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Madagascar, republic in the Indian Ocean, separated from the southeastern coast of Africa by the Mozambique Channel. Madagascar is made up of Madagascar Island, the fourth largest island in the world, and several small islands. The country�s area totals 587,041 sq km (226,658 sq mi). Madagascar was annexed by the French in 1896 and became self-governing within the French Community in 1958 as the Malagasy Republic. It gained full independence in 1960 and took the name Democratic Republic of Madagascar in 1975. It became the republic of Madagascar in 1993 after a new constitution was adopted. Antananarivo is the capital and largest city.

A central mountainous plateau dominates the island of Madagascar. Partly volcanic in origin, the uplands rise to 2,876 m (9,436 ft) atop Maromokotro in the north. The massive Ankaratra Mountains, near the city of Antananarivo, attain an elevation of 2,643 m (8,671 ft). The land slopes steeply to a narrow lowland bordering the Indian Ocean in the east and to a somewhat wider coastal plain along the Mozambique Channel in the west. The country�s best soil is found along the coast and in river valleys of the central plateau.

The major rivers of Madagascar are the Betsiboka, Tsiribihina, Mangoky, and Onilahy; all rise in the uplands near the eastern coast and flow west to the Mozambique Channel through fertile valleys. By contrast, rivers flowing to the Indian Ocean are short and swift, frequently plunging from the uplands in waterfalls. The largest lake is Alaotra, near Toamasina.

The eastern part of Madagascar receives much rain, brought onshore by southeastern trade winds, which are forced to rise and drop moisture as they meet the eastern escarpment; annual precipitation in some places exceeds 3,050 mm (120 in). The central plateau gets considerably less moisture, and arid areas in the south and southwest receive less than 380 mm (less than 15 in) of precipitation per year. Most of the rain falls from November to April. The coastal regions generally are hot throughout the year. The central plateau has a temperate climate, with warm summers and cool winters. The average temperature range in Antananarivo on the plateau is 16� to 26�C (61� to 79�F) in January and 9� to 20�C (48� to 68�F) in July.

Tropical rain forests containing valuable hardwoods are common in eastern Madagascar. Savanna woodland and grasslands predominate in the drier western regions, and desert vegetation occurs in the extreme southwest. Animal life is unusual. Lemurs, a primitive family of primate, are found chiefly in Madagascar. Although native species exhibit characteristics of both African and Indian animal life, their differences indicate they evolved on Madagascar during a long period of isolation.

Madagascar is believed to have abundant mineral reserves, although many have yet to be exploited. Chromite is the most valuable mineral being mined; it and graphite, mica, and semiprecious stones are the country�s principal mineral exports. Plans to extract bauxite, ilmenite (a titanium ore), and coal are being developed. Deposits of petroleum and natural gas were discovered offshore in 1980.

Madagascar�s growing population has put increased pressures on the environment. The timber industry is not a threat to the island�s forests, but slash-and-burn agriculture and reliance on fuelwood for energy are causing large losses to forest cover. The country suffers an annual deforestation rate of 0.80 percent (1990-1996). In 1995, 26 percent of Madagascar�s total land area was forested.

Inadequate sewage disposal, as well as soil erosion caused by deforestation, has led to surface water pollution. In rural areas, only 30 percent (1990-1998) of the people have access to safe water. Only 40 percent (1990-1998) of the total population has access to safe water, and only 40 percent (1990-1998) has access to sanitation.

However, the country has a long history of conservation. Efforts are underway to increase wood supplies by reforesting eroded upland areas. The government has designated 1.9 percent (1997) of the country�s total land area protected, and the Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve was declared a World Heritage Site in 1990. The government has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to biodiversity, desertification, endangered species, marine life conservation, and ozone layer protection.

