View source for Madagascar

{{Short description|African island country in the Indian Ocean}}
{{About|the island nation|the main island itself|Geography of Madagascar|the film franchise|Madagascar (franchise)|other uses|Madagascar (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Republic of Madagascar
| common_name            = Madagascar
| native_name            = {{Ubl|{{Native name|mg|Repoblikan'i Madagasikara}}|{{Native name|fr|République de Madagascar}}}}
| image_flag               = Flag of Madagascar.svg
| flag_size                = 110px
| image_coat               = Seal of Madagascar.svg
| coa_size                 = 90px
| symbol_type            = [[Seal of Madagascar|Emblem]]
| national_motto         = {{Unbulleted list
 | {{Nowrap|{{Native phrase|mg|Fitiavana, Tanindrazana, Fandrosoana|nolink=yes}}}}
 | {{Native phrase|fr|Amour, Patrie, Progrès|nolink=yes}}
 | "Love, Fatherland, Progress"<ref name=4thRepublic>{{Cite web |last=Le Comité Consultatif Constitutionnel |title=''Projet de Constitution de la Quatrième République de Madagascar'' |publisher=Madagascar Tribune |date=1 October 2010 |url=https://www.madagascar-tribune.com/IMG/pdf/constitution.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628042414/http://madagascar-tribune.com/IMG/pdf/constitution.pdf |archive-date=28 June 2011 |url-status=live |access-date=24 August 2011 |language=fr}}</ref>
}}
| national_anthem        = {{Native name|mg|[[Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô!|Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô !]]|nolink=yes}}<br />{{Native name|fr|Ô Terre de nos ancêtres bien-aimés!|nolink=yes}}<br />"Oh, land of our beloved ancestors!"{{Parabr}}{{Center|[[File:Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô! (instrumental).ogg]]}}
| image_map              = Madagascar (centered orthographic projection).svg
| map_caption            = {{Map caption|location_color=dark green}}
| image_map2             = 
| capital                = [[Antananarivo]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|18|55|S|47|31|E|type:city}}
| largest_city           = [[Antananarivo]]
| official_languages     = {{hlist|[[Malagasy language|Malagasy]]|[[French language|French]]}}
| ethnic_groups          = <!--READ FIRST: Section has been maintained in its present form since the page was awarded "Featured Article" status. Please do not alter this information without seeking general consensus on the talk page. Thank you.-->
 {{Unbulleted list
  |26% [[Merina people|Merina]]
  |15% [[Betsimisaraka people|Betsimisaraka]]
  |12% [[Betsileo people|Betsileo]]
  |7% [[Tsimihety people|Tsimihety]]
  |6% [[Sakalava people|Sakalava]]
  |5% [[Antaisaka people|Antaisaka]]
  |5% [[Antandroy]]
  |24% [[Ethnic groups of Madagascar|others]]
}}
| ethnic_groups_year     = 2017
| ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.populstat.info/Africa/malegasg.htm |title=MADAGASCAR: general data |publisher=Populstat.info |access-date=15 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209164131/http://populstat.info/Africa/malegasg.htm |archive-date=9 February 2014}}</ref>
| demonym                = [[Malagasy peoples|Malagasy]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa030900a.htm |title=Demonyms – Names of Nationalities |publisher=Geography.about.com |access-date=15 July 2013 |archive-date=21 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821195842/http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa030900a.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Malagasy – National Geographic Style Manual |url=http://stylemanual.natgeo.com |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=27 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227171359/http://stylemanual.natgeo.com/}}</ref>
| government_type        = Unitary [[semi-presidential republic]] under a [[Military junta]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Naranjo |first=José |date=2025-10-17 |title=El coronel Randrianirina se convierte en presidente de Madagascar tras la huida del anterior por las protestas juveniles |url=https://elpais.com/internacional/2025-10-17/el-coronel-randrianirina-se-convierte-en-el-nuevo-presidente-de-madagascar-tras-la-huida-del-anterior-por-las-protestas-juveniles.html |access-date=2025-10-17 |website=El País |language=es}}</ref>
| leader_title1          = [[List of Presidents of Madagascar|President]]
| leader_name1           = [[Michael Randrianirina]]<ref name="Leader">{{Cite news |last=Lawal |first=Shola |title=Who is in charge of Madagascar after President Rajoelina flees? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/14/who-is-in-charge-of-madagascar-after-president-rajoelina-flees |access-date=16 October 2025 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]]}}</ref>
| leader_title2          = [[Prime Minister of Madagascar|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2           = [[Mamitiana Rajaonarison]]<ref>{{cite news
 |title=Le président de Madagascar nomme Mamitiana Rajaonarison au poste de Premier ministre
 |url=https://ch.zonebourse.com/actualite-bourse/le-president-de-madagascar-nomme-mamitiana-rajaonarison-au-poste-de-premier-ministre-ce7e5fd3d080f427
 |work=Zonebourse
 |agency=Reuters
 |date=15 March 2026
 |language=fr
 |access-date=15 March 2026
}}</ref>
| leader_title3          = 
| leader_name3           = 
| leader_title4          = 
| leader_name4           = 
| legislature            = [[Parliament of Madagascar|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = [[Senate of Madagascar|Senate]] (suspended)<ref name="Leader"/>
| lower_house            = [[National Assembly of Madagascar|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[History of Madagascar|Formation]]
| established_event1     = [[Merina Kingdom|Kingdom]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.madamagazine.com/en/die-anfaenge-des-koenigreichs-der-merina/ |title=The beginning of the Merina Kingdom |work=Mada Magazine |date=4 August 2015 |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150817071336/http://www.madamagazine.com/en/die-anfaenge-des-koenigreichs-der-merina/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| established_date1      = {{Circa|1540}}
| established_event2     = [[Malagasy Protectorate|French protectorate]]
| established_date2      =  {{Circa|1882}}
| established_event3     = [[French Madagascar|French colony]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lonelyplanet.com/madagascar/narratives/background/history |title=Madagascar |work=Lonely Planet |access-date=30 March 2021 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034433/https://www.lonelyplanet.com/madagascar/narratives/background/history |url-status=live}}</ref>
| established_date3      = 6 August 1896
| established_event4     = [[Malagasy Republic|Republic]] proclaimed
| established_date4      = 14 October 1958
| established_event5     = [[History of Madagascar|Declaration of independence]]
| established_date5      = 26 June 1960
| established_event6      = [[1975 Malagasy constitutional referendum|Referendum]]
| established_date6       = 21 December 1975
| established_event7       = [[Democratic Republic of Madagascar|Socialist state]]
| established_date7        = 30 December 1975 – 12 January 1992
| established_event8        = [[Third Republic of Madagascar|Third Republic]]
| established_date8         = 12 January 1992 – 11 December 2010
| established_event9        = [[2010 Malagasy constitutional referendum|Referendum]]
| established_date9         = 17 November 2010
| established_event10         = [[Constitution of Madagascar|Current constitution]]
| established_date10          = 11 December 2010
| established_event11         = [[2025 Malagasy protests]]
| established_date11          = 25 September – 14 October 2025
| established_event12          = [[2025 Malagasy coup d'état|Coup d'etat]]
| established_date12            = 12–14 October 2025
| area_km2               = 592,796<ref name="BGNote">{{Cite web |author=Bureau of African Affairs |title=Background Note: Madagascar |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=3 May 2011 |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5460.htm |access-date=24 August 2011 |archive-date=26 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026204111/https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5460.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>
| area_rank              = 46th <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_sq_mi             = 226,597 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| percent_water          = 0.9%
| population_estimate    = 31,964,956<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://population.un.org/dataportal/data/indicators/49/locations/450/start/2019/end/2026/table/pivotbylocation?df=e023316d-87af-4918-8ee3-fe083aa8d4b1 |title=By Location &#124; Pivot Table &#124; Data Portal}}</ref>
| population_estimate_year = 2024
| population_estimate_rank = 49th
| population_density_km2 = 55
| population_density_sq_mi = 141.1 <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->
| population_density_rank = 164th
| GDP_PPP                = {{Increase}} $68.110 billion<ref>{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2025: Edition (Madasgascar) |url=https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/10/14/world-economic-outlook-october-2025 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] October, 14 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2026
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 117th
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{Increase}} $2,110<ref>{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2025: Edition (Madasgascar) |url=https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/10/14/world-economic-outlook-october-2025 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] October, 14 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 182nd
| GDP_nominal            = {{Increase}} $21.090 billion<ref>{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2025: Edition (Madasgascar) |url=https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/10/14/world-economic-outlook-october-2025 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] October, 14 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 139th
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2026
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{Increase}} $652<ref>{{cite web |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2025: Edition (Madasgascar) |url=https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/issues/2025/10/14/world-economic-outlook-october-2025 |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] October, 14 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 188th
| Gini                   = 42.6 <!--number only-->
| Gini_year              = 2012
| Gini_change            = decrease<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref name="wb-gini">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison |title=Gini Index coefficient |publisher=CIA Factbook |access-date=16 July 2021 |archive-date=7 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707032440/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/gini-index-coefficient-distribution-of-family-income/country-comparison }}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI                    = 0.487 <!--number only-->
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = steady<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref name="HDI">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 183rd
| currency               = [[Malagasy ariary|Ariary]]
| currency_code          = MGA
| time_zone              = [[East Africa Time|EAT]]
| utc_offset             = +3
| date_format            = dd/mm/yyyy
| calling_code           = [[+261]]<ref name="Bradtp2">{{harvp|Bradt |2011| p=2}}</ref>
| cctld                  = [[.mg]]
| area_water_km2         = 5501
}}
'''Madagascar''', officially the '''Republic of Madagascar''', is an [[island country]] in the [[Indian Ocean]] that includes the [[Geography of Madagascar|island of Madagascar]] and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of [[Africa]], it is the world's [[List of islands by area|fourth-largest island]], the [[List of island countries|second-largest island country]], and the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|46th-largest country overall]]. Its [[Capital city|capital]] and [[List of cities in Madagascar|largest city]] is [[Antananarivo]].

Following the prehistoric breakup of the [[supercontinent]] [[Gondwana]], Madagascar split from Africa during the Early [[Jurassic]] period, around 180 million years ago, and from the [[Indian subcontinent]] approximately 90 million years ago. This isolation allowed native plants and animals to evolve in relative seclusion. As a result, Madagascar is a [[biodiversity hotspot]] and one of the world's 17 [[megadiverse countries]], with over 90% of [[Wildlife of Madagascar|its wildlife]] being [[Endemism|endemic]]. The island has a subtropical to tropical maritime climate.

Madagascar was first permanently settled during or before the mid-first millennium CE (roughly 500 to 700) by [[Austronesian peoples]], presumably arriving on [[Outrigger boat|outrigger canoes]] from present-day [[Indonesia]]. These were joined around the ninth century by [[Bantu peoples|Bantu]] groups crossing the [[Mozambique Channel]] from [[East Africa]]. Other groups continued to settle on Madagascar over time, each one making lasting contributions to Malagasy cultural life. Consequently, there are 18 or more classified [[Malagasy peoples|peoples of Madagascar]], the most numerous being the [[Merina people|Merina]] of the central highlands.

Until the late 18th century, the island of Madagascar was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of it was united and ruled as the [[Merina Kingdom|Kingdom of Madagascar]] by [[List of Imerina monarchs|a series]] of Merina [[Andriana|nobles]]. The monarchy was ended in 1897 by France's [[French Madagascar|annexation of Madagascar]], from which the country gained independence in 1960. It has since undergone four major constitutional periods, termed republics, and has been governed as a constitutional democracy since 1992. Following [[2009 Malagasy political crisis|a political crisis and military coup in 2009]], Madagascar underwent [[High Transitional Authority|a protracted transition]] towards its fourth and current republic, with constitutional governance being restored in January 2014. In 2025, [[2025 Malagasy protests|a series of mass protests]] resulted in [[2025 Malagasy coup d'état|a military coup]] and the installation of [[Michael Randrianirina]] as president of [[Council of the Presidency for the Re-Foundation of the Republic of Madagascar|a Military junta]].

Madagascar is a member of the [[United Nations]] (UN), the [[African Union]] (AU), the [[Southern African Development Community]] (SADC), and the ''[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie]]''. [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]] and [[French language|French]] are both [[official language]]s of the state. [[Christianity]] is the country's predominant religion, with a significant minority still practicing [[Malagasy mythology|traditional faiths]].

Madagascar is classified as a [[Least developed countries|least-developed country]] by the UN. [[Ecotourism]] and [[Agriculture in Madagascar|agriculture]], paired with greater investments in [[Education in Madagascar|education]], [[Healthcare in Madagascar|health]] and [[Private sector|private enterprise]], are key elements of its development strategy. Despite substantial economic growth since the early 2000s, income disparities have widened, and quality of life remains low for the majority of the population. As of 2021, 68.4% of the population was considered to be [[Multidimensional Poverty Index|multidimensionally poor]].

==Etymology==
In the [[Malagasy language]], the island of Madagascar is called ''Madagasikara'' (Malagasy pronunciation: ''madaɡasʲˈkʲarə̥'') and its people are referred to as ''[[Malagasy people|Malagasy]]''.<ref name=NatGeo1>{{Cite web |last=National Geographic |title=Style Manual |url=http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/M/madagascan-malagasy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525104716/http://stylemanual.ngs.org/home/M/madagascan-malagasy |archive-date=25 May 2013 |access-date=31 August 2012}}</ref><ref name=MalagasyOrNot>{{Cite web |url=https://theconversation.com/malagasy-or-is-it-madagascan-our-research-provides-the-answer-128343 |title=Malagasy? Or is it Madagascan? Our research provides the answer |last=Raveloson |first=Andriamiranto |date=25 March 2020 |website=theconversation.com |language=en |access-date=20 August 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613102719/https://theconversation.com/malagasy-or-is-it-madagascan-our-research-provides-the-answer-128343 |url-status=live}}</ref> The origin of the name is uncertain,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Voarintsoa |first1=Ny Riavo G. |last2=Raveloson |first2=Andriamiranto |last3=Barimalala |first3=Rondrotiana |last4=Razafindratsima |first4=Onja H. |date=July 2019 |title='Malagasy' or 'Madagascan'? Which English term best reflects the people, the culture, and other things from Madagascar? |journal=Scientific African |language=en |volume=4 |article-number=e00091 |doi=10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00091 |bibcode=2019SciAf...400091V |s2cid=187807236 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and is likely foreign, having been propagated in the [[Middle Ages]] by Europeans.<ref name="Cousins2">{{harvp|Cousins|1895| pp= 11–12}}</ref> If this is the case, it is unknown when the name was adopted by the inhabitants of the island. No single Malagasy-language name predating ''Madagasikara'' appears to have been used by the local population to refer to it, although some communities had their name for part or all of the lands they inhabited.<ref name="Room 2006, p. 2302">{{harvp|Room|2006|p=230}}</ref>

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

Another hypothesis is that ''Madagascar'' is a corrupted [[transliteration]] of [[Mogadishu]], the capital of [[Somalia]] and an important medieval [[Indian Ocean]] port. This would have resulted from the 13th-century [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] explorer [[Marco Polo]]'s confusion of the two locations in his memoirs, in which he mentions the land of ''Madageiscar'' to the south of [[Socotra]]. This name would then have been popularized on [[Renaissance]] maps by Europeans.<ref name="Cousins2"/><ref name="Room 2006, p. 2302">{{harvp|Room|2006|p=230}}</ref> One of the first documents written that might explain why Marco Polo called it ''Madagascar'' is in a 1609 book on Madagascar by [[Jerome Megizer]].<ref name="London Missionary Society Press">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jYccAAAAMAAJ&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar&pg=PA404 |title=The Antananarvio Annual and Madagascar Magazine |date=1893 |publisher=London Missionary Society Press |language=en |access-date=4 June 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604192933/https://books.google.com/books?id=jYccAAAAMAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA404&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar&hl=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Sibree 1896">{{Cite book |last=Sibree |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HRApAAAAYAAJ&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar+magadaxo&pg=PA113 |title=Madagascar Before the Conquest: The Island, the Country, and the People, with Chapters on Travel and Topography, Folk-lore, Strange Customs and Superstitions, the Animal Life of the Island, and Mission Work and Progress Among the Inhabitants |date=1896 |publisher=Macmillan |language=en |access-date=4 June 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604192928/https://books.google.com/books?id=HRApAAAAYAAJ&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA113&dq=jerome+megiser+madagascar+magadaxo&hl=en |url-status=live}}</ref> Megizer describes an event in which the kings of the sultanates of [[Sultanate of Mogadishu|Mogadishu]] and [[Adal Sultanate|Adal]] traveled to Madagascar with a fleet of around 25,000 men in order to invade the wealthy islands of [[Taprobana|Taprobane]] and [[Sumatra]]. However, a tempest threw them off course and they landed on the coasts of Madagascar, conquering the island and signing a treaty with its inhabitants. They remained for eight months and erected eight pillars at different points of the island on which they engraved ''Magadoxo'', a name which later, by corruption, became Madagascar.<ref name="London Missionary Society Press"/><ref name="Sibree 1896"/><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kent |first1=Raymond K. |title=Early Kingdoms in Madagascar and the Birth of the Sakalava Empire, 1500-1700 |date=1967 |publisher=University of Wisconsin--Madison |page=186 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XubAAAAMAAJ |access-date=5 June 2023 |archive-date=5 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605111400/https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Early_Kingdoms_in_Madagascar_and_the_Bir.html?id=_XubAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Warhafftige, gründliche und aussfüh">{{cite book |last1=Megiser |first1=Hieronymus |title=Warhafftige, gründliche und aussführliche, so wol historische als chorographische Beschreibung der ... Insul Madagascar. ... Samt ... angehengtem Dictionario und Dialogis der Madagascarischen Sprach |date=1609 |pages=58–60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=srs_eP6UmhUC&dq=magadaxo+und+adel&pg=PA58 |language=de |access-date=14 January 2024 |archive-date=14 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114164930/https://books.google.com/books?id=srs_eP6UmhUC&dq=magadaxo+und+adel&pg=PA58 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jan Huyghen van Linschoten]], a Dutch traveler who copied Portuguese works and maps, confirmed this event by saying, "Madagascar has its name from 'makdishu' (Mogadishu)" whose "shayk" invaded it.<ref name="London Missionary Society Press"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Linschoten |first=Jan Huygen van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GUxSjS0jpjwC&dq=the+voyage+of+john+huyghen+makdishu&pg=PA19 |title=The Voyage of John Huyghen Van Linschoten to the East Indies: From the Old English Translation of 1598. The First Book, Containing His Description of the East... |date=1885 |publisher=Hakluyt society |language=en |access-date=4 June 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604192932/https://books.google.com/books?id=GUxSjS0jpjwC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA19&dq=the+voyage+of+john+huyghen+makdishu&hl=en |url-status=live}}</ref>

The name ''Malagasikara'', or ''Malagascar'', is also historically attested. An English state paper in 1699 records the arrival of 80 to 90 passengers from "Malagaskar" to what eventually became [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter=America and West Indies: June 1699, 12–20|title=Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 17, 1699 and Addenda 1621–1698| editor-first= Cecil|editor-last= Headlam|location=London|year= 1908| pages= 283–291|publisher= British History Online|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol17/pp283-291 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216231538/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol17/pp283-291 |archive-date=16 February 2023 |access-date= 1 June 2023}}</ref> An 1882 edition of the British newspaper ''[[The Graphic]]'' referred to "Malagascar" as the name of the island, stating that the word was etymologically of Malay origin and might be related to the name of [[Malacca City|Malacca]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=W. M. C. |date=16 December 1882 |title=The Malagasy |work=The Graphic |issue=681 |url=http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/library/1882-12-16thegraphic.pdf |access-date=1 June 2023 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601201347/http://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/library/1882-12-16thegraphic.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1891, Saleh bin Osman, a [[Zanzibar]]i traveler, referred to the island as "Malagaskar" when recounting his journeys, including part of the [[Emin Pasha Relief Expedition]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last= Bin Osman|first=Saleh| date=August 1891 |title=The Story of My Life |url=https://onemorevoice.org/html/transcriptions/liv_020002_TEI.html |journal=St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks |issue=18 |pages=795–798 |access-date=1 June 2023 |archive-date=1 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601201352/https://onemorevoice.org/html/transcriptions/liv_020002_TEI.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1905, Charles Basset wrote in his doctoral thesis that ''Malagasikara'' was the way the island was referred to by its natives, who emphasized that they were ''Malagasy'', and not ''Madagasy''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Basset |first=Charles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5MoAAAAYAAJ |title=Madagascar et l'oeuvre du Général Galliéni |date=1903 |publisher=A. Rousseau |language=fr}}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Madagascar}}

