar was under military rule. Socialist political and economic reorganization was instituted in 1975, and a new constitution was implemented later that year for the renamed Democratic Republic of Madagascar. The public grew increasingly dissatisfied with the political and economic conditions of the country, and by the early 1990s the demand for change led to a gradual transition to democracy and a free market economy. In 1992 the country adopted a new name, the Republic of Madagascar, along with a new constitution that underwent subsequent revision.

      Madagascar's current constitution provides for a president as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. The president is elected by popular vote to no more than three five-year terms. He appoints the prime minister and then appoints members of the Council of Ministers with the prime minister's recommendations. The legislative branch is bicameral and consists of the National Assembly and the Senate. The members of the National Assembly are directly elected to five-year terms, while the members of the Senate—some who are presidential appointments, others who are elected by local officials—all serve six-year terms.

Local government

      Madagascar is divided into provinces, which are further divided into regions and communes. Each province is administered by a governor and a provincial council.

Justice

      The former Merina state that ruled the island throughout the 19th century had an elaborate system of laws, courts, and justice. The present legal system, however, is based upon French codes and practices. There is a Constitutional High Court, a High Court of Justice, a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeal, criminal tribunals, and tribunals of first instance.

Security

      The army played no direct political role in Madagascar until 1972, although the presence of French army units had bolstered the former government. The French troops were withdrawn in 1973, and the French naval base at Antsiranana was handed over to Madagascar in 1975. The Malagasy armed forces consist of an army, a navy, and an air force. There is also a large paramilitary force, as well as a secret police. Detachments of local police are stationed at the headquarters of each administrative division, as well as in Antananarivo. The whole force is under unified command and falls within the responsibility of the ministry of the interior.

Health and welfare

      The majority of Malagasy citizens live in rural areas. Conditions of life vary greatly from region to region; some regions, especially those where cash crops are grown, are relatively prosperous and well-linked with the cities, while others—particularly those in the south—are isolated and subject to periodic famine. All regions are dependent on agriculture, and the eastern regions suffer frequently from the devastating cyclones that are a feature of the Malagasy climate. Rural areas generally lack many of the amenities that are available to even the urban poor, including access to electricity, running water, and safe drinking water.

      Although infant mortality remains significantly higher than the world average, infant deaths from malaria, which is endemic all over the island, have been much reduced. Debilitating parasitic diseases, such as schistosomiasis, an infection of the bladder or intestines, remain serious and are hard to control, since the parasites' breeding grounds are the irrigated rice fields and the streams that feed them. Sexually transmitted diseases are also widespread, although Madagascar has one of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

      Malagasy doctors began to practice Western medicine in the late 19th century, and a medical school was established in Antananarivo in 1897. The health system includes principal and secondary hospitals, dispensaries, and medical centres. Medical personnel include doctors as well as pharmacists, dentists, midwives, social assistants, visiting nurses, and health assistants. However, there is a significantly imbalanced patient-to-doctor ratio, in part because many of those graduating with health care-related degrees from Malagasy institutions have been drawn to other sectors or to more lucrative positions abroad. Furthermore, hospitals and specialists are located mainly in the towns, with the exception of some rural hospitals run by Christian missions, and it is difficult for many Malagasy citizens to access health care facilities. Health insurance and other social benefits are available mainly to better-paid workers and professionals among the employed population.

Housing

 Houses are typically rectangular and crowned with steeply angled roofs. In the rural areas, most houses are made of either mud and wattle or woven matting supported by poles. In the eastern forest, they are built of interlaced split bamboo and are thatched with palm. In the south, overlapping upright wooden planks are used for walls. On the plateau, rural housing is constructed of earth blocks and thatched roofing, while upper-income and most urban housing consists of two- or three-story homes—typically with the kitchen at the top, living quarters in the middle, and storage below—all surrounded by wide balconies supported by brick columns and crowned with steep tiled roofs. This is the lofty Indonesian style of architecture, transformed by new techniques contributed by the missionaries. The original style survives in the house of King Andrianampoinimerina (reigned 1787–1810) at Ambohimanga and reached its pinnacle in the Queen's Palace built by Jean Laborde in the 19th century; the palace was destroyed by fire in 1995.

      The government-sponsored housing authority conducts research into design, materials, and production methods and is seeking to promote inexpensive urban housing, but the problem of overcrowding is expected to increase with continued urban growth.

Education

      The educational system consists of primary and secondary schools, technical institutes, teacher-training colleges, and a university system. Education is compulsory between ages 6 and 13. Primary education, which is free, begins at age six and consists of five years of study. Secondary education consists of a four-year cycle of study, followed by a three-year cycle. Universities in Madagascar include the University of Antananarivo (1961), the University of Mahajanga (1977), and the University of Fianarantsoa (1988). There has been an increased use of the Malagasy language in teaching, although some coastal peoples have objected because of the written language's close relationship to the Merina people.