Madagascar has an ethnically diverse population of 15,982,563 (2001 estimate). The number of inhabitants was growing at an annual rate of 3 percent in 2001. The average population density is 27 persons per sq km (71 per sq mi), with upland areas more densely populated than coastal regions. Life expectancy at birth was 58 years for women and 53 years for men.

Only 29 percent of the population is classified as urban. Antananarivo, the capital, is the largest city, with a population (1993) of 1,052,835. Other important urban centers are Toamasina (127,441), Mahajanga (100,807), Fianarantsoa (99,005), Toliara (1990 estimate, 61,460), and Antsiraana (54,418).

Major ethnic groups in the interior are the Merina (Hova), who make up about 27 percent of the total population, and the related Betsileo (12 percent). Members of both groups are descended primarily from people who emigrated from Indonesia by 900 ad. Coastal areas are inhabited mainly by peoples of mixed Malayo-Indonesian, black African, and Arab ancestry; among these ethnic groups are the Betsimisaraka (15 percent), Tsimihety (7 percent), Sakalava (6 percent), and Antaisaka (5 percent).

The two official languages of Madagascar are the Merina dialect of Malagasy, a language of Malayo-Indonesian origin, and French. Approximately 52 percent of the population follows traditional beliefs, 41 percent is Christian, and 7 percent is Muslim.

Education is compulsory for five years in Madagascar. In 2001 the adult literacy rate had reached 80.8 percent, one of the highest rates in Africa. An estimated 73 percent of elementary school-aged children were enrolled in school in 1996, and 13 percent of those between the ages of 12 and 17 were enrolled in secondary school. The University of Antananarivo (1961) is the country�s principal institution of higher education.

Leading libraries with collections of Malagasy history, literature, culture, and arts are the National Library and the libraries of the university and of the Académie Malgache, all in Antananarivo. The Historical Museum and the university�s Museum of Art and Archaeology, both in Antananarivo, are the chief museums.

Madagascar is one of the world�s poorest countries, with a gross domestic product of $3.7 billion, or $250 per person, in 1999. The economy remains, as in colonial times, predominantly agricultural, with 77 percent of the labor force engaged in agricultural activities. Many operations controlled by French interests were nationalized in 1975. During the 1980s the agricultural sector was affected by frequent cyclones and depressed prices for the country�s primary exports, and in the early 1990s strikes and political instability associated with a change in government limited economic growth. The government�s budget in 1997 included revenues of $346 million and expenditures of $689 million.

Because of the mountainous terrain, only 4 percent of Madagascar is farmed. The chief food crop is rice, which is grown on about one-half of the agricultural land. Since the early 1970s imports of this staple food have been necessary to meet needs, and the primary objective of agricultural policy in the 1980s was to increase rice production. An end to sale and transportation controls, coupled with higher yields, had diminished the need for rice imports in the 1990s. Other important food crops are cassava, sweet potatoes, potatoes, maize, beans, bananas, and peanuts. Leading cash crops, which supply most of Madagascar�s export revenue, are vanilla, coffee, cloves, and sugarcane. Coffee once was the primary crop, but production declined as commodity prices dropped sharply. Other important crops are cotton, sisal, and tropical fruits. Livestock in Madagascar included 10.4 million cattle, 900,000 pigs, and 1.4 million goats in 2000.

In 1999 some 10.6 million cu m (375 million cu ft) of timber was cut, most of it for local use as fuel. Efforts are underway to increase wood supplies by reforesting eroded upland areas. The fishing industry is expanding, and shrimps and lobsters have become a significant source of export revenue. The fish catch in 1997 was 124,973 metric tons, about one-third of which was taken from inland waters. Madagascar allows other countries to fish in its exclusive maritime zone in exchange for compensation.

Mineral products of Madagascar include chromite, mica, graphite, and salt. Offshore petroleum deposits, discovered in 1980, have not yet been commercially exploited. Plans have been initiated to extract bauxite and ilmenite, a titanium-bearing ore. Food processing (meat packing, brewing, and sugar refining) is the leading manufacturing industry. Petroleum refining and motor-vehicle assembly are of growing importance, and some production of textiles, electronic equipment, glass, printed materials, and tobacco items takes place.