===Early period===
[[File:Malagasy_girls_Madagascar_Merina.jpg|thumb|[[Malagasy people|Malagasy]] ancestry reflects a blend of Southeast Asian, Oceanian, and Bantu (Southeast African) roots. ]]
Traditionally, archeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves in [[outrigger canoe]]s from [[South Kalimantan|South Borneo]], possibly throughout the period between 350&nbsp;BCE and 550&nbsp;CE, whereas others are cautious about dates earlier than 250 CE. In either case, these dates make Madagascar one of the most recent major landmasses on Earth to be settled by humans, predating the settlement of Iceland and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Crowley |first=B. E. |year=2010 |title=A refined chronology of prehistoric Madagascar and the demise of the megafauna |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=29 |issue=19–20 |pages=2591–2603 |bibcode=2010QSRv...29.2591C |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.06.030}}</ref> It has been proposed that [[Ma'anyan people]] were brought as laborers and slaves by [[Java]]n and [[Sumatra]]n-[[Malay (ethnic group)|Malays]] in their trading fleets to Madagascar.<ref name="Dewar199322">{{cite journal |last1=Dewar |first1=Robert E. |last2=Wright |first2=Henry T. |date=1993 |title=The culture history of Madagascar |journal=Journal of World Prehistory |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=417–466 |doi=10.1007/bf00997802 |bibcode=1993JWPre...7..417D |hdl=2027.42/45256 |s2cid=21753825 |hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Burney200422">{{cite journal |last1=Burney|first1= D. A. |last2= Burney|first2= L. P. |last3= Godfrey|first3= L. R. |last4= Jungers|first4= W. L. |last5= Goodman|first5= S. M. |last6= Wright|first6= H. T. |last7= Jull|first7= A. J. |date=August 2004 |title=A chronology for late prehistoric Madagascar |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=47 |issue=1–2 |pages=25–63 |bibcode=2004JHumE..47...25B |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.05.005 |pmid=15288523}}</ref><ref>Kumar, Ann (2012). 'Dominion Over Palm and Pine: Early Indonesia's Maritime Reach', in Geoff Wade (ed.), ''Anthony Reid and the Study of the Southeast Asian Past'' (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies), 101–122.</ref><ref name="Cox2">{{cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Murray P. |last2=Nelson |first2=Michael G. |last3=Tumonggor |first3=Meryanne K. |last4=Ricaut |first4=François-X. |last5=Sudoyo |first5=Herawati |date=2012 |title=A small cohort of Island Southeast Asian women founded Madagascar |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=279 |issue=1739 |pages=2761–2768 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.0012 |pmc=3367776 |pmid=22438500 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Dates of settlement of the island earlier than the mid-first millennium CE are not strongly supported;<ref name="Mitchell-2020b">{{cite journal |last1=Mitchell |first1=Peter |title=Settling Madagascar: When Did People First Colonize the World's Largest Island? |journal=The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology |date=October 2020 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=576–595 |doi=10.1080/15564894.2019.1582567 }}</ref> however, there is scattered evidence for much earlier human visits and presence.{{efn|Archaeological finds such as cut marks on bones found in the northwest and stone tools in the northeast indicate that Madagascar was visited by foragers around 2000 BCE.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gommery |first1=D. |last2=Ramanivosoa |first2=B. |last3=Faure |first3=M. |last4=Guérin |first4=C. |last5=Kerloc'h |first5=P. |last6=Sénégas |first6=F. |last7=Randrianantenaina |first7=H. |year=2011 |title=Oldest evidence of human activities in Madagascar on subfossil hippopotamus bones from Anjohibe (Mahajanga Province) |journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=271–278 |doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2011.01.006}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dewar |first1=R. E. |last2=Radimilahy |first2=C. |last3=Wright |first3=H. T. |last4=Jacobs |first4=Z. |last5=Kelly |first5=G. O. |last6=Berna |first6=F. |year=2013 |title=Stone tools and foraging in northern Madagascar challenge Holocene extinction models |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=110 |issue=31 |pages=12583–12588 |bibcode=2013PNAS..11012583D |doi=10.1073/pnas.1306100110 |pmc=3732966 |pmid=23858456 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Peter|last1= Forster|first2= Shuichi|last2= Matsumutra|first3= Matthieu|last3= Vizuete-Forster|first4= Petya Belinda|last4= Blumbach|first5= Robert|last5= Dewar |chapter=The Genetic Prehistory of Madagascar's Female Asian Lineages|editor-last1=Matsumura |editor-first1=Shūichi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IR3bAAAAMAAJ |title=Simulations, Genetics and Human Prehistory |editor-last2=Forster |editor-first2=Peter |editor-last3=Renfrew |editor-first3=Colin |editor-link3=Colin Renfrew |publisher=McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-902937-45-8| pages=71–72}}</ref> See [[History of Madagascar#First inhabitants and settlements (500 BCE–700 CE)|History of Madagascar]].}}<ref name="Hixon-2024">{{cite book |last1=Hixon |first1=Sean |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |chapter=Archaeology of Madagascar |date=2024 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.795 |isbn=978-0-19-027773-4 }}</ref>

Upon arrival, early settlers practiced [[slash-and-burn agriculture]] to clear the coastal rainforests for cultivation. The first settlers encountered Madagascar's abundance of [[Pleistocene megafauna|megafauna]],<ref>{{cite news |date=4 November 2022 |title=Human expansion 1,000 years ago linked to Madagascar's loss of large vertebrates |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221104113440.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106001734/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221104113440.htm |archive-date=6 November 2022 |access-date=6 November 2022 |work=ScienceDaily}}</ref> including 17 species of [[Subfossil lemur|giant lemurs]]; the large flightless [[elephant bird]]s (including possibly the largest bird to ever exist, ''[[Aepyornis maximus]]''); the [[Cryptoprocta spelea|giant fossa]]; and several species of [[Malagasy hippopotamus]], which have since become extinct because of hunting and habitat destruction.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Virah-Sawmy |first=M. |author2=Willis, K. J. |author3=Gillson, L. |year=2010 |title=Evidence for drought and forest declines during the recent megafaunal extinctions in Madagascar |journal=Journal of Biogeography |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=506–519 |bibcode=2010JBiog..37..506V |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2699.2009.02203.x |s2cid=84382916}}</ref> According to the ''[[General History of Africa]]'', these first settlers, the {{Lang|mg|[[tompontany]]}} (masters of the soil/land), are thought to have been the [[Kimosy]] in south-central Madagascar, the [[Antevinany]] in the southeast, the [[Antankoala]] and [[Kajemby]] in the northwest, and the [[Rasikajy]] in the northeast. Newer arrivals formed marriage alliances with the ''{{Lang|mg|tompontany}}'', facilitating their gradual assimilation.<ref name="Esoavelomandroso-2025">{{Cite book |last=Esoavelomandroso |first=Manasse |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000396045/PDF/396045eng.pdf.multi |title=General History of Africa: Volume 9 |date=2025 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |chapter=Political Constructions in Madagascar: From Their Origins to the 19th Century}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=900}}

By 600&nbsp;CE, groups of these early settlers had begun clearing the forests of the [[Central Highlands (Madagascar)|Central Highlands]].<ref name="Campbell-1993">{{cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Gwyn |year=1993 |title=The Structure of Trade in Madagascar, 1750–1810 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=111–148 |doi=10.2307/219188 |jstor=219188}}</ref> According to the ''General History of Africa'', by the 8th century the [[Vazimba]] (a "way of life" rather than ethnic group)<ref name="Randrianja 2009">{{cite book |last=Randrianja |first=Solofo |title=Madagascar: A short history |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2009 |chapter=Transforming the island (1100–1599) |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/madagascarshorth0000rand/page/42/mode/2up}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=71}} had absorbed or violently displaced the first settlers, and had come to refer to themselves as ''{{Lang|mg|tompontany}}''.<ref name="Esoavelomandroso-2025" />{{Reference page|page=900}} Malagasy popular belief, however, regards the Vazimba as the island's first inhabitants.<ref name="Mythe2">[https://www.madatana.com/article-vazimba-mythe-ou-realite.php "Vazimba: Mythe ou Realité?"] Razafimahazo, S. ''Revue de l'Océan Indien.'' Accessed on November 8, 2010.</ref>

Arab traders first reached the island between the 7th and 9th centuries,<ref name="Wink2">{{harvp|Wink|2004|p=185}}</ref> and introduced Islam and the [[Arabic script]] (adapted as {{Lang|mg|[[sorabe]]}} for the Malagasy language).<ref name="LOC2">{{cite web |last=Metz |first=Helen Chapin |author-link=Helen Chapin Metz |year=1994 |title=Library of Congress Country Studies: Madagascar |url=http://countrystudies.us/madagascar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109090930/http://countrystudies.us/madagascar/ |archive-date=9 November 2005 |access-date=1 February 2011}}</ref> [[Indian Ocean trade]] along Madagascar's Northwestern Coast came to be controlled by the [[Antalaotra]], Muslim [[Swahili language|Swahili]]-speakers who had migrated to the region around the 10th century and intermarried with the locals,<ref name="Hooper-2010">{{cite thesis |last=Hooper |first=Jane |title=An Empire in the Indian Ocean: the Sakalava Empire of Madagascar |publisher=Emory University |url=https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/fj2362203?locale=en |year=2010}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=36–37}} forming [[city-states]] such as {{Interlanguage link|Mahilaka|de}} and {{Interlanguage link|Irodo (village)|lt=Irodo|fr}}.<ref name="Esoavelomandroso-2025" />{{Reference page|page=900}}

A wave of [[Bantu languages|Bantu]]-speaking migrants from southeastern Africa arrived around the year 1000.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pierron |first1=Denis |last2=Heiske |first2=Margit |last3=Razafindrazaka |first3=Harilanto |last4=Rakoto |first4=Ignace |last5=Rabetokotany |first5=Nelly |last6=Ravololomanga |first6=Bodo |last7=Rakotozafy |first7=Lucien M.-A. |last8=Rakotomalala |first8=Mireille Mialy |last9=Razafiarivony |first9=Michel |last10=Rasoarifetra |first10=Bako |last11=Raharijesy |first11=Miakabola Andriamampianina |date=8 August 2017 |title=Genomic landscape of human diversity across Madagascar |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=114 |issue=32 |pages=E6498–E6506 |bibcode=2017PNAS..114E6498P |doi=10.1073/pnas.1704906114 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5559028 |pmid=28716916 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Around this time, [[zebu]] cattle from [[South India]] were first brought, intermingling with [[Sanga cattle|sanga]] cattle found in East Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Magnier |first=Jessica |year=2022 |title=The genetic history of Mayotte and Madagascar cattle breeds mirrors the complex pattern of human exchanges in Western Indian Ocean |url=https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article/12/4/jkac029/6523972?login=false |journal=G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics |volume=12 |issue=4 |article-number=jkac029 |doi=10.1093/g3journal/jkac029 |pmc=8982424 |pmid=35137043}}</ref> 

By 1100, all regions of Madagascar were inhabited, although the total population remained small.<ref name="Randrianja 2009" />{{Rp|page=48}} Societies, driven by [[Hasina (Madagascar)|''hasina'']] organized, after which they competed with one another over the [[List of rivers of Madagascar|island's estuaries]] and [[bridgehead]]s. Oral histories describe bloody clashes and earlier settlers were often pushed along the coast or inland.<ref name="Randrianja 2009" />{{rp|pages=43, 52–53}} An Arab geographer wrote in 1224 that the island consisted of a great many towns and kingdoms, with kings making war on each other.<ref name="Randrianja 2009" />{{rp|pages=51–52}} Assisted by climate change, the peoples gradually transformed the island from [[Madagascar lowland forests|dense forest]] to grassland for cultivation and zebu [[pastoralism]].<ref name="Randrianja 2009" />{{rp|page=71}}

=== Rise of early kingdoms and contact with Europeans ===
The period from 1500 to 1800 saw Madagascar's populations go from being mobile and unsettled to being organized largely into states.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vansina |first=Jan |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/unesco_general_history_africa_v/page/69/mode/2up?q=sakalava+maroserana&view=theater |title=General History of Africa: Volume 5 |date=1992 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |chapter=Population movements and the emergence of new social-political forms in Africa}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=70}} On the northern coast, Mahilaka was abandoned and replaced by [[Vohemar]] in the 15th century as one of the island's main trading ports,<ref name="Hixon-2024" /> accompanied by [[Mazalagem Nova]] in the late 16th century. [[Portuguese maritime exploration#Indian Ocean explorations (1497–1542)|Portuguese navigators]] reached Madagascar around 1500, and sacked the port city of [[Sada, Madagascar|Sada]] (part of the [[Guingemaro]] kingdom) in 1506.<ref name="Randrianja 20092">{{Cite book |last=Randrianja |first=Solofo |url=https://archive.org/details/madagascarshorth0000rand |title=Madagascar: A short history |date=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |chapter=Royalty and the Rise of Kingdoms}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=75, 91}} Over the following centuries, the [[Indian Ocean slave trade|slave trade]] grew in importance as slaves were traded for firearms.<ref name="Randrianja 20093">{{Cite book |last=Randrianja |first=Solofo |url=https://archive.org/details/madagascarshorth0000rand |title=Madagascar: A short history |date=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |chapter=The Slave-Trader Kings (1700{{endash}}1816)}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=102}} In the late 17th century, Madagascar had an influx of pirates who had been expelled from the [[Caribbean]], some of whom participated in local wars and {{Interlanguage link|Zanamalata|lt=married local women|mg}}, although they were routed by the British navy in the 1720s.{{Efn|[[Solofo Randrianja]] writes that "one or two pirates actually claimed to rule small areas of Madagascar themselves".<ref name="Randrianja 20093"/>{{rp|page=105}} A 1724 book, ''[[A General History of the Pyrates]]'' (GHP), is the source of a number of narratives in [[popular history]], one being the utopian pirate colony of [[Libertalia]]. Most modern scholars consider Libertalia to be fictional, and the ''Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History'' describes the GHP as "not a historical primary source but [a] fabulous literary one".<ref>{{cite book |last1=McDonald |first1=Kevin P. |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History |chapter=European Piracy in the Indian Ocean |date=2022 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.679 |isbn=978-0-19-027772-7 }}</ref><ref name="Little-The Golden Age of Piracy">{{cite book |last1=Little |first1=Benerson |title=The Golden Age of Piracy: The Truth Behind Pirate Myths |date=2016 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. |location=New York |isbn=978-1-5107-1304-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2uIDAAAQBAJ |access-date=15 September 2017 |language=en}}</ref>}}<ref name="Randrianja 20093" />{{Reference page|page=105}}<ref name="Kent-1992">{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=Raymond |title=General History of Africa: Volume 5 |date=1992 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |chapter=Madagascar and the islands of the Indian Ocean |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/unesco_general_history_africa_v/page/857/mode/2up?q=sakalava&view=theater}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=864}}

The origin of the Maroserana, the dynasty of the [[Sakalava Empire]], is uncertain, with [[Sakalava people|Sakalava]] traditions{{efn|Called {{lang|mg|fitera}}, {{lang|mg|n'antoaniraza}} (customs), or {{lang|mg|lovan'tsofina}} (heritage of the ears), Sakalava [[oral traditions]] vary in content, especially when compared to Imerina's body of tradition (the ''[[Tantara ny Andriana]]''), in part due to their time of collection in the mid-19th century when the empire had undergone disintegration, resulting in the absence of a single body of tradition.<ref name="Hooper-2010"/>{{Reference page|pages=159–160}}}} holding that they originated from overseas and migrated to southwest Madagascar.<ref name="Kent-1970" />{{Reference page|page=164}} The proto-Sakalava are thought to have originated from [[Sadia (city)|Sadia]] (located at the mouth of the [[Manambolo River]]).<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|page=857, 869}} Historian [[Solofo Randrianja]] considers the Maroserana to have lived in south-central Madagascar,<ref name="Randrianja 20092" />{{Reference page|page=94}} whereas [[Raymond Kent]] thought they originated in the southwest and first came to power among the [[Mahafaly]].<ref name="Kent-1970">{{Cite book |last=Kent |first=Raymond K. |url=http://archive.org/details/earlykingdomsinm0000kent |title=Early kingdoms in Madagascar, 1500-1700 |date=1970 |publisher=New York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-03-084171-2 |chapter=The Sakalava: Origins of the First Empire in Madagascar}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=26}}

Mahafaly tradition has Olembetsitoto as the first Maroserana [[Sacred king|sacred ruler]] in the 16th century, who was protected by an {{Lang|mg|{{ill|ombiasy|fr}}}} (priest).<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|page=|pages=856, 867}} Prior to 1600, only the north of the island was integrated into Indian Ocean trade; but in the mid-to late-16th century, European merchants ({{Lang|mg|vazaha}}; "foreigners") began using the newly-named [[Bay of Saint-Augustin|St. Augustine Bay]] in the southwest as a stopping point and traded with the communities there. The British attempted to found a colony at the Bay in 1645 but were expelled by the Malagasy.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=38–39, 54, 61–62}}

Kent considered the Maroserana to have migrated and met the proto-Sakalava near the [[Mangoky River]], who all traditions agree were skilled warriors.<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|page=869}} Sakalava traditions detail how a kingdom was founded along the [[Morondava River]] before 1600, called {{Lang|mg|[[Menabe]]}} ("very red") after the red soil. In the late 16th or early 17th century, {{Interlanguage link|Andriamandazoala|mg}} centralized the [[Kingdom of Menabe]].{{efn|Traditionally Andriamandazoala is held to have come from overseas. Other traditions say the founder was Andrianalimbe who came from the interior. Yet another strain of Sakalava tradition holds Rabaratavokoko as its founder. This name means "noble-bent-reed", while {{lang|mg|Andriamandazoala}} means "lord-who-withered-the-forest". Historian [[Raymond Kent]] interpreted these as implying {{lang|mg|Rabaratavokoko}} was a {{lang|mg|fitahina}} (a [[posthumous name]] deriving from a [[Fady (taboo)|taboo]] around calling monarchs 'dead') for Andriamandazoala.<ref name="Kent-1992"/>{{Reference page|pages=856–857}}}} {{Interlanguage link|Andriandahifotsy|mg}} expanded the state and monopolized coastal trade.{{Efn|Kent said that it is plausible that a long-term high [[birth rate]] among the Maroserana royal family led to many princes without administrative positions, incentivizing expansion.<ref name="Kent-1992"/>{{Reference page|page=859}}}}  After initial hostility, he established relations with European merchants.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|page=|pages=77–79, 83–89}}

Around 1685, a succession dispute brought {{Interlanguage link|Andriamanetriarivo|mg}} to power in Menabe when he expelled his brother {{Interlanguage link|Andriamandisoarivo|mg}}. Taking this opportunity to expand north with his followers, Andriamandisoarivo conquered port cities along the coast, capturing Mazalagem Nova and killing the Antalaotra sultan, establishing his commercial capital at [[Majunga]] in the early-18th century and founding the [[Kingdom of Boina]].{{efn|After the conflict they aimed to avoid disrupting the Antalaotra trade, instead only taking tribute.<ref name="Hooper-2010"/>{{rp|page=96}}}} How the Sakalava acquired territory in the south is disputed. Jane Hooper considers another expelled brother to have expanded south and founded [[Toliara]] in the [[Fiherenana River|Fiherenana Valley]] as an [[Andrevola]] tributary,{{Efn|Both Kent and Hooper wrote that the Andrevola were incorporated into the empire via a [[blood brotherhood]] ceremony called {{lang|mg|{{ill|fatidra|lt=fatidra|mg}}}}, which acted as a guarantee of safety and assistance from the monarch.<ref name="Hooper-2010"/>{{rp|page=91}}<ref name="Kent-1992"/>{{rp|page=870}}}}<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=89–91, 95–97}} whereas Randrianja thought the Maroserana to have come to rule there during their initial migration.<ref name="Randrianja 20093" />{{Reference page|page=100}} Kent considered a brother, {{ill|Andriamandresy|mg|}}, to have migrated east and founded the [[Antesaka kingdom]] on the southeast coast in accordance with [[Antesaka]] tradition.<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|page=884}} Hooper writes that Andriandahifotsy re-established relations with his brothers as the Sakalava came to control Madagascar's west coast and dominate trade.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=98–99}}