      The level of school attendance and educational attainment is higher on the plateau than in the coastal areas. Protestant and Roman Catholic missions have been providing education since the 19th century, and the missions continue to educate a large proportion of the schoolchildren, although the government maintains official schools at all levels and is attempting to phase out private education. In the main towns there are other privately run schools, which serve those unable to enter either government or mission schools. About two-thirds of women and about three-fourths of men in Madagascar are literate, a trend that indicates a remarkable increase in the country's overall rate of literacy since the mid-1960s, when less than two-fifths of the population was literate.

Cultural life

Cultural milieu

      Malagasy culture is largely composed of Indonesian elements, with other influences evident. Arabic and Islamic (Islām) contributions include sikidy, an intricate system of divination, and calendrical features, such as the Arabic-derived names of the days of the week, which also apply to the markets held on those days. The coastal areas of the west, north, and south might be expected to show African cultural elements, but, apart from some Bantu (Bantu languages) words, these are often difficult to identify conclusively.

Daily life and social customs

      The countryside, home to the majority of Malagasy, remains highly traditional, both in its lifestyle and in its political framework, with most decisions still being made by a council of male elders. Young people who resent this domination and see little economic future in their home villages are one of the main sources of the rural-to-urban migration that has fed the growth of Madagascar's cities.

      For rural residents, traditional ceremonies and traveling orators and musicians are a significant source of entertainment. In urban areas, forms of entertainment vary. Some Malagasy join video clubs, which rent and project videos. Action films are very popular, particularly since films are rarely dubbed or subtitled in Malagasy; poorer inhabitants of the cities, however, have reduced access to this type of entertainment.

      Typical attire in Madagascar varies according to location and socioeconomic status. Malagasy who live in the countryside or in the poorer or older parts of the cities are more likely to wear traditional attire; for men, this consists of a large shirt and shorts or long pants, while women, particularly those living in the plateau, may wear dresses with gathered skirts. In the coastal regions, women often wear a wrapped skirt with a top; a rectangular shawl, called a lamba, is also worn, especially on ceremonial occasions. The middle classes frequently wear Western dress, and blue jeans are ubiquitous among the youth of the cities. There too, however, women will often wear an abbreviated form of the lamba, even with Western dress.

      Most Malagasy, regardless of their degree of “modernity,” continue to observe traditional customs, particularly those connected with the family tomb and ceremonies showing respect for the family's ancestors. The most common of these, aside from burial, is the famadihana, in which the bones of the ancestors are removed from the family tomb, wrapped in new lamba especially woven for that purpose, and placed again in the tomb after the delivery of a kabary, a traditional “special occasion” speech. The kabary is also utilized at other occasions ranging from weddings to the opening of businesses. Speakers who are able to deliver a good speech, filled with appropriate traditional proverbs, are well paid.

      The government encourages the blending of old and new cultural expressions, and a number of seasonal festivals have been promoted, including the Festival of Rice and the Festival of the Trees. Towns, churches, schools, and private groups hold concerts or dances, and in the cities there are cultural associations based on the members' home districts. Holidays celebrated in Madagascar include those observed by the wider Christian community, such as Easter and Christmas, as well as Independence Day, celebrated on June 26, and the Anniversary of the Republic, observed on December 30.

The arts

      The conquest of the plateau peoples by the French and their subsequent assimilation of Western values have deprived them of most of their traditional institutions. In music, however, Western dance and musical instruments have been adapted to Malagasy rhythms. The tube zither, the conch, and the cone drum are of Indonesian origin, while other types of drums and animal horns suggest African influence. Folk music has been retained, but much of the singing consists of Western church hymns and chants adapted to the distinctive Malagasy musical style. Several musicians and ensembles of Malagasy origin, including Tarika, have enjoyed a rise to international popularity.

      The Mahafaly have a remarkable wood-carving industry, and their tombs of coloured stones and carved wooden posts are among the most beautiful on the island. The woodworking skills of the Zafimaniry, exemplified by their elaborate carved designs, are also renowned; their knowledge of woodcraft is included by UNESCO among its designations of Intangible Cultural Heritage, intended to safeguard nonmaterial cultural properties. The Betsileo also have a thriving wood-carving industry, making inlaid furniture of valuable hardwoods. In addition they produce ornamental cloths of very finely woven raffia and have become specialists in the production of coloured straw hats. Betsileo and Merina women in particular are expert in French-style embroidery, sewing, and dressmaking.

      The Malagasy language (Malagasy languages) is rich in proverbs, and there is now an extensive written literature including poetry, legend, history, works treating contemporary themes, and scholarly works. Literary production is aided by an excellent printing industry, for which the Merina have shown a flair since learning it from the London Missionary Society in the 1820s. The peoples of the southeast still preserve their sorabe manuscripts—discourses written in Arabic script on geomancy, astrology, history, and traditional lore—with great reverence; few can be more than 200 years old, although some may be copies of much earlier manuscripts.

Cultural institutions

 The main libraries and museums, located in Antananarivo, include the National Library, the Municipal Library, and the National Archive. There are also the library of the Malagasy Academy, the university library, and the university museum. There are museum collections of Malagasy culture and archaeology. Natural science collections include a zoo with animals unique to Madagascar.