In 1999 Madagascar produced 810 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. Some 67 percent of all electricity is produced in hydroelectric facilities.

Madagascar usually has a negative trade balance. In 1999 imports were valued at $550 million and exports at $260 million. Food such as vanilla, shrimp, lobster, coffee, and cloves accounted for 54 percent of export revenue in 1997. Other important exports were cotton fabrics, refined petroleum, sugar, and chromium. Leading imports were chemical products, crude petroleum, machinery, vehicles and vehicle parts, and electrical equipment. France is by far the leading trading partner, accounting for nearly 30 percent of Madagascar�s trading activity. Other significant purchasers of the country�s exports are the United States, Germany, Japan, and Italy; chief sources of imports in addition to France are Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.

The Malagasy franc, divided into 100 centimes, is the currency unit (6,284 Malagasy francs equal U.S.$1; 1999 average). The Central Bank of Madagascar (founded 1973) is the bank of issue. All banks were nationalized in 1975 but reopened to private and foreign investment beginning in the late 1980s.

Antananarivo is the main hub of Madagascar�s limited transportation system. In the early 1990s the country was served by about 1,020 km (about 630 mi) of operated railroad track and by 30,623 km (19,028 mi) of roads. The country has 4.5 passenger vehicles for every 1,000 residents. Toamasina, the chief port, handles 70 percent of the nation�s foreign trade. Other port cities are Mahajanga, Toliara, and Antsiraana. Madagascar has four major airports, including the international airport at Antananarivo. Air Madagascar is the national airline.

Until 1990 the state owned all broadcasting operations in Madagascar. That year the state monopoly was abolished by legislation that opened the industry to private stations working in partnership with the government. State restrictions on publishing were also lifted in the early 1990s. Among the 5 daily newspapers published in 1996 were Midi-Madagascar, Nouveau Journal de Madagascar, Madagascar Tribune, and Imongo Vaovao, all published in Antananarivo.

In 1993 Madagascar replaced its single-party socialist system with a multiparty democracy under terms of a new constitution adopted the year before. According to this constitution, the head of state is the president, elected by the voters to a five-year term. A bicameral (two-chamber) legislature is comprised of a 150-member National Assembly, directly elected to four-year terms, and a Senate, two-thirds of which is selected by an electoral college and one-third appointed by the president, all to four-year terms. Formation of the Senate has been delayed pending local government elections, which have been postponed because of the changes in the federal government. Executive power is vested in a prime minister. In 1995 the constitution was amended by public referendum to allow the president instead of the National Assembly to appoint and dismiss the prime minister.

The judicial system is modeled on that of France. It includes a Supreme Court, in Antananarivo; a Court of Appeal; 11 courts of first instance; and special economic and criminal tribunals. Until 1993 the structure of local government included six provinces, which were divided into prefectures, subprefectures, and cantons. In 1995 it was determined that once local elections take place, these provinces will be divided into 28 regions; the regions will contain departments and, within the departments, communes.

The National Front for the Defense of the Madagascar Socialist Revolution was Madagascar�s only permitted political party from 1975 to 1990. Legislation approved that year allowed the resumption of multiparty political activity, resulting in the formation of more than 120 parties. Leading organizations in the early 1990s were the Committee of Living Forces, the governing coalition composed of an alliance of political parties, trade unions, and religious groups: the Militant Party for the Development of Madagascar, a coalition of parties supporting the former president; the Confederation of Civil Societies for Development; the Association of United Malagasys; and the Rally for Social Democracy.

Madagascar has a 21,000-member military, with 20,000 of those personnel in the army. A 7,500-member gendarmerie performs paramilitary functions. Madagascar is a member of the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity, and several other international organizations. It is a signatory of the second Lomé Convention (1979), an agreement on cooperation between what is now the European Union and about 60 developing countries.