In the southwest and south, conflict between the [[Mahafaly kingdom|Mahafaly]] and [[Antandroy kingdom|Antandroy]] kingdoms in the mid-17th century caused the death of two Antandroy kings and saw Mahafaly split in two: [[Kingdom of Menarandra|Menarandra]] and [[Kingdom of Sakatovo|Sakatovo]], with Menarandra soon splitting further to produce [[Kingdom of Linta|Linta]]. In the early 18th century, a Menarandra king expanded east to conquer the Western Antandroy, though yet another split produced [[Kingdom of Onilahy|Onilahy]].<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|pages=867–868}} On the East Coast, when the [[Antemoro people|Antemoro]] settled their lands they found Muslim settlers, the [[Zafiraminia]], already there since around 1500. A conflict between the two broke out,{{Efn|Represented in traditions as a battle between two giants, [[Darafify]] and Fatrapaitatana<ref name="Kent-1992"/>{{rp|page=853}}}} and the Zafiraminia had come to rule the [[Antemoro kingdom]] by the mid-16th century.<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|pages=851–853}}

In the southeast, the French founded [[Fort-Dauphin (Madagascar)|Fort Dauphin]] in 1642. They intervened in local conflicts and raided for cattle, provoking insecurity. The [[Antanosy]] attacked the colony, although they were defeated by [[Étienne de Flacourt|Flacourt]]'s forces. Another attack destroyed the colony and resulted in the [[Massacre of Fort-Dauphin (Madagascar)|killing of French settlers]] who remained in 1674.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pearson |first1=Mike Parker |title=Close encounters of the worst kind: Malagasy resistance and colonial disasters in Southern Madagascar |journal=World Archaeology |date=February 1997 |volume=28 |issue=3 |pages=393–417 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1997.9980355 }}</ref>

In the Central Highlands, Merina traditions hold that they encountered the Vazimba{{Efn|Represented as "primitive dwarfs"<ref name="Randrianja 2009"/>{{Reference page|page=70}}}} when gradually settling the highlands from the southeast, thought to have been completed by the 15th century.<ref name="Campbell-1993" /><ref name="Randrianja 2009" />{{Reference page|page=70}} After peacefully coexisting for several generations, the [[Hill of Alasora|Alasora]] king [[Andriamanelo]], son of a Vazimba queen{{Efn|Traditions differ on whether it was [[Rafohy]] or [[Rangita]].<ref name="Raison-Jourde"/>{{Reference page|page=142}}}} and a Merina man, launched a campaign to conquer the Vazimba.<ref name="Raison-Jourde">{{Cite book |last=Raison-Jourde |first=Françoise |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKSlFJjgC9UC |title=Les Souverains de Madagascar: l'histoire royale et ses résurgences contemporaines |date=1983-01-01 |publisher=KARTHALA Editions |isbn=978-2-86537-059-7 |language=fr}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=142}}

Of his successors, [[Ralambo]] founded the [[Merina Kingdom]],{{Efn|In Merina tradition, Ralambo is credited with founding various institutions, such as a [[head tax]] and [[standing army]], and with domesticating zebu.<ref name="Kent-1992"/>{{rp|page=876}}}} and [[Andrianjaka]] completed the expulsion and assimilation of the Vazimba by the early 17th century.<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|page=876}} Traditions attribute the conquest of the Vazimba to the need to acquire more land for rice cultivation. Archeological research places the beginning of this expansion in the 14th century.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=49–50}} In the mid-17th century a Mahafaly king invaded [[Bara people|Bara]] territory and appointed his relatives, the [[Zafimanely]], as rulers, who gained independence of [[Bara kingdoms|various kinglets]] after his death.<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|page=880}} [[Betsileo kingdoms]] such as [[Arindrano]] and [[Kingdom of Isandra|Isandra]] were likely founded in the mid-17th century, and the [[Betsileo people|Betsileo]] derive their name from King Besilau, who repelled a Sakalava-Menabe invasion in the 1670s.{{Efn|''-silau''/''-tsileo'' means "the invincible".<ref name="Kent-1992"/>{{rp|page=874}}}} By the 18th century, the Betsileo were the island's most proficient cultivators of rice.<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|pages=874–875}}

By 1720, the Sakalava-Boina king [[Toakafo]] is considered to have been the most powerful ruler in Madagascar, and possibly ruled the entire northern third of the island.<ref name="Ellis-2007">{{Cite journal |last=Ellis |first=Stephen |date=2007 |title=Tom and Toakafo: The Betsimisaraka Kingdom and State Formation in Madagascar, 1715-1750 |journal=The Journal of African History |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=439–455 |doi=10.1017/S0021853707003064 |issn=0021-8537 |jstor=40206589}}</ref> In the 18th century, the French established various trading posts along the east coast in order to supply the [[Mascarenes]].<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=155–156}} On the northeast coast, the Tsikoa tribe coalesced under a single ruler and invaded the {{Lang|mg|Antavaratra}} (Northerners) c. 1710, intent on capturing their lucrative ports. [[Ratsimilaho]], a son of an [[Thomas Tew|English pirate]] and a Malagasy woman who had been Toakafo's chief minister,<ref name="Randrianja 20093" />{{Reference page|page=106}} managed to unite the ''{{Lang|mg|Antavaratra}}'', repel the Tsikoa, and drive them south. Ratsimilaho founded the [[Betsimisaraka Confederation]], and by the 1730s was one of the most powerful kings in Madagascar, although the state disintegrated soon after his death in 1754.<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|pages=882–883}}

The French attempted to set up trading posts on the northwest coast, resulting in conflict with the Sakalava in the 1770s that ended inconclusively.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=160-1}} The Merina king [[Andriamasinavalona]] expanded the kingdom further and ruled much of the Central Highlands during his reign, though in the early 18th century he abdicated and divided the state between four of his sons. A fierce [[Merina Civil War|civil war]] ensued characterized by slave-raiding and -trading, and it was not until the 1790s that the kingdom was reunited by means of conquest and diplomacy by [[Andrianampoinimerina]].<ref name="Kent-1992" />{{Reference page|page=877}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chrétien |first=Jean-Pierre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vj9JmuI7yt8C&q=andrianampoinimerina |title=L'invention religieuse en Afrique: histoire et religion en Afrique noire |date=1993-01-01 |publisher=KARTHALA Editions |isbn=978-2-86537-373-4 |language=fr}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=204}}<ref name="Randrianja 20093" />{{Reference page|pages=114-8}}

=== 19th century and the Kingdom of Madagascar ===
[[File:Andrianampoinimerina_HQ.jpg|thumb|King [[Andrianampoinimerina]] (1787–1810)]]
After reuniting [[Imerina]] and seated at the [[Rova of Antananarivo]], Andrianampoinimerina rapidly expanded his rule over neighboring principalities. He used the ports' reliance on the supply of slaves from the highlands to gain control over trade on the Eastern Coast.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|page=165}}

His ambition to bring the entire island under his control was largely achieved by his son and successor, King [[Radama I]] (r.{{Spaces}}1810–28).<ref name="Ade Ajayi 1989, pp. 413–4222">{{harvp|Ade Ajayi|1989|pp=413–422}}</ref> The 18th century had seen rivalry between the French and the British over the wider Indian Ocean trade, of which Malagasy trade had proved decisive during the [[Carnatic Wars]].<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=195}} Radama expanded east to control [[Toamasina]] on the coast,<ref name="Mutibwa-1989">{{Cite book |last=Mutibwa |first=Phares |title=General History of Africa: Volume 6 |date=1989 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |chapter=Madagascar 1800–80 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/general_history_africa_vi/page/415/mode/2up?q=sakalava&view=theater}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=416}} and concluded a treaty in 1817 with the British governor of [[Mauritius]] to abolish the lucrative slave trade in return for British military and financial assistance, and recognition as the "King of Madagascar". Artisan missionary envoys from the [[London Missionary Society]] began arriving in 1818. They established schools, transcribed the Malagasy language using the [[Latin alphabet|Roman alphabet]], and translated the Bible.<ref name="Ade Ajayi 1989, pp. 413–4222" /> In response, the Sakalava and French found themselves as natural allies.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=198}} Radama embarked on successive campaigns to conquer the island, subduing the east coast, dismantling [[Iboina]] and expelling its ruler, and achieving Menabe's nominal submission. By 1828 he controlled two-thirds of the island (excepting the Bara, Mahafaly, and [[Antandroy]]), although Merina rule was far from secure and widespread resistance continued.<ref name="Mutibwa-1989" />{{Reference page|pages=420-2}}

Radama's successor, Queen [[Ranavalona I]] (r. 1828–61), responded to increasing political and cultural encroachment on the part of Britain and France by issuing a royal edict prohibiting the practice of [[Christianity in Madagascar]] and pressuring most foreigners to leave the territory. The queen made heavy use of the traditional practice of {{Lang|mg|[[Corvée|fanompoana]]}} (forced labor as tax payment) to complete public works projects and develop a standing army of between 20,000 and 30,000 Merina soldiers, whom she deployed to pacify outlying regions of the island and further expand the Merina Kingdom to encompass most of Madagascar.<ref name="Stats2">{{cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=Gwyn |title=The State and Pre-Colonial Demographic History: The Case of Nineteenth-Century Madagascar |journal=The Journal of African History |date=November 1991 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=415–445 |doi=10.1017/s0021853700031534}}</ref>

Residents of Madagascar could accuse one another of various crimes, including theft, Christianity, and especially witchcraft, for which the ordeal of {{Lang|mg|[[tangena]]}} (a [[poison trial]]) was routinely obligatory. Between 1828 and 1861, the {{Lang|mg|tangena}} ordeal caused about 3,000 deaths annually.<ref name="Stats2" /> The combination of regular warfare, disease, difficult forced labor, and harsh measures of justice resulted in a high mortality rate among soldiers and civilians alike during the queen's 33-year reign. The population of Madagascar is estimated to have declined from around 5&nbsp;million to 2.5&nbsp;million between 1833 and 1839.<ref name="Stats2" />

In 1839, Boina queen [[Tsiomeko of Boina|Tsiomeko]], having fled to the island of [[Nosy Be]], requested French assistance against Merina attacks. In accordance with France's conditions, she signed over Nosy Be and part of the mainland to the French,<ref name="Feeley-Harnik-1982">{{Cite journal |last=Feeley-Harnik |first=Gillian |date=1982 |title=The King's Men in Madagascar Slavery, Citizenship and Sakalava Monarchy |journal=Africa: Journal of the International African Institute |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=31–50 |doi=10.2307/1159140 |issn=0001-9720 |jstor=1159140}}</ref> which they then declared as France's [[protectorate]].<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|pages=241-5}}

Among those who continued to reside in Imerina were [[Jean Laborde]], an entrepreneur who developed munitions and other industries on behalf of the monarchy, and [[Joseph-François Lambert]], a French adventurer and slave trader, with whom then-Prince [[Radama II]] signed a controversial trade agreement termed the [[Lambert Charter]]. Succeeding his mother, Radama II attempted to relax the queen's stringent policies but was [[Radama II#Assassination plot|overthrown]] two years later by Prime Minister [[Rainivoninahitriniony]] and an alliance of {{Lang|mg|[[Andriana]]}} (noble) and {{Lang|mg|[[Hova (Madagascar)|Hova]]}} (commoner) courtiers, who sought to end the monarch's absolute power.<ref name="LOC2" />

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

Over the course of Rainilaiarivony's 31-year tenure as prime minister, numerous policies were adopted to modernize and consolidate the central government's power.<ref name="TA9102">{{harvp|Thompson | Adloff| 1965| pp= 9–10}}</ref> Schools were constructed throughout the island and attendance was made mandatory. Army organization was improved and British consultants were employed to train and professionalize soldiers.<ref name="FFO5222">{{harvp|Fage| Flint | Oliver |1986| pp= 522–524}}</ref> [[Polygamy]] was outlawed and Christianity, declared the official religion of the court in 1869, was adopted alongside traditional beliefs among a growing portion of the populace.<ref name="TA9102" /> Legal codes were reformed on the basis of British [[common law]] and three European-style courts were established in the capital city.<ref name="FFO5222" /> In his joint role as commander-in-chief, Rainilaiarivony also successfully ensured the defense of Madagascar against several French colonial incursions.<ref name="FFO5222" /> The French devised plans in 1842 and the 1860s to land troops in Madagascar and assist the Sakalava, who continued to resist, in a war against Imerina; however, they did not materialize.<ref name="Hooper-2010" />{{Reference page|page=252}}

===French colonization and the colonial period===
{{Main|Malagasy Protectorate|French Madagascar}}

{{See also|Madagascar in World War II}}
[[File:LaGuerreAMadagascar.jpg|left|thumb|French poster about the [[Franco-Hova Wars|Franco-Hova War]]]]
In 1883 after diplomatic fallout, France began the [[First Franco-Hova War]] by bombing [[Majunga]], during which Madagascar suffered under blockade and diplomatic isolation as it was ignored by the nominally allied British. In 1885, an ambiguous peace treaty was signed that allowed the two parties to interpret it to their benefit: Madagascar viewed it as affirming its sovereignty, France viewed it as establishing [[Protectorate|protectorate status]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Esoavelomandroso |first=M. |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/general-history-of-africa-vol-7/page/n251/mode/2up |title=General History of Africa: Volume 7 |date=1985 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |chapter=Madagascar, 1880s–1930s: African initiatives and reaction to colonial conquest and domination}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=224-8}} Although the British accepted the full formal imposition of a French protectorate on the island in 1890, French authority was not acknowledged by the government of Madagascar. To force capitulation, the French bombarded and occupied the harbor of Toamasina on the east coast and Majunga on the west coast in December 1894 and January 1895, respectively.<ref name="Disease2">{{harvp|Curtin|1998|p=186}}</ref>

A French military [[flying column]] then marched toward [[Antananarivo]], losing many men to malaria and other diseases. Reinforcements came from [[Algeria]] and [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]. Upon reaching the city in September 1895, the column bombarded the royal palace with heavy artillery, causing heavy casualties and leading Queen Ranavalona III to surrender.<ref>{{harvp|Oliver| Fage | Sanderson |1983| p= 529}}</ref> Popular resistance to the French capture of Antananarivo—known as the [[Menalamba rebellion]]—broke out in December 1895 and was not suppressed until the end of 1897.<ref>{{harvp|Oliver| Fage | Sanderson |1983| p= 532}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Campbell |first1=Gwyn |title=The Menalamba Revolt and Brigandry in Imperial Madagascar, 1820-1897 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |date=1991 |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=259–291 |doi=10.2307/219791 |jstor=219791 }}</ref> France annexed Madagascar in 1896 and declared the island a colony the following year, dissolving the Merina monarchy and sending the royal family into exile to the island country of [[Réunion]] and Algeria.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Little-Known Story of Madagascar's Last Queen, Ranavalona III|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/madagascars-extraordinary-last-queens-objects-are-sale-180976467/|website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=2025-12-01|language=en|first=Isis|last=Davis-Marks}}</ref>

The conquest was followed by 10 years of civil war, due to the Menalamba insurrection. The "pacification" carried out by the French administration lasted more than 15 years, in response to the rural guerrillas scattered throughout the country.<ref name="Tronchon-1947">{{cite book|first=Jacques|last= Tronchon|title= L'insurrection malgache de 1947. Essai d'interprétation historique|pages= 35–45}}</ref> The French [[Franco-Menabe war|campaign against Menabe]] began with the {{Interlanguage link|Ambiky massacre|fr|Massacre d'Ambiky}} in 1897, ending in 1902. The Antandroy and Mahafaly continued to oppose colonial rule, though yielded in 1904.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Esoavelomandroso |first=M. |title=General History of Africa: Volume 7 |date=1985 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |chapter=Madagascar, 1880s–1930s: African initiatives and reaction to colonial conquest and domination |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/general-history-of-africa-vol-7/page/n243/mode/2up?q=sakalava&view=theater}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=238-9}} In total, the repression of this resistance to colonial conquest caused several tens of thousands of Malagasy victims.<ref name="Tronchon-1947" />

Under colonial rule, plantations were established for the production of a variety of export crops.<ref>{{harvp|Campbell|2005|p=107}}</ref> [[Slavery]] was abolished in 1896, freeing approximately 500,000 slaves, though many remained in their former masters' homes as servants<ref>{{harvp|Shillington|2005|p=878}}</ref> or as sharecroppers.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} In many parts of the island strong discriminatory views against slave descendants are still held today.<ref>{{harvp|Regnier|2015|pp=152–154}}</ref> Wide paved boulevards and gathering places were constructed in the capital city of Antananarivo<ref>{{harvp|Fournet-Guérin|2007|pp=45–54}}</ref> and the Rova palace compound was turned into a museum.<ref name="Frémigacci2">{{harvp|Frémigacci|1999|pp=421–444}}</ref> Additional schools were built, particularly in rural and coastal areas where the schools of the Merina had not reached. Education became mandatory between the ages of 6 and 13, focusing primarily on the French language and practical skills.<ref>{{harvp|Gallieni|1908|pp=341–343}}</ref>
[[File:29_Mars_1947_Monument.jpg|thumb|National monument in [[Moramanga]] commemorating the beginning of the [[Malagasy Uprising]] on 29 March 1947. Between 11,000 and 90,000 Malagasy died during the uprising, which lasted nearly two years.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hannibal |first=Travis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NbWdlRL8WzMC&pg=PA138 |title=Genocide, Ethnonationalism, and the United Nations: Exploring the Causes of Mass Killing Since 1945 |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-415-53125-2 |page=138 |access-date=23 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212928/https://books.google.com/books?id=NbWdlRL8WzMC&pg=PA138 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
Huge mining and forestry concessions were granted to large companies. Native chiefs loyal to the French administration were also granted part of the land. Forced labor was introduced in favor of the French companies and peasants were encouraged, through taxation, to work for wages (especially in the colonial concessions), to the detriment of small individual farms. However, the colonial period was accompanied by movements fighting for independence: the Menalamba, the [[Vy Vato Sakelika]], and the [[Democratic Movement for Malagasy Renovation]] (MDRM). In 1927, major demonstrations were organized in Antananarivo, notably on the initiative of the communist activist {{Interlanguage link|François Vittori|fr}}, who was imprisoned as a result. The 1930s saw the Malagasy anti-colonial movement gain further momentum. Malagasy trade unionism began to appear underground and the [[Communist Party of the Madagascar region]] was formed. But in 1939, all these organizations were dissolved by the administration of the colony, which opted for the [[Vichy regime]]. The MDRM was accused by the colonial regime of being at the root of the 1947 insurrection and was pursued by violent repression.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jacques|last= Tronchon|title= L'insurrection malgache de 1947. Essai d'interprétation historique| pages= 35–45}}</ref>

The Merina royal tradition of [[Corvée|taxes paid in the form of labor]] was continued under the French and used to construct a railway and roads linking key coastal cities to Antananarivo.<ref>{{harvp|Reinsch|1905|p=377}}</ref>

Malagasy troops fought for France in [[World War I]]. In the 1930s, [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] political thinkers developed the [[Madagascar Plan]] that had identified the island as a potential site for the deportation of Europe's Jews.<ref name="contemplation2">{{harvp|Browning|2004|pp=81–89}}</ref> During [[World War II]], the island was the site of the [[Battle of Madagascar]] between the [[Vichy France|Vichy French]] and an [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] expeditionary force.<ref>{{harvp|Kennedy|2007|pp=511–512}}</ref> The occupation of France during the Second World War tarnished the prestige of the colonial administration in Madagascar and galvanized the growing independence movement, leading to the [[Malagasy Uprising]] of 1947.<ref>{{harvp|Lehoullier|2010|p=107}}</ref> This movement led the French to establish reformed institutions in 1956 under the ''[[Loi Cadre]]'' (Overseas Reform Act), and Madagascar moved peacefully towards independence.<ref name="Kitchen 1962, p. 2562">{{harvp|Kitchen|1962|p=256}}</ref> The [[Malagasy Republic]] was proclaimed on 14 October 1958, as an [[Autonomous entity|autonomous]] state within the [[French Community]]. A period of provisional government ended with the adoption of a constitution in 1959 and full independence on 26 June 1960.<ref>{{harvp|Pryor|1990|pp=209–210}}</ref>

===Independent state===
{{Main|Malagasy Republic|Democratic Republic of Madagascar|Third Republic of Madagascar}}

[[File:Philibert_Tsiranana_1962.jpg|thumb|[[Philibert Tsiranana]], first [[List of Presidents of Madagascar|president of Madagascar]] (1960–1972)]]
Since regaining independence, Madagascar has transitioned through four republics with corresponding revisions to its constitution. The [[Malagasy Republic|First Republic]] (1960–72), under the leadership of French-appointed President [[Philibert Tsiranana]], was characterized by a continuation of strong economic and political ties to France. Many high-level technical positions were filled by French expatriates; and French teachers, textbooks, and curricula continued to be used in schools around the country. Popular resentment over Tsiranana's tolerance for this "neo-colonial" arrangement inspired a [[Rotaka|series of farmer and student protests]] that overturned his administration in 1972.<ref name="LOC2" />