      A number of Madagascar's sites of significant cultural and natural value have been designated UNESCO World Heritage sites (World Heritage site). Among these are the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, located near Antananarivo, which contains a royal city, burial ground, and a number of sacred sites; the Rainforests of the Atsinanana, made up of six national parks located in the eastern portion of the island; and the Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve, located in the west of the island, which, with its forests, swamps, lakes, and peaks, serves as an important habitat for some of Madagascar's rare and endangered wildlife.

Sports and recreation

 The people of Madagascar enjoy playing many sports, six of which form the core of the country's school- and amateur team-based competitive system: football (soccer), boxing, athletics (track and field), judo, women's basketball, and women's tennis. Malagasy athletes have excelled in the last sport especially, with two sisters, Dally Randriantefy and Natacha Randriantefy, competing internationally in such events as the U.S. Open (United States Open Tennis Championships) and the Olympic Games. Madagascar made its Olympic debut in 1964 at the Tokyo Games. The country has also sent national teams to the African Games, and Malagasy athletes have participated as members of pan-African teams at the World Cup in Athletics.

 Outdoor sports enthusiasts and nature lovers alike are drawn to Madagascar's coastline, which is almost 2,500 miles (4,000 km) in length. Much of the coast is bordered with fine beaches and calm lagoons overlooking offshore coral reefs and sandbars, and the warm, clear waters are filled with a rich marine life, which, combined with the island's unique and diverse terrestrial plant and animal life, has helped Madagascar garner widespread appreciation for its natural wealth.

Media and publishing

      There are a number of daily and other newspapers published in French and Malagasy, the most popular of which include Gazetiko, La Gazette de la Grand Île, and Midi Madagasikara. Taratra is the national news agency. The island's radio and television channels, which broadcast mainly in French and Malagasy, operate with relative freedom. In 1990 legislation was passed ensuring the freedom of the press.

Aidan William Southall Maureen Ann Covell

History

Early history

 Archaeological investigations in the 20th century indicated that human settlers reached Madagascar about 700 CE. Although the huge island lies geographically close to Bantu (Bantu languages)-speaking Africa, its language, Malagasy (Malagasy languages), belongs to the distant Western Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian languages) branch of the Austronesian language family (Austronesian languages). There are nonetheless a number of Bantu (Bantu languages) words in the language, as well as some phonetic and grammatical modifiers of Bantu origin. Bantu elements exist in every dialect of Malagasy and appear to have been established for some time.

      As a people, the Malagasy represent a unique blend of Asian and African cultural features found nowhere else in the world. Although Asian features predominate on the whole, African ancestry is present and African influences in Malagasy material and nonmaterial culture are evident; the history and precise nature of this relationship, however, remains a matter of debate.

Madagascar from 1500 to c. 1650

      Much of Madagascar was populated by internal migration before the beginning of the 16th century, giving the theretofore empty lands their tompontany (original inhabitants, or “masters of the soil”). Yet politically the island remained fragmented. Most of the nearly 20 ethnic groups that make up the modern Malagasy population did not attain any form of “national” consciousness until new political ideas arrived from abroad in the 1500s and began to spread throughout the island. A host of written European accounts from the 16th and early 17th centuries fail to reveal any large state or empire, and few of the Malagasy oral traditions collected since the mid-19th century go back that far in time.

      Still, small local states were found at many points along the coast visited by European ships. The capitals were almost always located near river mouths, territorial domains were invariably small, and rulers were independent of one another. Alliances and wars were usually short-lived affairs involving limited economic objectives and little loss of life, and they seldom led to any border adjustments. Economies were pastoral or agricultural, often a mixture of both, and there were no radical differences in wealth. In some areas the rulers appeared to be absolute, while in others elders and priests had the preponderant influence. In one area in southeastern Madagascar, later to become known as Fort-Dauphin (site of the French East India Company fort of that name; present-day Tôlaaro), early Europeans believed they had found a Muslim state in existence among the Antanosy people of the region. It was ruled by a “Moorish king” and had an aristocracy with privileges deriving presumably from Islam (Islām). Their collective name was Zafindraminia, or “descendants of Raminia,” the ultimate great ancestor.

      In the first quarter of the 16th century, Portuguese navigators reported a number of coastal towns in northern Madagascar that were architecturally similar to Kilwa, a once important entrepôt in what is today Tanzania. The towns belonged to an Afro-Arab commercial network in the western Indian Ocean that undoubtedly predated the 16th century. At the town of Vohemar, once the island's northeastern centre of international trade, the blend of Malagasy and Afro-Arab customs produced an arts-and-crafts tradition that was quite original.

      Portuguese explorers who visited the Matitana River valley in southeastern Madagascar witnessed the arrival of a group of Afro-Arabs (“Moors from Malindi”) between 1507 and 1513. Within one or two generations the descendants of this group had intermarried and merged with the local tompontany to form another group known as the Antemoro. By the 1630s the Antemoro had formed a theocratic state, which was the only state in Madagascar at the time to possess written texts. Using the Arabic alphabet, the texts were written in the Malagasy language and were both religious and secular in nature. Proximity to Islam became a major criterion among the Antemoro for the right to rule, and there is little doubt that the four Antemoro sacerdotal clans were far closer to the Muslim faith than were the Zafindraminia of the Fort-Dauphin area. In time, Antemoro holy men, traveling far and wide within Madagascar, came to influence other Malagasy in both religion and government.