The people of Madagascar are believed to be descended from Indonesians and Africans who reached the island in ancient times. Diogo Dias, a Portuguese sea captain bound for India in 1500, was the first European to sight the island. During the 17th century the Portuguese, the English, and the French successively and unsuccessfully attempted to colonize Madagascar.

The French gained a temporary foothold on the island in 1642 but were driven out in 1674. They finally acquired a few trading bases along the east coast in the following century. Their sphere of influence was restricted, however, as a result of the rise of a powerful monarchy among the Merina, a people of Malay origin in the central plateau. From 1810 to 1828, during the reign of the Merina king Radama I, who was hostile to the French, the British gained influence. British officers trained Merina troops, and British missionaries introduced schools and Christianity. Following the death of Radama, a strong reaction against European culture developed. Reforms were abolished, the missionaries were persecuted, and trade relations with Britain were severed. On the accession of Radama II (in 1861), a generally progressive ruler, some of the early reforms were reinstituted. Radama II, who was friendly to the French, was subsequently murdered by the conservative faction at the Merina court. A protracted period of strained relations and recurrent hostilities with the French culminated in 1895 in submission by the reigning monarch, Queen Ranavalona III. In 1896, as a result of popular uprisings, Madagascar was proclaimed a colony of France; military rule was instituted, and the queen was exiled.

Various reforms and improvements were introduced in Madagascar during the following decades, but discontent with French rule gradually assumed serious proportions. In 1916 a secret nationalist society was outlawed, and hundreds of its members were jailed.

In May 1942, two years after the fall of France in World War II, the British government, fearful that the Japanese would seize Madagascar, dispatched an expeditionary force to the island. In 1943 the British surrendered control to the Free French government. The postwar period was marked by a resumption of nationalist agitation.

Under the provisions of the French constitution of 1946, Madagascar and some dependencies became an overseas territory of France. The constitution established elective Madagascan provincial assemblies with limited powers. In March 1947, nationalists in east Madagascar began an armed revolt against the French that was not suppressed until August. After the revolt the government emphasized efforts to improve the economy by extending the road system and by exploiting coal deposits more systematically.

During the 1950s France took measures to increase self-government on the island. Elections held in 1951, 1952, and 1957 generally favored those who advocated gradual attainment of independence. The constitution of the Fifth Republic of France was approved by 78 percent of the Madagascan electorate in a referendum held on September 28, 1958. A subsequent congress of the members of the provincial councils proclaimed Madagascar, renamed the Malagasy Republic, a semiautonomous member of the French Community. Philibert Tsiranana, leader of the Social Democratic Party, was inaugurated as president and head of state on November 1. On June 26, 1960, the republic became fully autonomous while retaining a cordial association with France. In September it was admitted to the United Nations.

After a decade of political stability, Malagasy underwent serious unrest in the early 1970s, although Tsiranana was reelected for the second time in January 1972. In the spring, however, a student strike grew into general rioting, and Tsiranana was forced to turn power over to the army chief of staff, General Gabriel Ramanantsoa. Ramanantsoa was ousted by other elements of the military in early 1975; in June, Lieutenant Commander Didier Ratsiraka was named head of state. On December 30, the country was renamed the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, and on January 4, 1976, Ratsiraka began a seven-year term as president.

Economic pressures in the late 1970s added to political unrest, to which the government responded with a series of alerts and arrests; alleged antigovernment plots were reported in 1977, 1980, and 1982. Reelected in November 1982 and March 1989, Ratsiraka suppressed another coup attempt in May 1990. After massive antigovernment demonstrations, he promised in August 1991 to institute democratic reforms; a transitional government took office in November, and a new constitution was approved by popular referendum in August 1992. Albert Zafy defeated Ratsiraka in a presidential runoff election in February 1993.