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

This period saw a political alignment with the [[Eastern Bloc]] countries and a shift toward economic insularity. These policies, coupled with economic pressures stemming from the [[1973 oil crisis]], resulted in the rapid collapse of Madagascar's economy and a sharp decline in living standards,<ref name="LOC2" /> and by 1979 the country had become completely bankrupt. The Ratsiraka administration accepted the conditions of transparency, anti-corruption measures, and free market policies imposed by the [[International Monetary Fund]], [[World Bank]], and various bilateral donors in exchange for their bailout of the nation's broken economy.<ref name="ISS2">{{cite journal |last=Marcus |first=Richard |date=August 2004 |title=Political change in Madagascar: populist democracy or neopatrimonialism by another name? |url=https://www.issafrica.org/publications/papers/political-change-in-madagascar-populist-democracy-or-neopatrimonialism-by-another-name |journal=Occasional Paper No. 89 |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040907223329/http://www.iss.org.za/pubs/papers/89/Paper89.htm |archive-date=7 September 2004 |access-date=15 February 2012}}</ref>

Ratsiraka's dwindling popularity in the late 1980s reached a critical point in 1991 when presidential guards opened fire on unarmed protesters during a rally. Within two months, a transitional government had been established under the leadership of [[Albert Zafy]] (1993–96), who went on to win the 1992 presidential elections and inaugurate the [[Third Republic of Madagascar|Third Republic]] (1992–2010).<ref name="crisisgroup2">{{cite web |title=Madagascar: La Crise a un Tournant Critique? |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/southern-africa/madagascar/166%20Madagascar%20a%20un%20tournant%20critique.ashx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725204902/http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/southern-africa/madagascar/166%20Madagascar%20a%20un%20tournant%20critique.ashx |archive-date=25 July 2011 |access-date=25 November 2010 |work=International Crisis Group |language=fr}}</ref> The new [[Constitution of Madagascar|Madagascar Constitution]] established a multi-party democracy and a separation of powers placing significant control in the hands of the National Assembly. The new constitution also emphasized human rights, social and political freedoms, and free trade.<ref name="LOC2" /> Zafy's term, however, was marred by economic decline, allegations of corruption, and his introduction of legislation to give himself greater powers. Consequently, he was impeached in 1996 and an interim president, [[Norbert Ratsirahonana]], was appointed for the three months prior to the next presidential election. Ratsiraka was then voted back into power on a platform of decentralization and economic reforms for a second term lasting from 1996 to 2001.<ref name="ISS2" />

The contested [[Malagasy presidential election, 2001|2001 presidential elections]] in which the then-mayor of Antananarivo, [[Marc Ravalomanana]], eventually emerged victorious, caused a seven-month standoff in 2002 between supporters of Ravalomanana and Ratsiraka. The negative economic impact of the political crisis was gradually overcome by Ravalomanana's progressive economic and political policies encouraging investments in education and ecotourism, facilitated foreign direct investment, and cultivated trading partnerships both regionally and internationally. The national GDP grew at an average rate of 7% per year under his administration. In the latter half of his second term, however, Ravalomanana was criticized by domestic and international observers who accused him of increasing authoritarianism and corruption.<ref name="ISS2" />

Opposition leader and then-mayor of Antananarivo, [[Andry Rajoelina]], led a [[2009 Malagasy political crisis|movement in early 2009]] in which Ravalomanana was pushed from power in an unconstitutional process widely condemned as a ''[[coup d'état]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ratsimbaharison |first=Adrien |title=The Political Crisis of March 2009 in Madagascar: A Case Study of Conflict and Conflict Mediation |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4422-7235-4 |location=Lanham, Boulder, New York, London}}</ref> In March 2009, Rajoelina was declared by the Supreme Court as president of the [[High Transitional Authority]], an interim governing body responsible for moving the country toward presidential elections. In 2010, a new constitution was [[Malagasy constitutional referendum, 2010|adopted by referendum]], establishing a Fourth Republic, which sustained the democratic, multi-party structure established in the previous constitution.<ref name="crisisgroup2" /> [[Hery Rajaonarimampianina]] was declared the winner of the [[Malagasy general election, 2013|2013 presidential election]], which the international community deemed fair and transparent.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 December 2013 |title=Centre d'actualités de l'ONU – Madagascar: l'ONU salue le bon déroulement du deuxième tour des élections présidentielles |url=https://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID=31715&Cr=Madagascar&Cr1=#.UrVg67Sp6RM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703112119/http://www.un.org/apps/newsFr/storyF.asp?NewsID=31715&Cr=Madagascar&Cr1=#.UrVg67Sp6RM |archive-date=3 July 2017 |access-date=28 June 2017 |publisher=Un.org}}</ref>

In 2018 the first round of Malagasy's [[2018 Malagasy presidential election|presidential election]] was held on 7 November and the second on 10 December. Three former presidents and the most recent president were the main candidates. Rajoelina won the second round of the elections. Although Ravalomana lost that round, he did not accept the results because of allegations of fraud. Rajaonarimampianina received very modest support in the first round. In January 2019, the High Constitutional Court declared Rajoelina as the winner of the elections and the new president.<ref>{{cite web |title=All you need to know about high-stakes Madagascar poll |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/6/madagascar-presidential-election-what-you-need-to-know |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034449/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/6/madagascar-presidential-election-what-you-need-to-know |archive-date=30 March 2021 |access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Madagascar court declares Rajoelina as election winner |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/8/madagascar-court-declares-rajoelina-as-election-winner |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121032738/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/1/8/madagascar-court-declares-rajoelina-as-election-winner |archive-date=21 January 2021 |access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=28 December 2018 |title=Madagascar: Ravalomanana challenges results in court, Rajoelina calls for calm |url=https://www.africanews.com/2018/12/28/madagascar-starts-voting-in-tight-presidential-race/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108124618/https://www.africanews.com/2018/12/28/madagascar-starts-voting-in-tight-presidential-race// |archive-date=8 November 2020 |access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref> In the June 2019 [[2019 Malagasy parliamentary election|parliamentary elections]], Rajoelina won an absolute majority of the seats of the National Assembly. It received 84 seats and the supporters of former president Ravalomana got only 16 seats of 151 seats of the National Assembly. Fifty-one seats of deputies were independent or represented small parties. Rajoelina could rule as a [[Strongman (politics)|strongman]].<ref>{{cite web |date=15 June 2019 |title=Madagascar President assured of winning majority seats in parliament |url=https://www.africanews.com/2019/06/15/madagascar-president-assured-of-winning-majority-seats-in-parliament/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030200649/https://www.africanews.com/2019/06/15/madagascar-president-assured-of-winning-majority-seats-in-parliament/ |archive-date=30 October 2020 |access-date=30 March 2021}}</ref>

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

In November 2023, Rajoelina was re-elected to another term with 58.95% of the vote in the first round of the [[2023 Malagasy presidential election|election]] amid an opposition boycott and a controversy about his acquisition of French citizenship and subsequent eligibility. The turnout was 46.36%, the lowest in a presidential election in the country's history.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 November 2023 |title=Andry Rajoelina: Madagascar president re-elected in contested poll |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67517143 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205020853/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67517143 |archive-date=5 December 2023 |access-date=26 November 2023 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Power and water cuts, as well as general distrust of Rajoelina's administration, sparked a [[2025 Malagasy protests|series of protests]] in 2025 culminating in his flight and impeachment with the military [[2025 Malagasy coup d'état|taking control]] of the country.<ref>{{cite web |access-date=2025-11-23 |title=Madagascar's Gen Z uprising, as told by three young protesters |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20251101-madagascar-s-gen-z-uprising-as-told-by-three-young-protesters |date=1 November 2025 |website=RFI}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first1=Rachel |last1=Savage |access-date=2025-11-23 |title='Gen Z gave us the victory': how young protesters toppled Madagascar's leader |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/17/gen-z-victory-young-protesters-toppled-madagascar-leader |newspaper=The Guardian |date=17 October 2025 |issn=0261-3077 }}</ref> On 17 October 2025, Colonel [[Michael Randrianirina]] was sworn in as Madagascar's new president to succeed Rajoelina.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Everett |first1=Mariamne |title=Military leader Randrianirina sworn in as Madagascar's new president|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/17/military-leader-randrianirina-sworn-in-as-madagascars-new-president |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

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

[[File:Madagascar topo.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Land coverage (left) and topographical (right) maps of Madagascar]]
With {{Convert|592800|km2}},<ref name="BGNote"/> Madagascar is the world's [[List of countries and dependencies by area|46th-largest country]],<ref name="cia">{{Cite web |author=Central Intelligence Agency |author-link=CIA |publisher=[[The World Factbook]] |title=Madagascar |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ |year=2011 |access-date=24 August 2011 |archive-date=14 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214064652/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ }}</ref> the [[List of island countries|second-largest island country]]<ref name="world-atlas">{{Cite web |url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-are-the-island-countries-of-the-world.html |title=Island Countries of the World |publisher=WorldAtlas.com |access-date=10 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207094959/http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/which-are-the-island-countries-of-the-world.html |archive-date=7 December 2017}}</ref> and the [[list of islands by area|fourth-largest island]].<ref name="BGNote" /> The country lies mostly between latitudes [[12th parallel south|12°S]] and [[26th parallel south|26°S]] and longitudes [[43rd meridian east|43°E]] and [[51st meridian east|51°E]].<ref name="georeport">{{harvp|Moriarty|1891|pp=1–2}}</ref> Neighboring islands include the [[Overseas France|French territory]] of [[Réunion]] and the country of [[Mauritius]] to the east, as well as the state of [[Comoros]] and the French territory of [[Mayotte]] to the northwest. The nearest mainland state is [[Mozambique]], located to the west.

The prehistoric breakup of the [[supercontinent]] [[Gondwana]] resulted in the separation of [[East Gondwana]] (comprising Madagascar, Antarctica, Australia and the [[Indian subcontinent]]) and [[West Gondwana]] (Africa and South America) during the [[Jurassic]] period, around 185&nbsp;million years ago. The Indo-Madagascar landmass separated from Antarctica and Australia around 125 million years ago,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reeves |first1=Colin V. |title=The development of the East African margin during Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous times: a perspective from global tectonics |journal=Petroleum Geoscience |date=February 2018 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=41–56 |doi=10.1144/petgeo2017-021 |bibcode=2018PetGe..24...41R }}</ref> and Madagascar from the Indian landmass about 84 to 92&nbsp;million years ago during the Late [[Cretaceous|Cretaceous Period]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Torsvik |first1=T. H. |last2=Tucker |first2=R. D. |last3=Ashwal |first3=L. D. |last4=Carter |first4=L. M. |last5=Jamtveit |first5=B. |last6=Vidyadharan |first6=K. T. |last7=Venkataramana |first7=P. |date=October 2000 |title=Late Cretaceous India–Madagascar fit and timing of break-up related magmatism |journal=Terra Nova |language=en |volume=12 |issue=5 |pages=220–224 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-3121.2000.00300.x |bibcode=2000TeNov..12..220T |s2cid=128896193}}</ref> This long history of separation from other continents has allowed plants and animals on the island to evolve in relative isolation.

Along the length of Madagascar's Eastern Coast runs a narrow and steep [[escarpment]] containing much of the island's remaining tropical [[Madagascar lowland forests|lowland forest]]. To the west of this ridge lies a [[plateau]] in the center of the island ranging in altitude from {{Convert|750|to|1500|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} above sea level. These [[Central Highlands (Madagascar)|Central Highlands]], traditionally the homeland of the Merina people and the location of their historic capital at Antananarivo, are the most densely populated part of the island, characterized by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between grassy hills and patches of the [[Madagascar subhumid forests|subhumid forests]] that formerly covered the highland region. To the west of the highlands, the increasingly arid terrain gradually slopes down to the [[Mozambique Channel]] and [[Madagascar mangroves|mangrove swamps]] along the coast.<ref name="endemicstats">{{Cite journal |last1=Vences|first1= M. |last2= Wollenberg|first2= K. C. |last3= Vieites|first3= D. R. |last4= Lees|first4= D. C. |title=Madagascar as a model region of species diversification |journal=Trends in Ecology and Evolution |volume=24 |issue=8 |pages=456–465 |date=June 2009 |doi=10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.011 |url=http://www.mvences.de/p/p1/Vences_A163.pdf |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date=9 May 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509070414/http://www.mvences.de/p/p1/Vences_A163.pdf |pmid=19500874 |bibcode=2009TEcoE..24..456V}}</ref>
[[File:Landscape Madagascar 04.jpg|thumb|Landscape in the [[Central Highlands (Madagascar)|Central Highlands]] region]]
Madagascar's highest peaks rise from three prominent highland [[massif]]s. [[Maromokotro]] {{convert|2876|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the [[Tsaratanana Massif]] is the island's highest point, followed by Boby Peak {{Convert|2658|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the [[Andringitra Massif]], and [[Tsiafajavona Ankaratra|Tsiafajavona]] {{Convert|2643|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the [[Ankaratra]] Massif. To the east, the ''[[Canal des Pangalanes]]'' is a chain of human-made and natural lakes connected by canals built by the French just inland from the east coast and running parallel to it for some {{Convert|600|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}}.<ref name=EBLand/>

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

===Climate===
{{See also|Geography of Madagascar#Climate}}
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map MDG present.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Köppen climate classification]] map of Madagascar]]
The combination of southeastern [[trade winds]] and northwestern [[monsoon]]s produces a hot rainy season (November–April) with frequently destructive [[cyclone]]s, and a relatively cooler dry season (May–October). Rain clouds originating over the Indian Ocean discharge much of their moisture over the island's Eastern Coast and the heavy precipitation supports the area's [[rainforest]] ecosystem. The Central Highlands are both drier and cooler. The west is drier still, and a [[semi-arid climate]] prevails in the island's southwest and southern interior.<ref name=endemicstats/>

[[Tropical cyclone]]s cause damage to infrastructure and local economies as well as loss of life.<ref name="LOC">{{Cite web |last=Metz |first=Helen Chapin |author-link=Helen Chapin Metz |year=1994 |title=Library of Congress Country Studies: Madagascar |url=http://countrystudies.us/madagascar/ |access-date=1 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051109090930/http://countrystudies.us/madagascar/ |archive-date=9 November 2005}}</ref> In March 2004, [[Cyclone Gafilo]] became the strongest cyclone ever recorded to hit the country. The storm killed 172 people, left 214,260 homeless,<ref name=gafilo>{{Cite web |author=International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies |publisher=ReliefWeb |date=25 February 2005 |access-date=31 March 2011 |title=Madagascar: Cyclone Gafilo, Final Report, Appeal 08/04 |url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/DDAD-69XMQW?OpenDocument&rc=1&emid=2004-0103 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830093808/http://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-cyclone-gafilo-final-report-appeal-0804 |url-status=live |archive-date=30 August 2013}}</ref> and caused more than US$250 &nbsp;million in damage.<ref name="IRIN-2004">{{Cite web |author=Integrated Regional Information Networks |publisher=ReliefWeb |date=2 July 2004 |access-date=9 September 2012 |title=Madagascar: Saving the children from Gafilo's aftermath |url=http://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-saving-children-gafilos-aftermath |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226232225/http://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-saving-children-gafilos-aftermath |url-status=live |archive-date=26 February 2014}}</ref> In February 2022, [[Cyclone Batsirai]] killed 121 people,<ref name="Mitchell-2020a">{{cite journal |last1=Mitchell |first1=Peter |title=Settling Madagascar: When Did People First Colonize the World's Largest Island? |journal=The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology |date=October 2020 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=576–595 |doi=10.1080/15564894.2019.1582567 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 February 2022 |title=Southern Africa: Cyclone Season Flash Update No. 6 (Tropical Cyclone Batsirai) (13 February 2022) - Madagascar |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/southern-africa-cyclone-season-flash-update-no-6-tropical-cyclone-batsirai-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220215102344/https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/southern-africa-cyclone-season-flash-update-no-6-tropical-cyclone-batsirai-13 |archive-date=15 February 2022 |access-date=15 February 2022 |website=ReliefWeb |language=en}}</ref> weeks after [[Tropical Storm Ana (2022)|Cyclone Ana]] killed 55 and displaced 130,000.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Rabary |first1=Lovasoa |title=Cyclone kills at least 10 in Madagascar, destroying homes and cutting power |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/least-three-dead-after-cyclone-batsirai-causes-devastation-southeast-madagascar-2022-02-06/ |work=Reuters |date=6 February 2022 |language=en |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-date=6 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220206233516/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/least-three-dead-after-cyclone-batsirai-causes-devastation-southeast-madagascar-2022-02-06/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2022 analysis found that in order to adapt to and avert the environmental consequences of [[Climate change in Madagascar|climate change]], Madagascar would have to spend 15% of its [[GDP]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Laville |first=Sandra |date=13 July 2022 |title=Climate adaptation bill for African countries to dwarf health spending |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/13/climate-adaptation-bill-african-countries-dwarf-health-spending |access-date=14 July 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=12 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912120732/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/13/climate-adaptation-bill-african-countries-dwarf-health-spending |url-status=live}}</ref>

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

[[Image:Angraecum sesquipedale Orchi 4.jpg|thumb|Comet orchid (''[[Angraecum sesquipedale]]''). The flowers of this orchid have a very long spur and are pollinated by a species of [[Sphingidae|hawkmoth]] with a proboscis of matching length.]]
As a result of the island's long isolation from neighboring continents, Madagascar is home to various [[Endemism|endemic]] plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.<ref name=CIHotSpot/><ref name=tattersall>{{Cite book |last=Tattersall |first=Ian |title=Origin of the Malagasy Strepshirhine Primates |year=2006 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-387-34585-7 |pages=1–6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nsBtrhsMU5EC&pg=PA3 |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=6 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406113920/https://books.google.com/books?id=nsBtrhsMU5EC&pg=PA3 |url-status=live}}</ref> Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are endemic.<ref>{{harvp|Hobbes|Dolan|2008|p=517}}</ref> This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Madagascar as the "eighth continent",<ref>{{harvp|Hillstrom|Collier Hillstrom|2003|p=50}}</ref> and the island has been classified by [[Conservation International]] as a biodiversity hotspot.<ref name=CIHotSpot>{{Cite web |last=Conservation International |title=Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands |work=Biodiversity Hotspots |publisher=Conservation International |year=2007 |url=http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/madagascar/pages/biodiversity.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824110451/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/madagascar/Pages/biodiversity.aspx |archive-date=24 August 2011 |access-date=24 August 2011}}</ref> It is classed as one of 17 [[megadiverse countries]]. The country is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: [[Madagascar lowland forests|lowland forests]], [[Madagascar subhumid forests|subhumid forests]], [[Madagascar dry deciduous forests|dry deciduous forests]], [[Madagascar ericoid thickets|ericoid thickets]], [[Madagascar spiny forests|spiny forests]], [[Madagascar succulent woodlands|succulent woodlands]], and [[Madagascar mangroves|mangroves]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant |last10=Noss |first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C. |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen |last20=Sechrest |first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya |last30=Potapov |first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A. |last40=Timberlake |first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |display-authors=1 |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

More than 80% of Madagascar's 14,883 plant species are found nowhere else in the world, including five plant families.<ref name=endemism>{{Cite journal |last1=Callmander |first1=Martin |display-authors=etal |title=The endemic and non-endemic vascular flora of Madagascar updated |journal=Plant Ecology and Evolution |volume=144 |issue=2 |pages=121–125 |year=2011 |doi=10.5091/plecevo.2011.513 |bibcode=2011PlEcE.144..121C |url=http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/curators/pdf/PLECEVO_2011.pdf |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date=31 August 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831072620/http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/curators/pdf/PLECEVO_2011.pdf}}</ref> The family ''[[Didiereaceae]]'', composed of four genera and 11 species, is limited to the spiny forests of southwestern Madagascar.<ref name=endemicstats/> Four-fifths of the world's ''[[Pachypodium]]'' species are endemic to the island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lavranos |first1=John |year=2004 |title=Pachypodium makayense: A New Species From Madagascar |journal=Cactus and Succulent Journal |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=85–88}}</ref> Three-fourths<ref name=B2011plant/> of Madagascar's 860<ref name=endemism/> [[orchid]] species are found there alone, as are six of the world's nine [[Adansonia|baobab]] species.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1080/106351598260879 |last1=Baum|first1= D. A.|last2= Small|first2= R. L.|last3= Wendel|first3= J. F. |year=1998 |title=Biogeography and floral evolution of baobabs (Adansonia, Bombacaceae) as inferred from multiple data sets |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=181–207 |pmid=12064226 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The island is home to around 170 [[Arecaceae|palm]] species, three times as many as on all of mainland Africa, of which 165 are endemic.<ref name=B2011plant>{{harvp|Bradt|2011|p=38}}</ref>