Political evolution from 1650 to 1810

      Unknown to the early coastal visitors from Europe, new and historically pivotal dynasties were beginning to form in southwestern and central Madagascar toward the mid-16th century. Two of them, the Maroserana in the southwest and the Andriana-Merina in central Madagascar, would go on to create vast empires, each with its own apex and decline, between about 1650 and 1896, the year the French annexed Madagascar. While the Maroserana were able to establish their rulers over several south-central peoples, the most outstanding achievement of the dynasty was the creation of two states in western Madagascar, Menabé and Boina. These states later combined into the Sakalava empire, which controlled most of western Madagascar and several adjacent areas deep inland.

      The Sakalava were originally a group of warriors who came into contact with the Maroserana before 1660, the year the Maroserana ruler, King Andriandahifotsy, founded Menabé. Ultimately, “Sakalava citizenship” was extended to hundreds of west-coast clans as the original Sakalava warriors and their descendants intermarried and merged with them. A sense of unity also came from religion, as the Maroserana royals upon death became the sacred ancestors of all Sakalava. The Sakalava empire was ultimately weakened by internal power struggles for the throne, by attempts to substitute Islam for the ancestral cult, and, after 1810, by wars with the Merina, a people of the central plateau already on the way to an empire.

      The Betsimisaraka confederation (Betsimisaraka), a quasi-state concurrent with the late Sakalava empire, was a brief but successful attempt in the 18th century to unite the coastal peoples of Madagascar's eastern littoral. Ruled by Ratsimilaho, son of an English pirate and a Malagasy princess, the viable confederation extended along more than 200 miles of coastline. After Ratsimilaho's death in 1750, the confederation began an abrupt, though prolonged, disintegration.

      The Merina kingdom (Imerina) was founded toward the end of the 16th century in the swampy Ikopa valley on the central plateau. Antananarivo (Tananarive) became its capital. In the 18th century Imerina was divided among four warring kings. One of them, Andrianampoinimerina, who reigned 1787–1810, reunited the kingdom about 1797. He gave it uniform laws and administration and sold slaves to the French on the coast, using the guns he got in return to conquer his neighbours, the Betsileo. Under Andrianampoinimerina, Merina society was divided into a ruling noble class (Andriana), a class of commoners (Hova), and a slave class (Andevo). At Andrianampoinimerina's death, he left his son a single political ambition: “The sea will be the boundary of my rice field” (i.e., of his kingdom).

Early European contacts

      Madagascar is mentioned in the writings of Marco Polo (Polo, Marco), but the first European known to have visited the island was Diogo Dias, a Portuguese navigator, in 1500. It was called the Isle of St. Lawrence by the Portuguese, who frequently raided Madagascar during the 16th century, attempting to destroy the incipient Muslim settlements there. Other European nations also invaded; in 1642 the French established Fort-Dauphin (Tôlaaro) in the southeast and maintained it until 1674. One of their governors, Étienne de Flacourt, wrote the first substantial description of the island. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Madagascar was frequented by European pirates (among them Captain William Kidd (Kidd, William)) who preyed upon shipping in the Indian Ocean.

      In the 18th century the Mascarene Islands to the east were colonized (colonialism, Western) by the French with the help of Malagasy slaves. Two attempts at fortified settlements failed—one at Fort-Dauphin by the comte de Modave, the other at the Bay of Antongil by Baron Benyowski. However, French trading settlements prospered, notably at Tamatave.

The kingdom of Madagascar

Formation of the kingdom (1810–61)

      Andrianampoinimerina's son, Radama I (1810–28), allied himself with the British governor of the nearby island of Mauritius, Sir Robert Farquhar. In order to prevent reoccupation of the east coast by the French, Farquhar supported Radama's annexation of the area by supplying him with weapons and advisers and giving him the title “King of Madagascar.” At the same time, Radama agreed to cooperate with Britain's new campaign to end the slave trade. In 1817 he captured the east-coast town of Tamatave, from which he launched annual expeditions against the coastal populations. He eventually conquered almost the entire east coast, the northern part of the island, and most of the two large Sakalava kingdoms. Only the south and a part of the west remained independent. The French retained only the small island of Sainte-Marie. In addition, Radama invited European workers, and the London Missionary Society spread Christianity and influenced the adoption of a Latin alphabet for the Malagasy language (Malagasy languages). Radama died prematurely in 1828; he was succeeded by his widow, Ranavalona I, who reversed his policy of Europeanization. She expelled Christian missionaries (mission) and persecuted Malagasy converts. A few Europeans maintained external trade and local manufacture, but eventually they also were expelled. The British and French launched an expedition against Ranavalona but were repulsed at Tamatave in 1845. By the time of her death (1861), Madagascar was isolated from European influence.