Many native plant species are used as herbal remedies for a variety of afflictions. For instance, the drugs [[vinblastine]]<ref name="MoleculesReview">{{Cite journal |journal=[[Molecules (journal)|Molecules]] |year=2012 |volume=17 |issue=5 |pages=5893–5914 |doi=10.3390/molecules17055893 |title=Modifications on the basic skeletons of vinblastine and vincristine |first1=Péter |last1=Keglevich |first2=Laszlo |last2=Hazai |first3=György |last3=Kalaus |first4=Csaba |last4=Szántay |pmid=22609781 |pmc=6268133 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |first1=Justin E. |last1=Sears |first2=Dale L. |last2=Boger |author-link2=Dale L. Boger |title=Total Synthesis of Vinblastine, Related Natural Products, and Key Analogues and Development of Inspired Methodology Suitable for the Systematic Study of Their Structure-Function Properties |journal=[[Accounts of Chemical Research]] |year=2015 |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=653–662 |doi=10.1021/ar500400w |pmid=25586069 |pmc=4363169}}</ref> and [[vincristine]]<ref name="MoleculesReview" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kuboyama |first1=Takeshi |last2=Yokoshima |first2=Satoshi |last3=Tokuyama |first3=Hidetoshi |last4=Fukuyama |first4=Tohru |title=Stereocontrolled total synthesis of (+)-vincristine |journal=[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America]] |year=2004 |volume=101 |issue=33 |pages=11966–11970 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0401323101 |pmid=15141084 |bibcode=2004PNAS..10111966K |pmc=514417 |doi-access=free}}</ref> are [[vinca alkaloid|''vinca'' alkaloids]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=van der Heijden |first1=Robert |last2=Jacobs |first2=Denise I. |last3=Snoeijer |first3=Wim |last4=Hallard |first4=Didier |last5=Verpoorte |first5=Robert |year=2004 |title=The ''Catharanthus'' alkaloids: Pharmacognosy and biotechnology |journal=[[Current Medicinal Chemistry]] |volume=11 |issue=5 |pages=607–628 |pmid=15032608 |doi=10.2174/0929867043455846}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Raviña |first=Enrique |title=The evolution of drug discovery: From traditional medicines to modern drugs |year=2011 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=978-3-527-32669-3 |pages=157–159 |chapter=''Vinca'' alkaloids |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iDNy0XxGqT8C&pg=PA157 |access-date=4 September 2017 |archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216205648/https://books.google.com/books?id=iDNy0XxGqT8C&pg=PA157 |url-status=live}}</ref>—which are used to treat [[Hodgkin lymphoma]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=29 March 2017 |access-date=22 June 2017 |title=Chemotherapy for Hodgkin Lymphoma |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829125716/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}<br />{{Cite web |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=31 May 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |title=Chemotherapy for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829124015/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-hodgkin-lymphoma/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}</ref> [[leukemia]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-lymphocytic-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=18 February 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |title=Chemotherapy for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829130745/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-lymphocytic-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/chronic-myeloid-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |title=Chemotherapy for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829125626/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/chronic-myeloid-leukemia/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}<br />{{Cite web |title=Chemotherapy for Childhood Leukemia |date=3 February 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemia-in-children/treating/chemotherapy.html |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829130958/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemia-in-children/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and other cancers—<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chemotherapy for Neuroblastoma |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/neuroblastoma/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=22 January 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829124717/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/neuroblastoma/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}<br />{{Cite web |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/brain-spinal-cord-tumors-children/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=21 January 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |title=Chemotherapy for Brain and Spinal Cord Tumors in Children |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829125050/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/brain-spinal-cord-tumors-children/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}<br />{{cite web |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-small-cell-lung-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=16 May 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |title=Chemotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829124227/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/non-small-cell-lung-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}<br />{{Cite web |url=https://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicular-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html |date=12 February 2016 |access-date=22 June 2017 |title=Chemotherapy for Testicular Cancer |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |website=[[cancer.org]] |archive-date=28 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728012354/https://www.cancer.org/cancer/testicular-cancer/treating/chemotherapy.html |url-status=live}}</ref> were derived from the [[Catharanthus|Madagascar periwinkle]].<ref name="periw">{{cite journal |last=Foster |first=Steven |title=From Herbs to Medicines: The Madagascar Periwinkle's Impact on Childhood Leukemia: A Serendipitous Discovery for Treatment |journal=Alternative and Complementary Therapies |volume=16 |issue=6 |pages=347–350 |year=2010 |doi=10.1089/act.2010.16609 |pmid=20423206}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Africa's gift to the world |pages=46–51 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aXGmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |title=Botanical Miracles: Chemistry of Plants That Changed the World |first1=Raymond |last1=Cooper |first2=Jeffrey John |last2=Deakin |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4987-0430-4 |access-date=4 September 2017 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521173802/https://books.google.com/books?id=aXGmCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |url-status=live}}</ref> The traveler's palm, known locally as ''[[Ravenala]]''<ref>{{harvp|Ellis|1859|p=302}}</ref> and endemic to the Eastern Rainforests,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.floridata.com/ref/R/rave_mad.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307131656/http://www.floridata.com/ref/r/rave_mad.cfm |archive-date=7 March 2011 |url-status=live |title=Ravenala madagascariensis |publisher=Floridata.com |access-date=14 September 2009 |date=16 May 2000 |last=McLendon |first=Chuck}}</ref> is highly iconic of Madagascar and featured in the [[Seal of Madagascar|national emblem]] as well as the [[Madagascar Airlines]] logo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lambahoany Ecotourism Centre |title=Nature of Madagascar |publisher=Lambahoany Ecotourism Centre |date=24 August 2011 |url=http://www.lambahoany.org/madagascar/nature-of-madagascar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213210103/http://www.lambahoany.org/madagascar/nature-of-madagascar/ |archive-date=13 December 2011 |access-date=24 August 2011}}</ref>

[[File:OaklandZooLemurs.jpg|thumb|alt=Two ring-tailed lemurs curled up together|The [[ring-tailed lemur]] is one of over 100 known species and subspecies of lemur found only in Madagascar.<ref name="2009Mittermeier">{{Cite web |editor1-last=Mittermeier |editor1-first=R. A. |editor2-last=Wallis |editor2-first=J. |editor3-last=Rylands |editor3-first=A. B. |editor4-last=Ganzhorn |editor4-first=J. U. |editor5-last=Oates |editor5-first=J. F. |editor6-last=Williamson |editor6-first=E. A. |editor7-last=Palacios |editor7-first=E. |editor8-last=Heymann |editor8-first=E. W. |editor9-last=Kierulff |editor9-first=M. C. M. |editor11-first=J. |editor12-last=Roos |editor12-first=C. |editor13-last=Walker |editor13-first=S. |editor14-last=Cortés-Ortiz |editor14-first=L. |editor15-last=Schwitzer |editor15-first=C. |others=Illustrated by S. D. Nash |year=2009 |title=Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2008–2010 |publisher=[[Primate Specialist Group|IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group]], [[International Primatological Society]], and [[Conservation International]] |pages=1–92 |url=http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/PDF/Primates.in.Peril.2008-2010.pdf |editor10-first = Long |editor10-last = Yongcheng |editor11-last=Supriatna |access-date=27 August 2012 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201174835/http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/PDF/Primates.in.Peril.2008-2010.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>]]
Like its flora, Madagascar's fauna are diverse and exhibit a high rate of endemism. [[Lemur]]s have been characterized as "Madagascar's flagship mammal species" by Conservation International.<ref name=CIHotSpot/> In the absence of monkeys and other competitors, these [[primate]]s have adapted to a wide range of habitats and diversified into numerous species. {{As of|2012}}, there were officially [[List of lemur species|103 species and subspecies of the lemur]],<ref name=lemurextinction>{{Cite news |last=Black |first=Richard |title=Lemurs sliding toward extinction |newspaper=BBC News |date=13 July 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18825901 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729093708/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18825901 |archive-date=29 July 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref> 39 of which were described by zoologists between 2000 and 2008.<ref name=Mittermeier2008>{{Cite journal |title=Lemur diversity in Madagascar |author=Mittermeier, R. |author2=Ganzhorn, J. |author3=Konstant, W. |author4=Glander, K. |author5=Tattersall, I. |author6-link=Colin Groves |author6=Groves, C. |author7=Rylands, A. |author8=Hapke, A. |author9=Ratsimbazafy, J. |author10=Mayor, M. |author11=Louis, E. |author12=Rumpler, Y. |author13=Schwitzer, C. |author14=Rasoloarison, R. |s2cid=17614597 |journal=International Journal of Primatology |doi=10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y |pages=1607–1656 |volume=29 |issue=6 |date=December 2008 |hdl=10161/6237 |author-link=Russell Mittermeier |bibcode=2008IJPri..29.1607M |url=https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/6237/1/08%20lemur%20diversity.pdf |access-date=24 September 2019 |archive-date=15 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215163911/https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/6237/08}}</ref> Almost all of these are classified as rare, vulnerable, or endangered. Since the arrival of humans on Madagascar, at least 17 species of lemur have become extinct, all of which were larger than the surviving lemur species.<ref>{{Cite journal |author1=Jungers, W. L. |author2=Godfrey, L. R. |author3=Simons, E. L. |author4=Chatrath, P. S. |title=Phalangeal curvature and positional behaviour in extinct sloth lemurs (Primates, Palaeopropithecidae) |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA |volume=94 |issue=22 |pages=11998–2001 |year=1997 |pmid=11038588 |pmc=23681 |doi=10.1073/pnas.94.22.11998 |bibcode=1997PNAS...9411998J |doi-access=free}}</ref>

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

Endemic fish of Madagascar include two families, 15 genera, and over 100 species, primarily inhabiting the island's freshwater lakes and rivers. Although [[invertebrate]]s remain poorly studied in Madagascar, researchers have found high rates of endemism among the known species. All 651 species of [[Land snail|terrestrial snail]] are endemic, for example, as are a majority of the island's butterflies, [[Scarabaeidae|scarab beetles]], [[Neuroptera|lacewings]], spiders, and [[Dragonfly|dragonflies]].<ref name=CIHotSpot/>

{{Multiple image
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|footer = Tavy ([[Slash-and-burn agriculture|slash-and-burn]]) destruction of native forest habitat is widespread (top), causing massive erosion (bottom).
|align = left
|image1 = Manantenina bushfire.jpg
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|alt1 = Burning Malagasy rainforest
|image2 = Madagascar erosion.jpg
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|alt2 = A vast, red soil gully caused by erosion
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Madagascar's varied fauna and flora are endangered by human activity.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11291024 |title=Everglades, Madagascar Rain Forest on UNESCO List |work=ABC News |date=30 July 2010 |access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511063211/https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11291024 |url-status=live |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref> Since the arrival of humans around 2,350&nbsp;years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90% of its original forest.<ref>{{NatGeo ecoregion|name = Madagascar subhumid forests|id=at0118|access-date =30 April 2006}}</ref> This forest loss is largely fueled by ''tavy'' (fat), a traditional [[Slash-and-burn agriculture|slash-and-burn]] agricultural practice imported to Madagascar by the earliest settlers.<ref name="Gade 1996">{{cite journal |last=Gade |first=Daniel W. |year=1996 |title=Deforestation and its effects in Highland Madagascar |journal=Mountain Research and Development |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=101–116 |doi=10.2307/3674005 |jstor=3674005}}</ref> Malagasy farmers embrace and perpetuate the practice not only for its practical benefits as an agricultural technique but also for its cultural associations with prosperity, health, and venerated ancestral custom (''fomba malagasy'').<ref>{{harvp|Kull|2004|p=153}}</ref> As human population density rose on the island, deforestation accelerated beginning around 1,400 years ago.<ref name="Campbell-1993" /> By the 16th century, the Central Highlands had been largely cleared of their original forests.<ref name="Gade 1996"/> More recent contributors to the loss of forest cover include the growth in cattle herd size since their introduction around 1,000 years ago, continued reliance on charcoal as a fuel for cooking, and increased prominence of coffee as a [[cash crop]] over the past century.<ref name="spittingwind">{{harvp|Emoff|2004|pp=51–62}}</ref>

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

{{Anchor|Invasive species}}[[Invasive species]] have likewise been introduced by human populations. Following the 2014 discovery in Madagascar of the [[Duttaphrynus melanostictus|Asian common toad]], a relative of a toad species that has severely harmed wildlife in Australia since the 1930s, researchers warned that it could "wreak havoc on the country's unique fauna."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morelle |first=Rebecca |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27607978 |title=Asian relative of cane toad threatens Madagascar havoc |work=BBC News |date=29 May 2014 |access-date=29 July 2014 |archive-date=10 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710130139/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27607978 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Habitat destruction]] and hunting have threatened many of Madagascar's endemic species or driven them to extinction. The island's [[elephant bird]]s, a family of endemic giant [[ratite]]s, became extinct in the 17th century or earlier, most probably because of human hunting of adult birds and poaching of their large eggs for food.<ref name="Davies">{{harvp|Davies|2003|pp=99–101}}</ref> Numerous [[Subfossil lemur|giant lemur]] species vanished with the arrival of human settlers on the island, and others became extinct over the course of the centuries as a growing human population put greater pressures on lemur habitats and, among some populations, increased the rate of lemur hunting for food.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Handwerk |first=Brian |title=Lemurs Hunted, Eaten Amid Civil Unrest, Group Says |publisher=National Geographic News |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090821-lemurs-killing-madagascar.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510012833/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090821-lemurs-killing-madagascar.html |date=21 August 2009 |archive-date=10 May 2011 |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref>

A July 2012 assessment found that the exploitation of natural resources since 2009 had had dire consequences for the island's wildlife: 90% of lemur species were found to be threatened with extinction, the highest proportion of any mammalian group, of which 23  species were classified as critically endangered. A 2023 study published in ''[[Nature Communications]]'' found that 120 of the 219 mammal species found only on Madagascar were threatened with extinction.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weston |first=Phoebe |date=10 January 2023 |title=Madagascar's unique wildlife faces imminent wave of extinction, say scientists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/10/madagascar-unique-wildlife-extinction-aoe |work=The Guardian |location= |access-date=16 January 2023 |archive-date=18 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518175716/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/10/madagascar-unique-wildlife-extinction-aoe |url-status=live}}</ref>

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

[[Conservation International Madagascar]] is Madagascar's country programme within Conservation International, with a central office in Antananarivo and regional branches in [[Fianarantsoa]] and Toamasina. Its work has included support for protected-area and landscape initiatives, including forest corridor management in eastern and southeastern Madagascar such as the Ambositra-Vondrozo Forest Corridor and the [[Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor]].<ref name="CIMadagascar">{{cite web |title=Madagascar |website=Conservation International |url=https://www.conservation.org/places/madagascar}}</ref><ref name="EIB-ESMP2016">{{cite report |title=Sustainable Landscapes in Eastern Madagascar: Environmental and Social Management Plan (Translation of the original French version) |publisher=European Investment Bank |date=19 May 2016 |url=https://www.eib.org/attachments/registers/66717571.pdf |pages=68–69 }}</ref>

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

[[File:Antananarivo05.jpg|thumb|left|[[Antananarivo]], the political and economic capital of Madagascar]]
Madagascar is a [[semi-presidential system|semi-presidential]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[Diversity (politics)|multi-party]] republic, wherein the popularly elected president is the head of state. He selects a [[Prime Minister of Madagascar|prime minister]], who recommends candidates to him to form his cabinet of ministers. According to the [[Constitution of Madagascar|Constitution]], executive power is exercised by the government, whereas legislative power is vested in the ministerial cabinet,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mg.mofcom.gov.cn/article/chinanews/202110/20211003206640.shtml |title=Liste des institutions gouvernementales de Madagascar (août 2021) |website=mofcom.gov.cn |access-date=13 October 2021 |archive-date=13 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013121808/http://mg.mofcom.gov.cn/article/chinanews/202110/20211003206640.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Senate of Madagascar|Senate]], and the [[National Assembly of Madagascar|National Assembly]]—although in reality the two latter bodies have very little power or legislative role. The Constitution establishes independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches, and mandates that each president is limited to a maximum of three terms.<ref name=BGNote/> The public directly elects the president and the 151 members of the National Assembly to five-year terms. All 18 members of the Senate also serve five-year terms, with 12 senators elected by local officials and six appointed by the president.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Madagascar: Government|url=https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/madagascar/government|website=globaledge.msu.edu|access-date=2025-12-01|language=en-us}}</ref>

At the local level, the island's 23 regions are administered by a governor and regional council. Provinces are further subdivided into regions and communes. The judiciary is modeled on the French system, with a high constitutional court, high court of justice, supreme court, court of appeals, criminal tribunals, and tribunals of first instance.<ref name=justiceMada>{{harvp|Nalla|2010|pp=122–128}}</ref> The courts, which adhere to [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]], lack the capacity to quickly and transparently try the cases in the judicial system, which often forces defendants to pass lengthy pretrial detentions in unsanitary and overcrowded prisons.<ref name=mediainfo/>

Antananarivo, the administrative capital and [[List of cities in Madagascar|largest city]] of Madagascar,<ref name=BGNote/> is located in the highlands region, near the island's geographic center. King Andrianjaka founded Antananarivo as the capital of his [[Merina Kingdom|Imerina Kingdom]] around 1610 or 1625 upon the site of a captured Vazimba capital on the hilltop of [[Twelve sacred hills of Imerina#Hill of Analamanga|Analamanga]].<ref name="vazimbadjp">{{cite web |last=Domenichini |first=J. P. |title=Antehiroka et Royauté Vazimba |url=http://www.madatana.com/article-antehiroka-et-royaute-vazimba.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714013559/http://www.madatana.com/article-antehiroka-et-royaute-vazimba.php |archive-date=14 July 2011 |access-date=5 November 2010 |work=Express de Madagascar |publisher=Madatana.com |language=fr}}</ref> As Merina dominance expanded over neighboring Malagasy peoples in the early 19th century to establish the Kingdom of Madagascar, Antananarivo became the administrative center for virtually the entire island. In 1896 the French colonizers of Madagascar adopted the Merina capital as their center of colonial administration, and that city remained Madagascar's capital after the country regained independence in 1960. In 2017, the capital's population was estimated at 1,391,433 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/madagascar-population/cities/ |title=Population of Cities in Madagascar (2017) |website=worldpopulationreview.com |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015204227/http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/madagascar-population/cities/ |url-status=live}}</ref> After Antananarivo, the country's next largest cities are [[Antsirabe]], Toamasina, and [[Mahajanga]].<ref name="BGNote" />
===Politics===
{{Main|Politics of Madagascar|Foreign relations of Madagascar|Human rights in Madagascar}}
[[File:Michael Randrianirina in February 2026.jpg|thumb|250x250px|[[Michael Randrianirina]], [[President of Madagascar]] and [[Council of the Presidency for the Re-Foundation of the Republic of Madagascar|President of the Council of the Presidency for the Re-Foundation]].]]
Since Madagascar's independence from France in 1960, the island's political transitions have been marked by numerous popular protests, several disputed elections, an impeachment, two military coups, and an assassination. The country's recurrent political crises have often been prolonged, with detrimental effects on the local economy, international relations, and Malagasy living standards. For example, the eight-month standoff between incumbent Ratsiraka and challenger Ravalomanana following the 2001 presidential elections cost Madagascar millions of dollars in lost tourism and trade revenue as well as damage to infrastructure, such as bombed bridges and buildings damaged by arson.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=47721 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613014315/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=47721 |archive-date=13 June 2011 |url-status=live |title=MADAGASCAR: Former president sentenced to five years in prison |publisher=Irinnews.org |date=17 December 2003 |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref> [[2009 Malagasy protests|A series of protests]] led by Andry Rajoelina against Ravalomanana in early 2009 became violent, with more than 170 people killed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83838 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613015554/http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=83838 |archive-date=13 June 2011 |url-status=live |title=Madagascar: Appeal launched despite political uncertainty |publisher=Irinnews.org |date=7 April 2009 |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref>