Outside influences (1861–95)

      Ranavalona was succeeded by her son, Radama II, who readmitted the foreigners. English Protestants and French Roman Catholics vied for supremacy, while business proprietors obtained excessive concessions. This policy led to Radama's overthrow by the Merina oligarchy in 1863. The head of the army, Rainilaiarivony, a Hova, became prime minister and remained in power by marrying three queens in succession: Rasoherina, Ranavalona II, and Ranavalona III. He embarked on a program of modernization, and in 1869 he caused Protestantism to be adopted and suppressed the traditional Malagasy religion. European-style ministries were created and governors set up in the provinces. Villages were supervised by former soldiers. Education was declared obligatory and placed under the direction of the Christian missions. A code of laws was worked out that combined ancient customs with such Western practices as monogamy.

      The French began to extend their influence over the Sakalava, and the first “Franco-Merina” war (1883–85) ended with an ambiguous treaty: France was given a settlement at Diégo-Suarez and a resident at Antananarivo, but the institution of a protectorate was temporarily avoided. The succeeding period was marked by disorder and internal strife. In 1890 the British recognized Madagascar as a French protectorate, but Rainilaiarivony refused to submit to French suzerainty. In January 1895, French troops landed at Majunga, and on Sept. 30, 1895, they occupied Antananarivo. The prime minister was exiled. The queen signed a treaty recognizing the protectorate and was maintained on the throne as a figurehead.

The French period

The colonial period (1896–1945)

      French occupation soon extended to the entire part of the island conquered by the Merina. But, in Imerina itself, armed guerrilla bands (the Menalamba, or “Red Togas”) resisted modernization and French rule. The French parliament voted the annexation of the island on Aug. 6, 1896, and sent Gen. Joseph-Simon Gallieni (Gallieni, Joseph-Simon) first as military commander, then as governor-general. Slavery was abolished. Gallieni put down the insurrection, subdued the oligarchy, and sent the queen into exile on Feb. 27, 1897. In 1898 the old Merina kingdom was pacified. Gallieni then undertook the difficult task of subjugating the independent peoples. Two insurrections, in the northwest (1898) and in the southeast (1904), were quickly put down, and, when he left the island in 1905, unification had been achieved. The Merina governors had been replaced by French administrators, with leaders taken from local peoples. The teaching of French in the schools was made compulsory. Customs duties favoured French products, though Malagasy enterprise was also encouraged. The Tamatave-Antananarivo railroad was begun, roads were built, and a modern health service was inaugurated.

 The economic development of the island continued under Gallieni's successors. The railroad and its branchlines were completed in 1913. A second line, the Fianarantsoa-Manakara, was finished in 1935. Automobile roads increased after 1920, airlines after 1936. The cities and seaports were built up and equipped, and loans were contracted in France. Exports were confined to agricultural products and raw materials for industry. Rice, cassava (manioc), rubber, raffia, meat, and graphite predominated at first. Between World Wars I and II, coffee, vanilla, cloves, and tobacco, introduced by the Europeans and then taken up by native planters, became more important. Three-quarters of all trade was with France. Material aspects of life became Westernized, especially in the cities, and half the population became Christianized.

      In 1915 a nationalist secret society, the Vy Vato Sakelika (VVS), was outlawed. In 1920 a teacher, Jean Ralaimongo, launched a campaign in the press to give the Malagasy “subjects” French citizenship and to make Madagascar a French département. When France failed to respond to the demand for assimilation, the movement turned toward nationalism. In 1940 Madagascar, though hesitant at first, rallied to the Vichy government. Then came a blockade, occupation by the British and South Africans (1942), and finally a return to Free France.

The French Union (1946–58)

      In the elections of 1945, two Malagasy nationalists were elected to the French parliament. The constitution of 1946, creating the French Union, made Madagascar an overseas territory of the French Republic, with representatives to the Paris assemblies and a local assembly at Antananarivo. Six provincial assemblies were created later. The political struggle erupted into violence on March 30, 1947, with a full-scale insurrection in eastern Madagascar. The leaders of the Democratic Movement for Malagasy Renewal (Mouvement Démocratique de la Rénovation Malgache), including the three representatives to the French national assembly, were outlawed. While an official count of lives lost in the revolt records about 11,000 dead, it is certain that thousands more of the Malagasy populace perished from famine, cold, and psychological misery while hiding from both the French army and the insurgents in the island's inhospitable tropical forests.

      A period of political inactivity followed until the 1950s. After the Overseas Territories Law of 1956 gave Madagascar an executive elected by the local assembly, Vice-Premier Philibert Tsiranana founded the Social Democratic Party (Parti Social Démocrate; PSD), which, though most of its members were non-Merina from the coastal areas, offered to cooperate with the Merina. In 1958 France agreed to let its overseas territories decide their own fate. In a referendum on September 28, Madagascar voted for autonomy within the French Community. On Oct. 14, 1958, the autonomous Malagasy Republic was proclaimed; Tsiranana headed the provisional government.

The First Republic (1958–72)

      The opposition regrouped under the name Congress Party for the Independence of Madagascar (Antokon'ny Kongresin'ny Fahaleovantenan'i Madagasikara; AKFM), which included both Protestant Merina dissidents and communists. Antananarivo was the party's stronghold; it also had some support in the provinces but, owing to the electoral system established by the PSD, held only three seats in the legislature.

      The PSD also settled the provincial question: executive power in the local assemblies was vested in a minister delegated by the central government. Tsiranana was elected president of the republic, and he was instrumental in obtaining its independence on June 26, 1960. Tsiranana and the PSD remained in power until 1972. Under his regime, successive development plans were inspired, according to Tsiranana, by a “grassroots socialism” and were aimed at improving the lot of the peasantry. In foreign policy the bond with France remained strong, and close relations were established with the United States, West Germany, Taiwan, South Africa, and other anticommunist powers.

      Although Tsiranana was reelected in January 1972, political and labour unrest culminated in an uprising known as the May 1972 revolution. This, coupled with his own poor health, led him to appoint Maj. Gen. Gabriel Ramanantsoa as prime minister with full powers of government, and the First Republic came to an end.

Transition

      A plebiscite on Oct. 8, 1972, confirmed Ramanantsoa as head of government; there was no longer a president after Tsiranana resigned on October 11. The new head of government initiated radically different foreign and domestic policies. Under new agreements with France, French military and naval forces were removed from the island, and all French citizens were treated as aliens. Ties were established with the Soviet Union and other communist nations, and the country was withdrawn from the Franc Zone. In 1973 a rural reorganization program—in which elected committees would sell produce to state-owned companies—was initiated, and the government began to take control of joint French-Malagasy organizations.

      In the wake of political and social unrest, on Feb. 5, 1975, Ramanantsoa handed power over to a former minister of the interior, Col. Richard Ratsimandrava. He assumed the titles of president and prime minister but was assassinated six days later. A military directorate was then established; it dissolved on June 15, after naming Lieut. Comdr. Didier Ratsiraka president and head of the Revolutionary Council. A referendum on Dec. 21, 1975, approved Ratsiraka as president under a new constitution that set up the Democratic Republic of Madagascar.

Hubert Jules Deschamps Raymond K. Kent

The Second Republic (1975–92)

      Ratsiraka was sworn in as president on Jan. 4, 1976. He proceeded to solidify his political control and to continue the economic policies of the Ramanantsoa government, including the nationalization of banks, industries, and services such as the distribution of gasoline and movies, moves that largely affected French interests. He also continued to cultivate closer links with communist countries—a policy he had pursued as foreign minister under Ramanantsoa—and declared Madagascar a Marxist republic; such moves solidified the support of many of Madagascar's left-wing parties, including the AKFM. In addition, Ratsiraka created a regime party, the Vanguard of the Malagasy Revolution (Avant-Garde de la Révolution Malagache; AREMA), as the core of the broader National Front for the Defense of the Revolution (Front National pour la Défense de la Révolution; FNDR). Only parties admitted to this umbrella organization were allowed to participate in political activities.

      Ratsiraka's years in power were marked by quarrels within the FNDR, by unrest outside, and by deep-seated economic difficulties. By 1980 the Malagasy government had approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan to meet the gap in its balance of payments, and by 1981 it was negotiating for funds to cover payments on its growing international debt. These moves also led to a rapprochement with France, whose government and banks held much of the debt and served as Madagascar's advocate with other creditors. In spite of the turmoil and economic difficulties, Ratsiraka was reelected president in November 1982.

      In his second term in office, Ratsiraka continued to be faced with economic and political challenges. He came under increasing criticism from Madagascar's powerful Council of Malagasy Churches, and opposition among the capital's youth manifested in the form of participation in kung fu clubs. These self-defense organizations—inspired by the films of Bruce Lee and a resurgent sense of Asian identity among the Malagasy of the plateau—emerged during the period of economic hardship of the early 1980s and recruited members from a relatively wide base of support that included the unemployed and uneducated, as well as those from middle- and lower-income groups. The martial arts movement had some 10,000 members by 1984 and was rumoured also to have adherents within the army. In response to what was viewed as a growing threat, in late 1984 the government banned the practice of martial arts, which sparked violent protest. In mid-1985 Ratsiraka felt secure enough to take action against the kung fu clubs directly: on the night of July 31, 1985, the army attacked the movement's headquarters, killing its leader and many others.

      Under pressure from the IMF and the World Bank, the Malagasy government embarked on a program of privatization, devaluation of the currency, and cancellation of many government subsidies. The privatizations largely benefited members of the president's circle, many of whom were able to acquire businesses on advantageous terms. However, the moves were resented by the bureaucracy, which faced a loss of employment, and by the general population, which bore most of the economic hardship.

      In February 1989 the main opposition groups joined to form an alliance, and people and organizations that had formerly aligned with the regime began increasingly to withdraw their support. Although Ratsiraka was reelected in March 1989, the election results gave rise to a round of protests that would eventually lead to his ouster and the end of the Second Republic. A call by the Council of Malagasy Churches issued in August 1989 for the removal of socialist vocabulary from the constitution, as well as for an end to the FNDR's monopoly on political life, received wide support.