Modern politics in Madagascar are also colored by the history of the Merina subjugation of coastal communities under their rule in the 19th century. The consequent tension between the highland and coastal populations has periodically flared up into isolated events of violence.<ref name="ethnicstrife">{{Cite news |last=Leithead |first=Alastair |title=Ethnic strife rocks Madagascar |newspaper=BBC News |date=14 May 2002 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1987383.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326234124/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1987383.stm |archive-date=26 March 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=22 January 2012}}</ref>

Madagascar has historically been perceived as being on the margin of mainstream African affairs, despite its being a founding member of the [[Organization of African Unity]], established in 1963 and dissolved in 2002 to be replaced by the [[African Union]]. The country was not permitted to attend the first African Union summit because of a dispute over the results of the 2001 presidential election, but rejoined the Union in July 2003 after a 14-month hiatus.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cornwell |first1=Richard |title=MADAGASCAR: First test for the African Union |journal=African Security Review |date=January 2003 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=40–53 |doi=10.1080/10246029.2003.9627569}}</ref> Again it was suspended by the African Union in March 2009, however, following the unconstitutional transfer of executive power to Rajoelina.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Pressure grows on Madagascar coup |work=BBC News |date=20 March 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7954356.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629015627/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7954356.stm |archive-date=29 June 2011 |url-status=live |access-date=30 March 2009}}</ref>

Madagascar is a member of the [[International Criminal Court]] with a bilateral immunity agreement of protection for the [[United States Armed Forces|United States military]].<ref name="BGNote" /> Eleven countries have established embassies in Madagascar, including France, the United Kingdom, the United States, China, and India;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Numéros utiles |publisher=AirMadagascar.com |date=28 January 2012 |url=http://www.airmadagascar.com/contact/numeros-utiles |access-date=28 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226120416/http://www.airmadagascar.com/contact/numeros-utiles |archive-date=26 December 2011 |language=fr}}</ref> and Madagascar has [[List of diplomatic missions of Madagascar|embassies in 16 other countries]].<ref name="MAEMg-Reps">{{cite web |url=https://www.diplomatie.gov.mg/index.php/le-ministere/representations-exterieures#map|title=Représentations extérieures|trans-title=External Representations|lang=fr|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Madagascar|access-date=6 January 2025}}</ref>

Human rights in Madagascar are protected under the Constitution and the state is a signatory to numerous international agreements including the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]] and the [[Convention on the Rights of the Child]].<ref name="DOS" /> Religious, ethnic, and sexual minorities are protected under the law. Freedom of association and assembly are also guaranteed under the law, although in practice the denial of permits for public assembly has occasionally been used to impede political demonstrations.<ref name="CrossroadsMarcus" /><ref name="DOS">{{Cite web |author=((Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor)) |title=2010 Human Rights Report: Madagascar |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=8 April 2011 |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/160130.pdf |access-date=10 July 2011 |archive-date=20 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320140731/https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/160130.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Torture by security forces is rare and state repression is low relative to other countries with comparably few legal safeguards, although arbitrary arrests and the corruption of military and police officers remain problems.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Ravalomanana's 2004 creation of BIANCO, an anti-corruption bureau, resulted in reduced corruption among Antananarivo's lower-level bureaucrats in particular, although high-level officials have not been prosecuted by the bureau.<ref name="CrossroadsMarcus" /> Accusations of media [[censorship]] have risen due to the alleged restrictions on the coverage of government opposition.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://allafrica.com/stories/200904230849.html |title=''Madagascar: Media Under Attack One Month After New President Installed'', allafrica.com |access-date=2 May 2020 |archive-date=13 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013163152/http://allafrica.com/stories/200904230849.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Some journalists have been arrested for allegedly spreading [[fake news]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Madagascar journalist Arphine Helisoa jailed on false news, incitement allegation |url=https://cpj.org/2020/04/madagascar-journalist-arphine-helisoa-jailed-on-fa.php |work=Committee to Protect Journalists |date=22 April 2020 |access-date=2 May 2020 |archive-date=1 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200501132014/https://cpj.org/2020/04/madagascar-journalist-arphine-helisoa-jailed-on-fa.php |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Military and law enforcement===
{{Main|Madagascar Armed Forces|Law enforcement in Madagascar}}

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

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

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

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Regions of Madagascar|Districts of Madagascar}}

Madagascar is subdivided into 23 regions (''faritra'').<ref name=BGNote/> The regions are further subdivided into 119 districts, 1,579 communes, and 17,485 ''fokontany'' (local neighborhoods, villages, or hamlets).<ref name="INSTAT">{{Cite press release|title=Présentation des résultats de la cartographie numérique en préparation du troisième recensement général de la population et du logement |publisher=Institut nationale de la statistique (INSTAT), Government of Madagascar |year=2010 |url=http://www.instat.mg/pdf/carto_poly.pdf |access-date=15 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126200807/http://www.instat.mg/pdf/carto_poly.pdf |archive-date=26 January 2012 |language=fr}}</ref>

{{Stack|[[File:Regions of Madagascar (2021).svg|center|200px|Regions of Madagascar]]}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Number <br />on map
! Region's name
! Area <br />(km<sup>2</sup>)
! Population <br />(2018 census)
<ref name="recensement2018">{{Cite web |url=https://www.instat.mg/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-Prelim-2019_ver_final.pdf |title=Troisieme Recensement General de la Population et de L'Habitation (RGPH-3) Resultats Provisoires |publisher=Institut National de la Statistique Madagascar |access-date=23 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190903135547/https://www.instat.mg/wp-content/uploads/Rapport-Prelim-2019_ver_final.pdf|archive-date=3 September 2019}}</ref>
! Population <br />density <br />per km<sup>2</sup>
! Capital
! Former <br />province
|-
|align="right"|1 || [[Diana Region|Diana]] ||align="right"| 19,266 ||align="right"| 889,736 ||align="right"| 36.3 || [[Antsiranana]] || [[Antsiranana Province|Antsiranana]]
|-
|align="right"|2 || [[Sava Region|Sava]] ||align="right"| 25,518 ||align="right"| 1,123,013 ||align="right"| 38.4 || [[Sambava]] || [[Antsiranana Province|Antsiranana]]
|-
|align="right"|3 || [[Itasy Region|Itasy]] ||align="right"| 6,993 ||align="right"| 897,962 ||align="right"| 104.8 || [[Miarinarivo]] || [[Antananarivo Province|Antananarivo]]
|-
|align="right"|4 || [[Analamanga]] ||align="right"| 16,911 ||align="right"| 3,618,128 ||align="right"| 198.0 || [[Antananarivo]] || [[Antananarivo Province|Antananarivo]]
|-
|align="right"|5 || [[Vakinankaratra]] ||align="right"| 16,599 ||align="right"| 2,074,358 ||align="right"| 108.6 || [[Antsirabe]] || [[Antananarivo Province|Antananarivo]]
|-
|align="right"|6 || [[Bongolava]] ||align="right"| 16,688 ||align="right"| 674,474 ||align="right"| 27.4 || [[Tsiroanomandidy]] || [[Antananarivo Province|Antananarivo]]
|-
|align="right"|7 || [[Sofia Region|Sofia]] ||align="right"| 50,100 ||align="right"| 1,500,227 ||align="right"| 24.9 || [[Antsohihy]] || [[Mahajanga Province|Mahajanga]]
|-
|align="right"|8 || [[Boeny]] ||align="right"| 31,046 ||align="right"| 931,171 ||align="right"| 25.8 || [[Mahajanga]] || [[Mahajanga Province|Mahajanga]]
|-
|align="right"|9 || [[Betsiboka]] ||align="right"| 30,025 ||align="right"| 394,561 ||align="right"| 9.8 || [[Maevatanana]] || [[Mahajanga Province|Mahajanga]]
|-
|align="right"|10 || [[Melaky]] ||align="right"| 38,852 ||align="right"| 309,805 ||align="right"| 7.5 || [[Maintirano]] || [[Mahajanga Province|Mahajanga]]
|-
|align="right"|11 || [[Alaotra-Mangoro]] ||align="right"| 31,948 ||align="right"| 1,255,514 ||align="right"| 32.1 || [[Ambatondrazaka]] || [[Toamasina Province|Toamasina]]
|-
|align="right"|12 || [[Atsinanana]] ||align="right"| 21,934 ||align="right"| 1,484,403 ||align="right"| 57.9 || [[Toamasina]] || [[Toamasina Province|Toamasina]]
|-
|align="right"|13 || [[Analanjirofo]] ||align="right"|  21,930 ||align="right"| 1,152,345 ||align="right"| 47.2 || [[Fenoarivo Atsinanana]] || [[Toamasina Province|Toamasina]]
|-
|align="right"|14 || [[Amoron'i Mania]] ||align="right"| 16,141 ||align="right"| 833,919 ||align="right"| 44.3 || [[Ambositra]] || [[Fianarantsoa Province|Fianarantsoa]]
|-
|align="right"|15 || [[Haute Matsiatra|Matsiatra Ambony]] ||align="right"| 21,080 ||align="right"| 1,447,296 ||align="right"| 56.9 || [[Fianarantsoa]] || [[Fianarantsoa Province|Fianarantsoa]]
|-
|align="right"|16 || [[Vatovavy]] ||align="right"|  12,775|| align="right" | 705,675 ||align="right"| 72.2 || [[Mananjary]] || [[Fianarantsoa Province|Fianarantsoa]]
|-
|align="right"|17 || [[Atsimo-Atsinanana]] ||align="right"| 18,863 ||align="right"| 1,026,674 ||align="right"| 47.6 || [[Farafangana]] || [[Fianarantsoa Province|Fianarantsoa]]
|-
|align="right"|18 || [[Ihorombe]] ||align="right"| 26,391 ||align="right"| 418,520 ||align="right"| 11.8 || [[Ihosy]] || [[Fianarantsoa Province|Fianarantsoa]]
|-
|align="right"|19 || [[Menabe]] ||align="right"| 46,121 ||align="right"| 700,577 ||align="right"| 12.8 || [[Morondava]] || [[Toliara Province|Toliara]]
|-
|align="right"|20 || [[Atsimo-Andrefana]] ||align="right"| 66,236 ||align="right"| 1,799,088 ||align="right"| 19.9 || [[Toliara]] || [[Toliara Province|Toliara]]
|-
|align="right"|21 || [[Androy]] ||align="right"| 19,317 ||align="right"| 903,376 ||align="right"| 38.0 || [[Ambovombe-Androy]] || [[Toliara Province|Toliara]]
|-
|align="right"|22 || [[Anosy Region|Anosy]] ||align="right"| 25,731 ||align="right"| 809,313 ||align="right"| 26.1 || [[Tôlanaro]] || [[Toliara Province|Toliara]]
|-
|align="right"|23 || [[Fitovinany]] ||align="right"| 19,605 ||align="right"| 1,435,882 ||align="right"| 72.2 || [[Manakara]] || [[Fianarantsoa Province|Fianarantsoa]]
|}

=== United Nations involvement ===
Madagascar became a [[Member states of the United Nations|member state]] of the [[United Nations]] on 20 September 1960, shortly after gaining its independence on 26 June 1960.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2006/org1469.doc.htm |title=United Nations Member States {{!}} Meetings Coverage and Press Releases |website=www.un.org |language=en |access-date=2 February 2017 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305033119/http://www.un.org/press/en/2006/org1469.doc.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> As of January 2017, 34 police officers from Madagascar were deployed in Haiti as part of the [[United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2017/jan17_5.pdf |title=UN Mission's Contributions by Country |last=United Nations |date=31 January 2017 |website=www.un.org |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223133954/http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/contributors/2017/jan17_5.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) [[World Food Programme]] started the Madagascar Country Programme with the two main goals of long-term development and reconstruction efforts and addressing of food insecurity issues in the country's southern regions<ref name="WFP-2015">{{Cite web |url=http://www1.wfp.org/operations/200733-madagascar-country-programme-2015-2019 |title=Madagascar Country Programme (2015–2019) {{!}} World Food Programme |website=www1.wfp.org |language=en |access-date=22 February 2017 |archive-date=22 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222195051/http://www1.wfp.org/operations/200733-madagascar-country-programme-2015-2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> by providing meals for specific schools in rural and urban priority areas and developing national school feeding policies to increase consistency of nourishment. Small and local farmers have also been assisted in increasing both the quantity and quality of their production, as well as improvement of their crop yield in unfavorable weather conditions.<ref name="WFP-2015" />

In 2017, Madagascar signed the UN [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament&nbsp;– No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-date=6 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |url-status=live}}</ref>

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

[[File:Madagascar GDP per capita, 1950 to 2022.png|thumb|Historical change in per capita GDP of Madagascar since 1950]]
[[File:Nosy-iranja-beach.jpg|thumb|Nosy Iranja, one of the international tourism destinations in Madagascar]]Madagascar's GDP in 2015 was estimated at US$9.98&nbsp;billion, with a per-capita GDP of $411.82.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&hl=en&dl=en |title=World Bank |access-date=27 February 2017 |archive-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029052604/http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&hl=en&dl=en#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_pcap_cd&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&ifdim=region&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false |title=World Development Indicators – Google Public Data Explorer |website=www.google.com |access-date=22 February 2017 |archive-date=29 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029052604/http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_#!ctype=l&strail=false&bcs=d&nselm=h&met_y=ny_gdp_pcap_cd&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&rdim=region&idim=country:MDG:MUS:MOZ&ifdim=region&hl=en_US&dl=en&ind=false |url-status=live}}</ref> Approximately 69% of the population lived below the national poverty line threshold of one dollar per day;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar at a glance |publisher=World Bank |date=25 February 2011 |url=http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/mdg_aag.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313084616/http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/mdg_aag.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2012 |access-date=4 February 2012}}</ref> and according to the [[United Nations Development Programme]], 68.4% of the population was [[Multidimensional Poverty Index|multidimensionally poor]] as of 2021.<ref name="UNDP-2023">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Multidimensional Poverty Index 2023: Madagascar |url=https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/MPI/MDG.pdf |access-date=28 May 2024 |website=United Nations Development Programme: Human Development Reports |archive-date=21 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521064656/https://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/Country-Profiles/MPI/MDG.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

During 2011–15, the country's average growth rate was 2.6% but expected to have reached 4.1% in 2016, due to public works programs and  growth of the service sector.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/madagascar/overview |title=Madagascar Overview |website=www.worldbank.org |language=en |access-date=22 February 2017 |archive-date=9 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409090650/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/madagascar/overview |url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2011, the agriculture sector constituted 29% of the GDP, with manufacturing at 15%. Madagascar's other sources of growth have been tourism, agriculture, and the extractive industries.<ref name="AEO2011">{{Cite web |title=African Economic Outlook 2011: Madagascar |last1=AFDB|last2= OECD|last3= UNDP|last4= UNECA |publisher=AfricanEconomicOutlook.org |year=2011 |url=http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/fileadmin/uploads/aeo/Country_Notes/2011/Full/Madagascar.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109020440/http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/fileadmin/uploads/aeo/Country_Notes/2011/Full/Madagascar.pdf |archive-date=9 November 2011 |access-date=28 January 2012}}</ref> The fishing sector represents US$800 million or 6% of GNP and directly employs 200,000 jobs.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexpress.mg/2024/01/filiere-peche-la-transparence-comme.html |title=La filiere Peche |date=27 January 2024 |access-date=30 January 2024 |archive-date=30 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240130044353/https://www.lexpress.mg/2024/01/filiere-peche-la-transparence-comme.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Tourism focuses on the niche ecotourism market, capitalizing on Madagascar's unique biodiversity, unspoiled natural habitats, national parks, and lemur species.<ref name="tourismsector">{{Cite journal |first1=Iain |last1=Christie |first2=Elizabeth |last2=Crompton |title=Republic of Madagascar: Tourism Sector Study |journal=Africa Region Working Paper No. 63 |publisher=World Bank |date=November 2003 |location=Antananarivo |url=http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp63.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210070045/http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp63.pdf |archive-date=10 February 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=28 January 2012}}</ref> An estimated 365,000 tourists visited Madagascar in 2008, but the sector declined during the political crisis n 2010 with only 180,000 tourists visiting.<ref name="AEO2011" /> It then grew steadily for a few years. In 2016, 293,000 tourists came to the island, representing an increase of 20% compared to 2015. The country had the goal of drawing 366,000 visitors in 2017 and 500,000 in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.guidaviaggi.it/notizie/183551/madagascar-obiettivo- |title=Madagascar: obiettivo 500mila visitatori nel 2018 |work=Guida Viaggi |date=10 February 2017 |language=it |trans-title=Madagascar: Targeting 500 Thousand Visitors in 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808193816/http://www.guidaviaggi.it/notizie/183551/madagascar-obiettivo- |archive-date=8 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Madagascar was still a very poor country in 2018 and structural brakes remained on its development: corruption and the shackles of the public administration, lack of legal certainty, and backward land legislation. The economy, however, had grown since 2011, with GDP growth exceeding 4% per year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=66&c=ma&l=en |title=Madagascar – GDP – real growth rate – Historical Data Graphs per Year |website=www.indexmundi.com |access-date=16 June 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210626/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=66&c=ma&l=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.agenzianova.com/a/0/1532830/2017-03-26/business-news-fmi-economia-del-madagascar-manifesta-segnali-incoraggianti |title=Business news: Fmi, economia del Madagascar manifesta segnali "incoraggianti" |website=Agenzia Nova |access-date=16 June 2018 |archive-date=28 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328195756/http://www.agenzianova.com/a/0/1532830/2017-03-26/business-news-fmi-economia-del-madagascar-manifesta-segnali-incoraggianti |url-status=live}}</ref> Almost all economic indicators were also growing: the GDP per capita was around $1,600 (PPP) for 2017,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=67&c=ma&l=en |title=Madagascar – GDP – per capita (PPP) – Historical Data Graphs per Year |access-date=24 November 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210611/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=67&c=ma&l=en |url-status=live}}</ref> one of the lowest in the world, although growing since 2012; unemployment was also cut, which in 2016 was equal to 2.1%<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=74&c=ma&l=en |title=Madagascar – Unemployment rate – Historical Data Graphs per Year |website=indexmundi.com |access-date=16 June 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210651/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=74&c=ma&l=en |url-status=live}}</ref> with a work force of 13.4&nbsp;million as of 2017.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=72&c=ma&l=en |title=Madagascar – Labor force – Historical Data Graphs per Year |website=www.indexmundi.com |access-date=16 June 2018 |archive-date=13 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613234209/https://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=72&c=ma&l=en |url-status=live}}</ref> 

In 2017, poverty affected 92% of Madagascar's population. The country ranked fourth globally in terms of chronic malnutrition, with nearly one in two children under the age of five experiencing stunted growth. Additionally, it was among the five countries where access to clean water was most limited. According to the NGO WaterAid, in 2021 approximately 12 million people lacked access to safe drinking water.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicef.org/madagascar/en/programme/pse |title=Social policy and social protection |access-date=19 December 2021 |archive-date=19 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219014609/https://www.unicef.org/madagascar/en/programme/pse |url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2025, poverty affected approximately 80% of Madagascar's population, based on a daily income threshold of $2.15 (2017 PPP),<ref>{{Cite web |author=World Bank  |title=Madagascar Poverty and Equity Brief: April 2025 |url=https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/en/099703304212517450 |access-date=22 August 2025 |website=World Bank |language=en}}</ref> and nearly 1.94 million people were projected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity during the lean season.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar: Acute Food Insecurity Situation for September - December 2024 and Projections for January - April 2025 and May - August 2025 {{!}} IPC - Integrated Food Security Phase Classification |url=https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159493/?iso3=MDG |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319012833/https://www.ipcinfo.org/ipc-country-analysis/details-map/en/c/1159493/?iso3=MDG |archive-date=19 March 2025 |access-date=22 August 2025 |website=www.ipcinfo.org |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref> Access to clean water is a critical issue, as Madagascar remains a water-stressed country, with climate shocks and infrastructure gaps exacerbating the crisis.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2025 |title=Responding to the climate crisis with recovery and resilience in Madagascar |url=https://www.caritas.org/2025/06/responding-to-the-climate-crisis-with-recovery-and-resilience-in-madagascar/ |access-date=22 August 2025 |website=Caritas |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Natural resources and trade===
[[File:Raffia animals created by artisans in Madagascar.jpg|thumb|left|Toy animals made from [[Raffia palm|raffia]], a native palm<ref>{{harvp|Rodd|Stackhouse|2008|p=246}}</ref>]]
Madagascar's [[natural resource]]s include a variety of [[Agriculture|agricultural]] and [[mineral]] products. Agriculture (including the growing of [[raffia]]), [[mining]], [[fishing]], and [[forestry]] are mainstays of the economy. In 2017 the top exports were vanilla (US$894 million), [[Nickel|nickel metal]] (US$414 million), cloves (US$288 million), knitted sweaters (US$184 million, and [[cobalt]] (US$143 million).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar Economic Statistics |url=https://tradecouncil.org/madagascar-economics-statistics-2019/ |publisher=International Trade Council |access-date=16 April 2020 |location=Washington D.C. |date=2019}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Madagascar is the world's principal supplier of vanilla, cloves,<ref>{{Cite web |author=United Nations |title=FAO Stat |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization |url=http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx |year=2013 |access-date=13 April 2013 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713020710/http://faostat.fao.org/site/339/default.aspx |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Cananga odorata#Ylang-ylang essential oil|ylang-ylang]].<ref name=gafilo/> The island supplies 80% of the world's natural vanilla.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pilling |first=David |date=5 June 2018 |title=The real price of Madagascar's vanilla boom |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/02042190-65bc-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56 |access-date=20 September 2018 |archive-date=20 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920195743/https://www.ft.com/content/02042190-65bc-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56 |url-status=live}}</ref> Other key agricultural resources include coffee, [[lychee]]s, and [[Shrimp and prawn as food|shrimp]]. Key mineral resources include various types of precious and semi-precious stones, and as of 2001 it provided half of the world's supply of [[sapphire]]s, which was discovered near [[Ilakaka]] in the late 1990s.<ref>{{harvp|Pezzotta|2001|p=32}}</ref>

Madagascar has one of the world's largest reserves of [[ilmenite]] (titanium ore), as well as important reserves of [[chromite]], coal, iron, cobalt, copper, and nickel.<ref name=EBLand/> Several major projects are underway in the mining, oil, and gas sectors that are anticipated to give a significant boost to the Malagasy economy. These include such projects as ilmenite and [[zircon]] mining at the [[Mandena]] mine by [[Rio Tinto Group|Rio Tinto]],<ref name="RioTinto">{{Cite web |title=About QMM |publisher=Rio Tinto |year=2009 |access-date=19 September 2012 |url=http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702181446/http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |archive-date=2 July 2012}}</ref> extraction of nickel at the [[Ambatovy mine]] near [[Moramanga]] and its processing near Toamasina by [[Sherritt International]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Metals – Ambatovy Joint Venture |publisher=Sherritt International Corporation |year=2012 |access-date=19 September 2012 |url=http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702181446/http://www.sherritt.com/Operations/Metals/Ambatovy-Joint-Venture |archive-date=2 July 2012}}</ref> and development of the giant onshore [[heavy crude oil|heavy oil]] deposits at [[Tsimiroro]] and [[Bemolanga]] by [[Madagascar Oil]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar's oil fortunes evolving slowly |publisher=PennWell Corporation |date=7 February 2012 |access-date=19 September 2012 |url=http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/vol-110/issue-2/exploration-developmet/madagascar-s-oil.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208082330/http://www.ogj.com/articles/print/vol-110/issue-2/exploration-developmet/madagascar-s-oil.html |url-status=live |archive-date=8 February 2013}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}

Exports formed 28% of the GDP in 2009.<ref name=BGNote/> Most of the country's export revenue is derived from the textiles industry, fish and shellfish, vanilla, cloves, and other [[food]]stuffs.<ref name=AEO2011/> France is the nation's main trading partner, although the United States, Japan, and Germany also have strong economic ties with Madagascar.<ref name=EBLand/> High-value cash crops for export such as lychees are more recent growth areas, with 18,000 tons sold abroad in 2023, of which 16,000 tons were exported to Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 November 2024 |title=Madagascar's lychee growers in crisis as production plummets |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20241117-madagascar-prized-lychee-growers-face-crisis-as-production-plunges-climate |access-date=20 January 2025 |website=RFI |language=en}}</ref>

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

===Infrastructure and media===
{{Main|Transport in Madagascar|Telecommunications in Madagascar|List of newspapers in Madagascar}}

[[File:Antananarivo Madagascar people reading news.JPG|thumb|News stand in [[Antananarivo]]]]

In 2010, Madagascar had approximately {{Convert|7617|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of paved [[road]]s, {{Convert|854|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of [[Rail transport|railways]], and {{Convert|432|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} of navigable [[waterway]]s.<ref name="Bradtp2"/>{{Update inline|date=January 2026}} The majority of [[List of roads in Madagascar#National roads|roads in Madagascar]] are unpaved, with many impassable in the rainy season. Largely paved [[National routes of Madagascar|national routes]] connect the six largest regional towns to Antananarivo, with minor paved and unpaved routes providing access to other population centers in each district.<ref name="LOC"/> As of 2023, the [[World Bank Group|World Bank]] estimated that 17 million people in Madagascar's rural areas live more than 2 km away from an all-season road.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The World Bank Connectivity for Rural Livelihood Improvement Project |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/fr/810821574132477851/pdf/Madagascar-Connectivity-for-Rural-Livelihood-Improvement-Project.pdf |access-date=24 April 2023 |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424091253/https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/fr/810821574132477851/pdf/Madagascar-Connectivity-for-Rural-Livelihood-Improvement-Project.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

Construction of the [[AR1 highway|Antananarivo–Toamasina toll highway]], the country's first [[toll highway]], began in December 2022. The approximately US$1 billion infrastructure project, which would connect Madagascar's capital to its largest seaport, was expected to take four years to complete.<ref name="Africanews-2022">{{Cite news |date=5 December 2022 |title=Madagascar starts works on first motorway |work=[[Africanews]] |url=https://www.africanews.com/2022/12/04/madagascar-starts-works-on-first-motorway// |access-date=19 February 2023 |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219235236/https://www.africanews.com/2022/12/04/madagascar-starts-works-on-first-motorway// |url-status=live}}</ref> Another project to create 348 km (216 mi) of roads and create better connections cost €235.5 million, including a €116 million grant from the [[European Union]], a €110 million loan from the [[European Investment Bank]], and €4.8 million in finance from the Republic of Madagascar.<ref name="EIB-2023">{{Cite web |title=Road projects to combat climate events in Madagascar |url=https://www.eib.org/en/stories/madagascar-climate-roads |access-date=24 April 2023 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424081522/https://www.eib.org/en/stories/madagascar-climate-roads |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar: Project to modernise the RN13 and RN6 national highways - €73.6 million disbursement from EIB and European Union |url=https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2022-550-projet-de-modernisation-des-routes-nationales-rn13-et-rn6-a-madagascar-decaissement-de-736-millions-d-euros-de-la-bei-et-de-l-union-europeenne |access-date=24 April 2023 |website=European Investment Bank |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424101606/https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2022-550-projet-de-modernisation-des-routes-nationales-rn13-et-rn6-a-madagascar-decaissement-de-736-millions-d-euros-de-la-bei-et-de-l-union-europeenne |url-status=live}}</ref>

There are several [[Railway stations in Madagascar#Cities served by rail|rail lines in Madagascar]]. Antananarivo is connected to Toamasina, [[Ambatondrazaka]], and Antsirabe by rail, and another rail line connects Fianarantsoa to [[Manakara]]. In early 2026 a new passenger train service was launched in Antananarivo, to ease traffic in the capital.<ref name="Railway Gazette-2026">{{Cite journal |date=22 January 2026 |title='Fast, comfortable and reliable' urban rail services launched in Madagascar |url=https://www.railwaygazette.com/fast-comfortable-and-reliable-urban-rail-services-launched-in-madagascar/70298.article |journal=Railway Gazette International}}</ref>

The most important [[Port#Seaport|seaport]] in the country is located on the east coast at Toamasina. Ports at [[Mahajanga]] and [[Antsiranana]] are significantly less used because of their remoteness.<ref name="LOC" /> Madagascar's government hopes to expand the ports of Antsiranana in the north and [[Fort-Dauphin (Madagascar)|Taolagnaro]] in the south to connect them to improved road networks, as many imports are everyday necessities and the country also relies on export money.'''<ref name="EIB-2023" />'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=High prices in Southern Madagascar limit poor households' food access {{!}} FEWS NET |url=https://fews.net/southern-africa/madagascar/food-security-outlook/february-2019 |access-date=24 April 2023 |website=fews.net |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424085751/https://fews.net/southern-africa/madagascar/food-security-outlook/february-2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar - COUNTRY ECONOMIC MEMORANDUM |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/699781575279412305/pdf/Madagascar-Country-Economic-Memorandum-Scaling-Success-Building-a-Resilient-Economy.pdf |access-date=24 April 2023 |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424085750/https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/699781575279412305/pdf/Madagascar-Country-Economic-Memorandum-Scaling-Success-Building-a-Resilient-Economy.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The island's newest port at Ehoala, constructed in 2008 and privately managed by [[Rio Tinto (corporation)|Rio Tinto]], will come under state control upon completion of the company's mining project near [[Tôlanaro]] around 2038.<ref name="RioTinto" />

Madagascar Airlines services the island's many small regional [[List of airports in Madagascar|airports in the country]], which offer the only practical means of access to many of the more remote regions during rainy season road washouts.<ref name="LOC" />

[[File:AmbatolampyOchsenkarren.jpg|thumb|left|[[Bullock cart|Oxcarts]] are an important medium of transport in many places, like [[Ambatolampy]].]]
[[Water supply|Running water]] and [[electricity]] are supplied at the national level by a government service provider, [[Jirama]], which is unable to service the entire population. {{As of|2009}}, only 6.8% of Madagascar's ''fokontany'' had access to water provided by Jirama and 9.5% had access to its electricity services.<ref name=INSTAT/>{{Update inline|date=January 2026}} Fifty-six percent of Madagascar's power is provided by [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] power plants, with the remaining 44% provided by [[diesel engine]] generators.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Production Electricité |publisher=Jirama |year=2011 |url=http://www.jirama.mg/index.php?w=scripts&f=Jirama-page.php&act=pdcelec |access-date=28 August 2013 |language=fr |archive-date=16 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816055715/http://www.jirama.mg/index.php?w=scripts&f=Jirama-page.php&act=pdcelec |url-status=live}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}

Mobile telephone and Internet access are widespread in urban areas but remain limited in rural parts of the island. Approximately 30% of the districts are able to access the nation's several private telecommunications networks via mobile (cell) telephones or landlines.<ref name="INSTAT" />{{Update inline|date=January 2026}} As of 2023, 11% of the rural population had access to power.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar Set to Expand Access to Renewable Energy and Digital Services thanks to $400 Million Credit |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/04/07/madagascar-afe-set-to-expand-access-to-renewable-energy-and-digital-services-thanks-to-400-million-credit |access-date=24 April 2023 |website=World Bank |language=en |archive-date=24 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230424085751/https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/04/07/madagascar-afe-set-to-expand-access-to-renewable-energy-and-digital-services-thanks-to-400-million-credit |url-status=live}}</ref>

Radio broadcasting remains the principal means by which the population accesses international, national, and local news, but only state radio broadcasts are transmitted across the entire island. Hundreds of public and private stations with local or regional range, however, provide alternatives to state broadcasting,<ref name="mediainfo" /> providing local and international programming throughout the country. Several [[media outlets]] are owned by political partisans or politicians themselves, including the media groups MBS (owned by Ravalomanana) and Viva (owned by Rajoelina),<ref name="CrossroadsMarcus">{{Cite web |last1=Bachelard |first1=Jerome |last2=Marcus |first2=Richard |title=Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Madagascar |publisher=Freedom House |year=2011 |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/MADAGASCARfinal.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608195355/http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/MADAGASCARfinal.pdf |archive-date=8 June 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref> which contributes to political polarization in reporting. Madagascar's media have historically come under varying degrees of pressure to censor their criticism of the government, with reporters occasionally threatened or harassed and media outlets periodically forced to close.<ref name="mediainfo" /> Accusations of media censorship have increased since 2009 because of alleged intensification of restrictions on political criticism.<ref name="DOS" />{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}

Internet access has grown dramatically in the 21st century. In December 2011, an estimated 352,000 Madagascar residents had access from home or in one of the nation's many Internet cafés ;<ref name="mediainfo">{{Cite news |title=Madagascar Profile: Media |work=BBC News |date=20 June 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861846 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816011234/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861846 |archive-date=16 August 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=25 August 2012}}</ref> but by January 2022, 22.3% of the population (6.43 million people) had access, mostly through mobile phones.<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 February 2022 |title=Digital 2022: Madagascar |url=https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-madagascar |access-date=20 January 2025 |website=DataReportal – Global Digital Insights |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Madagascar|List of cities in Madagascar}}

[[File:Ethno-linguistic map of Madagascar.jpg|thumb|Ethnolinguistic map of Madagascar]]
Only two general censuses, in 1975 and 1993, have been carried out after independence. The most densely populated regions of the island are the Eastern Highlands and the Eastern Coast, contrasting most dramatically with the sparsely populated Western Plains.<ref name="LOC" />[[Agriculture]] has long influenced settlement on the island. Almost 60% of the nation's population live in rural areas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Madagascar |date=7 August 2024 |website=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/#people-and-society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822125305/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/#people-and-society |archive-date=22 August 2024 |access-date=8 September 2024 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

In 2024, the population of Madagascar was estimated at 32 million, up from 2.2 million in 1900,<ref name="Division-2024">{{Cite web |last=Division |first=United Nations Population |title=By Location {{!}} Pivot Table {{!}} Data Portal |url=https://population.un.org/dataportal/data/indicators/49/locations/450/start/2019/end/2026/table/pivotbylocation?df=e023316d-87af-4918-8ee3-fe083aa8d4b1 |access-date=8 September 2024 |website=Population Division Data Portal |language=en}}</ref><ref name="LOC" /> and the annual population growth rate approximately 2.4%.<ref name="Division-2024" /> As of 2024, approximately 39.3% of the population was younger than 15 years of age, 57.3% were between the ages of 15 and 64, and 3.4% were aged 65 and older.<ref name="Division-2024" /> 

===Ethnic groups===
{{Main|Demographics of Madagascar#Ethnicity}}

[[File:Antanosy Girl Fort Dauphin.jpg|thumb|[[Antanosy]] girl with dark blond hair]]
The [[Malagasy peoples|Malagasy]] ethnic group forms over 90% of Madagascar's population and is typically divided into 18 ethnic subgroups.<ref name=BGNote/> Recent [[DNA]] research revealed that the genetic makeup of the average Malagasy person constitutes an approximately equal blend of [[Southeast Asia]]n and [[East Africa]]n genes,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hurles|first1= M. E.|last2= Sykes |first2=B. C. |last3= Jobling |first3=M. A.|last4= Forster|first4= P. |year=2005 |title=The dual origin of the Malagasy in Island Southeast Asia and East Africa: evidence from maternal and paternal lineages |url=http://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/press/2005/050504.html |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=894–901 |doi=10.1086/430051 |pmc=1199379 |pmid=15793703 |bibcode= 2005AmJHG..76..894H|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110303210750/http://www.sanger.ac.uk/about/press/2005/050504.html |archive-date=3 March 2011 |access-date=30 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="Tofanelli">{{cite journal |last1=Tofanelli|first1= S.|last2= Bertoncini|first2= S.|last3= Castrì|first3= L.|last4= Luiselli|first4= D.|last5= Calafell|first5= F.|last6= Donati|first6= G.|last7= Paoli|first7= G. |year=2009 |title=On the origins and admixture of Malagasy: new evidence from high-resolution analyses of paternal and maternal lineages |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=26 |issue=9 |pages=2109–2124 |doi=10.1093/molbev/msp120 |pmid=19535740 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Cox">{{Cite journal |last1=Cox |first1=Murray P. |last2=Nelson |first2=Michael G. |last3=Tumonggor |first3=Meryanne K. |last4=Ricaut |first4=François-Xavier |last5=Sudoyo |first5=Herawati |date=2012 |title=A small cohort of Island Southeast Asian women founded Madagascar |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=279 |issue=1739 |pages=2761–2768 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2012.0012 |doi-access=free |pmc=3367776 |pmid=22438500}}</ref> although the genetics of some communities show a predominance of Southeast Asian or East African origins or some Arab, Indian, or European ancestry.<ref name=Adelaar>{{harvp|Adelaar|2006|pp=205–235}}</ref>

Southeast Asian features—specifically from the southern part of Borneo—are most predominant among the Merina of the Central Highlands,<ref name=ethnicstrife/> who form the largest Malagasy ethnic subgroup at approximately 26% of the population, whereas certain communities among the Western Coastal peoples (collectively called ''côtiers'') have relatively stronger East African features. The largest coastal ethnic subgroups are the [[Betsimisaraka people|Betsimisaraka]] (14.9%) and the [[Tsimihety]] and [[Sakalava]] (6% each).<ref name="LOC"/>

{|class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
|-
!Malagasy ethnic subgroups !!Regional concentration
|-
|[[Antankarana]], [[Sakalava people|Sakalava]], [[Tsimihety people|Tsimihety]] ||Former [[Antsiranana Province]]; north and northwestern coasts
|-
|[[Sakalava people|Sakalava]], [[Vezo people|Vezo]] ||Former [[Mahajanga Province]]; western coast
|-
|[[Betsimisaraka people|Betsimisaraka]], [[Sihanaka]], [[Bezanozano]] ||Former [[Toamasina Province]]; eastern coast
|-
|[[Merina people|Merina]] ||Former [[Antananarivo Province]]; central highlands
|-
|[[Betsileo people|Betsileo]], [[Antaifasy]], [[Antambahoaka]], [[Antemoro people|Antaimoro]], [[Antaisaka people|Antaisaka]], [[Tanala]] ||Former [[Fianarantsoa Province]]; southeastern coast
|-
|[[Mahafaly]], [[Antandroy]], [[Antanosy people]], [[Bara people|Bara]], [[Vezo]] ||Former [[Toliara Province]]; southern inland regions and coast
|}

[[Chinese people in Madagascar|Chinese]], [[Indians in Madagascar|Indian]] and [[Comoros|Comoran]] minorities are present in Madagascar, as well as a small European (primarily French) populace. Emigration in the late 20th century has reduced these minority populations, occasionally in abrupt waves, such as the exodus of Comorans in 1976, following anti-Comoran riots in Mahajanga.<ref name="LOC"/> By comparison, there has been no significant emigration of Malagasy peoples.<ref name=EBLand/> The number of [[French people in Madagascar|Europeans]] has declined since independence, reduced from 68,430 in 1958<ref name="Kitchen 1962, p. 256">{{harvp|Kitchen|1962|p=256}}</ref> to 17,000 three decades later. There were an estimated 25,000&nbsp;Comorans, 18,000&nbsp;Indians, and 9,000&nbsp;Chinese living in Madagascar in the mid-1980s.<ref name="LOC"/>

=== Largest cities ===
{{See also|List of cities in Madagascar}}
{{Largest cities of Madagascar}}

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

[[File:Sorabe malagasy.jpg|thumb|right|Sorabe Malagasy Arabic script]]

The Constitution of 2007 recognized three official languages: Malagasy, French, and [[English language|English]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Madagascar: 2007 Constitutional referendum |publisher=Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa |date=June 2010 |url=http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/mad2007results.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828215517/http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/mad2007results.htm |archive-date=28 August 2008 |access-date=22 January 2012}}</ref> A fourth Constitution, adopted in 2010 following [[2010 Malagasy constitutional referendum|a constitutional referendum]],<ref name=4thRepublic/> recognized only Malagasy and French.