      The government responded with a series of conciliatory gestures. At first the membership of the FNDR was expanded, and then, in March 1990, the constitution was amended to allow the formation of political groups that were not members of the Front. Another opposition alliance, the Vital Forces (Forces Vives; FV), was created under the leadership of Albert Zafy, a professor at the University of Madagascar. Demonstrations favouring constitutional change were held, and discussions about a possible revision of the constitution continued without yielding any agreement. In June 1991 the FV announced the creation of a provisional countergovernment; this was followed by more demonstrations and a general strike. In August the presidential guard fired upon a demonstration in front of the presidential palace; several people were killed, and others, including Zafy, were wounded. Important aid donors, France among them, called for an end to the instability. A power-sharing agreement between Ratsiraka and the opposition was reached in October and opened the way for negotiations on a new constitution. Under the terms of the power-sharing agreement, Ratsiraka continued as president and Zafy took office as head of a newly created High State Authority.

      With the formal ratification of the power-sharing agreement, institutions for the transitional period, including a national forum charged with drafting a constitution for a Third Republic, were put in place. During its deliberations, demonstrations by Ratsiraka supporters arguing for a federal constitution became so violent that the forum was forced to move to a military camp.

The Third Republic

Zafy's presidency and impeachment

      In February 1993 Zafy was elected the first president of the Third Republic. His term of office was marked by a continual instability that stemmed from several factors. First, his coalition of support was composed of several distinct party formations, each of which was headed by someone with more political experience than Zafy. Furthermore, Zafy's own supporters constituted only a minority in the coalition. Moreover, the National Assembly was extremely fragmented: the largest body of deputies was composed of independents with no party affiliation, many of whom had been elected on the basis of their personal appeal. Even the parties that were represented in the assembly were themselves loose agglomerations. In addition, Zafy's election had disturbed an informal balance between people of the plateau and the côtiers, the people of the coast, in which the people of the plateau had largely dominated the public administration and the professions while those from coastal groups had dominated politics. With the exception of the short-lived Ramanantsoa and Ratsimandrava regimes, the Malagasy president had always been drawn from a coastal group. Under Zafy's regime, resentment of this shift of balance led to continued opposition from Ratsiraka supporters in the form of a demand for a federal state.

      Madagascar's pronounced economic difficulties also continued during Zafy's administration. Economic survival—to say nothing of development—depended on aid from foreign donors, most notably the World Bank and the IMF. However, this placed Zafy at odds with one of his sources of political support, a section of the Malagasy elite that was opposed to dependency on foreign grants, especially when these were made conditional on certain actions on the part of the Malagasy government. They were particularly opposed to the conditions imposed by the World Bank and the IMF for continued privatizations and for further reductions in the size of government and in government subsidies for consumption, measures that would have harmed both the bureaucracy and the urban poor, two groups that had formed the basis of Zafy's anti-Ratsiraka coalition. In lieu of accepting the IMF's conditions for the resumption of aid, Zafy unsuccessfully sought private sources of investment.

      Zafy attempted to strengthen his position through a referendum intended to allow the president, rather than the National Assembly, to name the prime minister. Although Zafy subsequently appointed a prime minister and a government more to his liking, opposition to his regime and consequent instability continued. By 1996 the opposition to Zafy had reached the point of street demonstrations and demands that he cease playing an active role as president; strikes reminiscent of those that had brought down the Ratsiraka regime continued. In July 1996 the National Assembly voted to impeach Zafy; in September the Constitutional High Court removed him from office and appointed an interim president charged with the task of organizing a presidential election.

Ratsiraka's return to power

      The results of the first round of the subsequent presidential election led to a runoff election between Zafy and Ratsiraka on Dec. 29, 1996. Although Ratsiraka won the election, abstention was high and the total number of valid votes represented only about half the electorate. Ratsiraka's victory did not signify an end to Madagascar's political turmoil: because of the narrowness of Ratsiraka's margin, Zafy and his supporters first contested the election results and then proceeded to hold protests and demonstrations. On Feb. 4, 1998, the National Assembly voted to impeach Ratsiraka, but the vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required for a successful conviction. That same year, Ratsiraka oversaw significant constitutional revisions, including the provision for Madagascar to become a federal state, with a large measure of autonomy conferred on the six existing provinces. The constitutional revisions also strengthened the power of the president.

      Both the country's economic prospects and Ratsiraka's political situation improved in mid-1999 with the signing of an agreement that guaranteed the release of further credits by the IMF, a measure that not only provided much-needed funds but also cleared the way for the release of other forms of aid and the reopening of foreign investment.

Political crisis and renewal

      The 2001 presidential election brought one of the most serious political crises in the country's history since independence. Although the official vote tally gave no candidate the necessary number of votes to declare victory outright, Ratsiraka's main opponent, Marc Ravalomanana, claimed that he was the clear winner of the December election and that the results had been tampered with. Ravalomanana's supporters staged numerous demonstrations as well as a national strike that lasted several weeks. In February 2002 Ravalomanana declared himself president and began establishing his administration, despite the fact that the international community did not recognize him as the legitimate leader of the country, and Ratsiraka still claimed the presidency. His supporters fought with those of Ratsiraka, each side eventually controlling various sections of the country. In late April the country's Constitutional High Court declared Ravalomanana the winner of the disputed election, but fighting between the two sides did not cease until midsummer, when Ravalomanana's forces were able to take control over areas previously held by Ratsiraka's supporters. Ravalomanana secured recognition by the United States and France in late June and early July, respectively, and Ratsiraka fled the country shortly thereafter.

      The political crisis weakened the country's economy and overall stability. Ravalomanana promptly addressed the situation, implementing economic reforms and working tirelessly to entice foreign investors back to the country; his efforts won praise from foreign donors and international organizations, and in 2004 the IMF and the World Bank announced plans to write off nearly half of Madagascar's outstanding debt.

      Although Ravalomanana was gradually recognized by the international community as the legitimate leader of Madagascar, he was still faced with periodic unrest at home, including failed coup attempts in 2003 and 2006. In mid-2006 Ravalomanana announced that presidential elections would be held ahead of schedule in December of that year. Although some concerns over irregularities were noted, Ravalomanana won reelection to the presidency in December elections generally considered free and fair by international observers.

Maureen Ann Covell

Additional Reading

General works

Concise overviews of the geography, history, and economy of the island country include Rita Stevens, Madagascar (1988); Bernardine Bailey et al., Madagascar in Pictures, rev. ed. (1988); and Frederica M. Bunge (ed.), Indian Ocean, Five Island Countries, 2nd ed. (1982). A travel guide that provides a good overview of the geography and history of Madagascar is David Andrew and Gemma Pitcher, Madagascar & Comoros, 6th ed. (2008), a Lonely Planet guide.

Geography

The natural history of the island is studied in R. Battistini and G. Richard-Vindard (eds.), Biogeography and Ecology in Madagascar (1972); M.D. Jenkins (ed.), Madagascar: An Environmental Profile (1987); and Alison Jolly, Philippe Oberlé, and Roland Albignac (eds.), Madagascar (1984), the last having a focus on conservation. Animals are studied in Nick Garbutt, Mammals of Madagascar, rev. ed. (2007); Kathryn Lasky and Christopher G. Knight, Shadows in the Dawn: The Lemurs of Madagascar (1998); and Olivier Langrand, Guide to the Birds of Madagascar, trans. from French (1990). Other useful publications include Theodor Haltenorth and Helmut Diller, A Field Guide to the Mammals of Africa Including Madagascar (1980; originally published in German, 1977; also published as The Collins Field Guide to the Mammals of Africa Including Madagascar, 1988); Ian Tattersall, The Primates of Madagascar (1982), a scholarly work with analysis of unique habitats; P. Charles-Dominique et al., Nocturnal Malagasy Primates: Ecology, Physiology, and Behavior (1980); and H. Perrier De La Bathie, Flora of Madagascar, trans. from French (1981).Collections of anthropological studies focusing on Malagsy people and culture include Karen Middleton (ed.), Ancestors, Power, and History in Madagascar (1999); Gillian Feeley-Harnik, A Green Estate: Restoring Independence in Madagascar (1991); John Mack, Madagascar: Island of the Ancestors (1986); Maurice Bloch, Ritual, History, and Power: Selected Papers in Anthropology (1989); and Conrad Phillip Kottak et al. (eds.), Madagascar: Society and History (1986). More specific studies include Denis Rolland, Music of Madagascar (1999); and Lee Haring, Verbal Arts in Madagascar: Performance in Historical Perspective (1992).Sources that provide useful studies of the Malagasy economy include Economist Intelligence Unit, Country Profile: Madagascar (annual), which gives up-to-date information on the country's economy, resources, and industry; World Bank, Education and Training in Madagascar: Toward a Policy Agenda for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction (2002), which is a useful study; and Frederic L. Pryor, Malaŵi and Madagascar (1990), which focuses on economic systems and long-term policies.Works that explore the administration and social conditions of Madagascar are Philip M. Allen, Madagascar: Conflicts of Authority in the Great Island (1995); Maureen Covell, Madagascar: Politics, Economics, and Society (1987); and O. Mannoni, Prospero and Caliban (1956, reissued 1990; originally published in French, 1950), which explores the psychological aspects of the colonial system.Aidan William Southall Maureen Ann Covell

History

Developments up to the end of the 18th century are surveyed in Raymond K. Kent, Early Kingdoms in Madagascar, 1500–1700 (1970). Hubert Deschamps, Histoire de Madagascar, 4th rev. ed. (1972), is invaluable as the first historical synthesis. For broader chronological scope leading into the 20th century, Mervyn Brown, Madagascar Rediscovered: A History from Early Times to Independence (1978); Raymond K. Kent, From Madagascar to the Malagasy Republic (1962, reprinted 1976); and Raymond K. Kent (ed.), Madagascar in History: Essays from the 1970s (1979), are useful resources. An overview of later events is Philip M. Allen and Maureen Covell, Historical Dictionary of Madagascar (2005).Raymond K. Kent Maureen Ann Covell

* * *