The Malagasy language is of [[Malayo-Polynesian languages|Malayo-Polynesian]] origin and is generally spoken throughout the island. The numerous dialects of Malagasy, which are generally mutually intelligible,<ref>{{harvp|Rajaonarimanana|2001|p=8}}</ref> can be clustered under three subgroups: Central-Eastern Malagasic, Northern Malagasic, and Southern Malagasic.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Sambo |first1=Clément |last2=Gueunier |first2=Noël Jacques |title=Langages non conventionnels à Madagascar: argot des jeunes et proverbes gaillards |year=2001 |publisher=Karthala |language=fr |page=304}}</ref>

The Malagasy language derives from the Southeast [[Barito languages]], with the [[Maʼanyan language]] being its closest relative, incorporating numerous [[Malay language|Malay]] and [[Javanese language|Javanese]] loanwords.<ref>{{cite book|first=Otto Chr.|last= Dahl|title=Malgache et Maanjan: une comparaison linguistique<!-- Egede-Instituttet Avhandlinger (unclear what this post-title text refers to without a link)-->|number= 3 |location=Oslo|publisher= Egede-Instituttet|year=1951| page= 13}}</ref><ref>There are also some Sulawesi loanwords, which Adelaar attributes to contact prior to the migration to Madagascar: See {{harvp|Adelaar| 2006| pp= 8–9}}</ref>

French became the official language during the colonial period, when Madagascar came under the authority of France. In the first national Constitution of 1958, Malagasy and French were named the official languages of the Malagasy Republic. Madagascar is a [[Francophonie|francophone]] country, and French is mostly spoken as a second language among the educated population and used for international communication.<ref name="LOC"/> Among the upper class in large cities, French is spoken as a native language.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Øyvind |last=Dahl |date=19 June 2024 |title=Linguistic policy challenges in Madagascar |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/225930576.pdf}}</ref>

=== Religion ===
{{Main|Religion in Madagascar}}

[[File:Antsirabe_-_église.JPG|thumb|right|[[Our Lady of La Salette Cathedral, Antsirabe|Our Lady of La Salette Cathedral]] in [[Antsirabe]]]]
[[File:130415-Eglise de Faravohitra.jpg|thumb|right|Faravohitra Catholic church  in [[Antananarivo]]]]
Christianity is the most widely professed religion in Madagascar. It is predominant in the Highlands.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Madagascar |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/madagascar/ |access-date=15 October 2022 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US |archive-date=29 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220929132734/https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/madagascar/ |url-status=live}}</ref> 

According to the most recent national census completed in 1993, a majority of the population (52%) adhered to Indigenous beliefs, with Christianity the largest single religion at 41%, followed by Islam at 7%.<ref name=":0" /> According to the [[Pew Research Center]] in 2010, however, 85% of the population identified as [[Christianity in Madagascar|Christian]], just 4.5% exclusively practiced folk religions; Protestants comprise a plurality of Christians, followed by Catholics.<ref name="pew2">{{Cite web |url=http://www.globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/madagascar#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2020&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015 |title=Religions in Madagascar &#124; PEW-GRF |publisher=Globalreligiousfutures.org |access-date=20 September 2017 |archive-date=9 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109064122/http://globalreligiousfutures.org/countries/madagascar#/?affiliations_religion_id=0&affiliations_year=2010&region_name=All%20Countries&restrictions_year=2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, the [[Association of Religion Data Archives]], citing the [[World Religion Database]], estimates that in 2025 58.1% of the population was Christian, 2.1% Muslim, 39.2% of traditional faiths, and 0.6% [[Irreligion|nonreligious]] or adhering to other faiths.<ref name="National Profiles2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=137c |title=National Profiles |access-date=30 March 2026 |website=Association of Religious Data Archives}}</ref>

The inconsistency in religious data reflects the common practice of alternating between religious identities or [[Syncretism|syncretizing]] different faith traditions. Christians integrate and combine their religious beliefs with the deeply rooted practice of honoring ancestors. For instance, they may bless their dead at church before proceeding with traditional burial rites or invite a [[Minister (Christianity)|Christian minister]] to consecrate a ''famadihana'' reburial.<ref name="famadihana2">{{Cite news |last=Bearak |first=Barry |title=Dead Join the Living in a Family Celebration |newspaper=New York Times |page=A7 |date=5 September 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/world/africa/06madagascar.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127041227/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/world/africa/06madagascar.html |archive-date=27 January 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref>

[[Veneration of the dead|Veneration of ancestors]] has led to the widespread tradition of tomb-building as well as the Highlands practice of the ''[[famadihana]]'', whereby a deceased family member's remains are exhumed and re-wrapped in fresh silk shrouds, before being replaced in the tomb. The ''famadihana'' is an occasion to celebrate the beloved ancestor's memory, reunite with family and community, and enjoy a festive atmosphere. Residents of surrounding villages are often invited to attend the party, where food and rum are typically served, and a ''[[hiragasy]]'' troupe or other musical entertainment is commonly present.<ref name="famadihana22">{{Cite news |last=Bearak |first=Barry |title=Dead Join the Living in a Family Celebration |newspaper=New York Times |page=A7 |date=5 September 2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/world/africa/06madagascar.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127041227/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/world/africa/06madagascar.html |archive-date=27 January 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=13 January 2012}}</ref>

Consideration for ancestors is also demonstrated through adherence to ''[[Fady (taboo)|fady]]'', taboos that are respected during and after the lifetime of the person who establishes them. It is widely believed that by showing respect for ancestors in these ways, they may intervene on behalf of the living. Conversely, misfortunes are often attributed to ancestors whose memory or wishes have been neglected. The sacrifice of zebu is a traditional method used to appease or honor the ancestors. In addition, the Malagasy traditionally believe in a creator god, called [[Zanahary]] or Andriamanitra.<ref name="Bradtbeliefs2">{{harvp|Bradt |2011| pp=13–20}}</ref> 

The Malagasy Council of Churches comprises the four oldest and most prominent [[Christianity in Madagascar|Christian denominations of Madagascar]] ([[Catholic Church in Madagascar|Catholic]], [[Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar]], [[Malagasy Lutheran Church|Lutheran]], and [[Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean|Anglican]]) and has been influential in Malagasy politics.<ref name="USSD">{{Cite web |author=((Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor)) |year=2006 |title=International Religious Freedom Report: Madagascar |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71310.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120123150701/http%3A//www%2Estate%2Egov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71310%2Ehtm |archive-date=23 January 2012 |access-date=22 January 2012 |publisher=U.S. Department of State}}</ref>

Islam was first brought to Madagascar in the Middle Ages by Arab and Somali Muslim traders, who established several Islamic schools along the Eastern Coast. Whereas the use of Arabic script and loan words and the adoption of Islamic astrology would spread across the island, Islam took hold in only a handful of Southeastern Coastal communities. They are largely concentrated in the northwestern provinces of [[Mahajanga]] and [[Antsiranana]]. Muslims are divided between ethnic Malagasy and Indians, Pakistanis and Comorans.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Al Mujtama Magazine {{!}} Muslims in Madagascar: A Resilient Minority between Geography and History|url=https://en.mugtama.com/articles/muslims_in_madagascar_a_resilient_minority_between_geography_and_history|website=Al Mujtama Magazine|access-date=2025-12-01|language=en}}</ref><ref name="AMNE2">{{Cite book |last=Amungo|first=Ebimo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yxDUDwAAQBAJ&dq=Sindhis+in+Madagascar&pg=PA71|title=The Rise of the African Multinational Enterprise (AMNE): The Lions Accelerating the Development of Africa|date=2020-03-02|publisher=Springer Nature|isbn=978-3-030-33096-5|page=71|language=en}}</ref>

Hinduism was introduced to Madagascar through [[Gujarati people]] immigrating from the [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] region of India in the late 19th century. Most Hindus in Madagascar speak Gujarati or Hindi at home, reflecting the faith's concentration among those of Indian ancestry.<ref name="id2">{{Cite web |title=Report of the High Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora |publisher=Ministry of External Affairs, India |year=2004 |url=http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter8.pdf |access-date=22 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030629092115/http://indiandiaspora.nic.in/diasporapdf/chapter8.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2003}}</ref>

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

===Health===
{{Main|Healthcare in Madagascar}}

[[Clinic|Medical centers]], [[Dispensary|dispensaries]], and [[hospital]]s are found throughout the island, although concentrated in urban areas and particularly in Antananarivo. Access to medical care remains beyond the reach of many Malagasy, especially in the rural areas, and many people have recourse to traditional healers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Legrip-Randriambelo |first1=Olivia |last2=Regnier |first2=Denis |title=The place of healers-diviners (ombiasa) in Betsileo medical pluralism |journal=Health, Culture and Society |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=28–37 |url=http://hcs.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/hcs/article/viewFile/188/219 |doi=10.5195/hcs.2014.188 |year=2014 |doi-access=free |access-date=21 July 2016 |archive-date=29 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829070004/http://hcs.pitt.edu/ojs/index.php/hcs/article/viewFile/188/219 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

In addition to the high expense of medical care relative to the average Malagasy income, the prevalence of trained medical professionals remained extremely low. In 2010, Madagascar had a total of 3,150 doctors, 5,661 nurses, 385 community health workers, 175 pharmacists, and 57 dentists for a population of 22&nbsp;million, and an average of three hospital beds per 10,000 people.{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Fifteen percent of government spending was directed toward the health sector in 2008.{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} As of 2011, approximately 70% of spending on health was contributed by the government and 30% by international donors and other private sources.<ref name="WHO2011" />{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} The government also provided one basic health center per commune.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Private health centers are concentrated within urban areas, particularly those of the Central Highlands.<ref name="INSTAT" />

Despite these barriers to access, health services have shown a trend toward improvement over the past 20 years{{Clarify|reason=Please specify a time frame, as "the past 20 years" could be read at widely diverging points in time.|date=January 2026}}{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}}. Child immunizations against such diseases as [[hepatitis B]], [[diphtheria]], and [[measles]] increased an average of 60% during this period, indicating low but increasing availability of basic medical services and treatment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rajaonarifara |first=Elinambinina |last2=Bonds |first2=Matthew H |last3=Miller |first3=Ann C |last4=Ihantamalala |first4=Felana Angella |last5=Cordier |first5=Laura |last6=Razafinjato |first6=Benedicte |last7=Rafenoarimalala |first7=Feno H |last8=Finnegan |first8=Karen E |last9=Rakotonanahary |first9=Rado J L |last10=Cowley |first10=Giovanna |last11=Ratsimbazafy |first11=Baolova |last12=Razafimamonjy |first12=Florent |last13=Randriamanambintsoa |first13=Marius |last14=Raza-Fanomezanjanahary |first14=Estelle M |last15=Randrianambinina |first15=Andriamihaja |date=January 2022 |title=Impact of health system strengthening on delivery strategies to improve child immunisation coverage and inequalities in rural Madagascar |journal=BMJ Global Health |volume=7 |issue=1 |article-number=e006824 |doi=10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006824 |issn=2059-7908|pmc=8753401 }}</ref> 

The Malagasy fertility rate in 2009 was 4.6 children per woman, declining from 6.3 in 1990.{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} Teen pregnancy rates of 14.8% in 2011, much higher than the African average, were a contributing factor to rapid population growth.<ref name="WHO2011">{{Cite book |title=World Health Statistics 2011 |publisher=World Health Organization |year=2011 |location=Paris |url=http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/resources/docs/main_report/en_SOWMR_Full.pdf |isbn=978-92-4-156419-9 |access-date=21 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125020623/http://www.who.int/whosis/whostat/EN_WHS2011_Full.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=25 November 2011}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=January 2026}} In 2010, the maternal mortality rate was 440 per 100,000 births, compared to 373.1 in 2008 and 484.4 in 1990, representing a decline in perinatal care following the 2009 coup. The infant mortality rate in 2011 was 41 per 1,000 births,<ref name="BGNote" /> with an under-five mortality rate at 61 per 1,000 births.<ref name="SOWMY">{{Cite web |url=http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/report/home.html |title=The State of the World's Midwifery |publisher=United Nations Population Fund |date=August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111225024306/http://www.unfpa.org/sowmy/report/home.html |access-date=22 January 2012 |url-status=live |archive-date=25 December 2011}}</ref> [[Schistosomiasis]], [[malaria]], and sexually transmitted diseases are common in Madagascar, although as of 2011 the [[HIV/AIDS|HIV]] infection rate remained low relative to many countries in mainland Africa, at 0.2% of the adult population; and the malaria mortality rate was also among Africa's lowest at 8.5 deaths per 100,000 people, in part because of the highest frequency use of insecticide-treated nets in Africa.<ref name="WHO2011" /> Adult life expectancy as of 2009 was 63 years for men and 67 years for women.

Madagascar had [[21st-century Madagascar plague outbreaks|outbreaks]] of the [[bubonic plague]] and [[pneumonic plague]] in 2017 (2,575 cases, 221 deaths) and earlier in 2014 (263 confirmed cases, 71 deaths).<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/19/madagascar-plague-death-toll-reaches-74 |title='It is a dangerous moment': Madagascar plague death toll reaches 74 |first=Peter |last=Beaumont |work=The Guardian |date=19 October 2017 |access-date=21 October 2017 |language=en-GB |archive-date=19 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519165330/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/19/madagascar-plague-death-toll-reaches-74 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, Madagascar had [[2018 Madagascar measles outbreak|a measles outbreak]], resulting in 118,000 cases and 1,688 deaths and was also affected the next year by the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Madagascar|COVID-19 pandemic]]. Undernourishment and hunger rates were at 42% in 2018.<ref>{{Cite report |date=February 2021 |title=WFP Madagascar Country Brief |url=https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000125015/download/?_ga=2.216094418.577338328.1616525997-700118633.1616525997 |publisher=World Food Programme |access-date=23 March 2021 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034436/https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000125015/download/?_ga=2.216094418.577338328.1616525997-700118633.1616525997 |url-status=live}}</ref> According to the [[United Nations]], more than one million people in southern Madagascar in 2021 were struggling to get enough to eat,<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 October 2021 |title=Madagascar: Severe drought could spur world's first climate change famine |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103712 |access-date=9 February 2022 |website=UN News |language=en |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208102451/https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1103712 |url-status=live}}</ref> due to what could become the country's [[2021–present Madagascar famine|first famine]] caused by [[Climate change in Madagascar|climate change]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=How climate change is turning once green Madagascar into a desert |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/03/20/how-climate-change-is-turning-once-green-madagascar-into-a-desert |work=Euronews |date=20 March 2022 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023215848/https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/03/20/how-climate-change-is-turning-once-green-madagascar-into-a-desert |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in Madagascar}}

[[File:Diego Suarez Antsiranana urban public primary school (EPP) Madagascar.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Students working in groups in classroom as teacher observes|[[Education in Madagascar|Education]] access and quality were prioritized under [[Marc Ravalomanana|Ravalomanana]].]]
Prior to the 19th century, all education in Madagascar was informal and typically served to teach practical skills as well as social and cultural values, including respect for ancestors and elders.<ref name="LOC"/> The first formal European-style school was established in 1818 at Toamasina by members of the London Missionary Society (LMS). The LMS was invited by King Radama I to expand its schools throughout Imerina to teach basic literacy and numeracy to aristocratic children. The schools were closed by Ranavalona I in 1835,<ref name="Ralibera">{{harvp|Ralibera|1993|p=196}}</ref> but reopened and expanded in the decades after her death.

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

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

Education was prioritized under the Ravalomanana administration (2002–09), free and compulsory from ages 6 to 13.<ref name=WBeducation>{{Cite journal |first1=Gerard |last1=Lassibille |first2=Jee-Peng |last2=Tan |first3=Cornelia |last3=Jesse |first4=Trang Van |last4=Nguyen |title=Managing for results in primary education in Madagascar: Evaluating the impact of selected workflow interventions |journal=The World Bank Economic Review |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=303–329 |date=6 August 2010 |url=http://www.povertyactionlab.org/publication/managing-results-primary-education-madagascar-evaluating-impact-selected-workflow-interventions |doi=10.1093/wber/lhq009 |access-date=10 February 2012 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/65MknBr6d?url=http://www.povertyactionlab.org/publication/managing-results-primary-education-madagascar-evaluating-impact-selected-workflow-interventions |archive-date=11 February 2012 |hdl=10986/4523 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> The primary schooling cycle was five years, followed by four at the lower secondary level and three at the upper secondary level.<ref name="LOC"/> During Ravalomanana's first term, thousands of new primary schools and additional classrooms were constructed, older buildings renovated, and tens of thousands of new primary teachers recruited and trained. Primary school fees were eliminated, and kits containing basic school supplies distributed to primary students.<ref name=WBeducation/>{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}

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

As a result of increased educational access, enrollment rates more than doubled between 1996 and 2006. However, education quality was weak, producing high rates of grade repetition and dropout.<ref name=WBeducation/> Education policy in Ravalomanana's second term focused on quality issues, including an increase in minimum education standards for the recruitment of primary teachers from a middle-school-leaving certificate (BEPC) to a high-school-leaving certificate (BAC), and a reformed teacher training program to support the transition from traditional didactic instruction to student-centered teaching methods to boost student learning and classroom participation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ministère de l'Education Secondaire et l'Education de Base |title=Curriculum de formation des élèves-maîtres |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Antananarivo, Madagascar |year=2005 |language=fr}}</ref> Public expenditure on education was 2.8% of GDP in 2014. The literacy rate was estimated at 64.7%.<ref name=cia/>{{Update inline|date=January 2026}}

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Madagascar}}

[[File:Antandroy traditional dancing.jpg|thumb|Performance of [[Antandroy]] dance]]
All the many ethnic subgroups in Madagascar adhere to their own set of beliefs, practices, and ways of life that have historically contributed to their unique identities. However, a number of core cultural features are common throughout the island, creating a strongly unified Malagasy cultural identity. In addition to a common language and shared traditional religious beliefs around a creator god and veneration of  ancestors, the traditional Malagasy worldview is shaped by values that emphasize ''fihavanana'' (solidarity), ''vintana'' (destiny), ''tody'' (karma), and ''[[Hasina (Madagascar)|hasina]]'', a sacred life force that traditional communities believe imbues and thereby legitimates authority figures within the community or family. Other cultural elements commonly found throughout the island include the practice of male circumcision; strong kinship ties; widespread belief in the power of magic, diviners, astrology and witch doctors; and a traditional division of social classes into nobles, commoners, and slaves.<ref name="LOC" /><ref name="Bradtbeliefs">{{harvp|Bradt|2011|pp=13–20}}</ref> 

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

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

[[Southeast Asia#Culture|Southeast Asian cultural influence]] is also evident in [[Malagasy cuisine]], in which [[rice]] is consumed at every meal, typically accompanied by one of a variety of flavorful [[vegetable]] or [[meat]] dishes.<ref name="Antal" /> African influence is reflected in the sacred importance of zebu cattle and their embodiment of their owner's wealth, traditions originating on the African mainland. [[Cattle raiding|Cattle rustling]], originally a rite of passage for young men in the plains areas of Madagascar where the largest herds of cattle are, has become a dangerous and sometimes deadly criminal enterprise, as herdsmen in the Southwest attempt to defend their cattle with traditional spears against increasingly armed professional rustlers.<ref name="Campbell-1993" />

===Arts===
{{Main|Music of Madagascar}}

[[File:Hira gasy dancer Madagascar.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Hiragasy]] dancer]]
A wide variety of oral and written [[literature of Madagascar]] has developed. One of its foremost artistic traditions is its oratory, as expressed in the forms of ''[[hainteny]]'' (poetry), ''kabary'' (public discourse), and ''ohabolana'' (proverbs).<ref>{{harvp|Fox|1990|p=39}}</ref><ref name="Madatana">{{Cite web |last=Ravalitera |first=P |title=Origine Confuse des Vazimba du Betsiriry |work=Journal Express |publisher=Madatana.com |url=http://www.madatana.com/article-origine-confuse-des-vazimba-du-betsiriry.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714013534/http://www.madatana.com/article-origine-confuse-des-vazimba-du-betsiriry.php |access-date=11 November 2010 |archive-date=14 July 2011 |url-status=live |language=fr}}</ref> An epic poem exemplifying these traditions, the ''[[Ibonia]]'', has been handed down over the centuries in several different forms across the island, and offers insight into the diverse mythologies and beliefs of traditional Malagasy communities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ibonia: the text in 17 sections |last=Unknown |publisher=University of Virginia |access-date=15 November 2010 |url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Public/Ibonia/text.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605051817/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Public/Ibonia/text.html |archive-date=5 June 2011}}</ref> This tradition was continued in the 20th century by such artists as [[Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo]], who is considered Africa's first modern poet,<ref>{{harvp|Rabearivelo |2007| p= x}}</ref> and [[Elie Rajaonarison]], an exemplar of the new wave of Malagasy poetry.<ref>{{harvp|Auzias|Labourdette|2007|p=142}}</ref> 

Madagascar has also developed a rich [[Music of Madagascar|musical heritage]], embodied in dozens of regional musical genres such as the coastal ''[[salegy]]'' or highland ''[[hiragasy]]'' that enliven village gatherings, local dance floors, and national airwaves.<ref name="Randrianary">{{harvp|Randrianary|2001|pp=109–137}}</ref> Madagascar also has a growing culture of classical music fostered through youth academies, organizations, and orchestras that promote youth involvement in this type of music.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Classical music in Madagascar|url=https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/classical-music-madagascar|website=Music In Africa|date=2016-01-14|access-date=2025-12-01|language=en}}</ref>

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

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

===Sport and recreational activities===
[[File:Moraingy fighting Madagascar sport.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Moraingy]]'' is a traditional martial art of Madagascar.]]
A number of traditional pastimes have emerged in Madagascar. ''[[Moraingy]]'', a type of [[hand-to-hand combat]], is a popular spectator sport in coastal regions. Although it is traditionally practiced by men, women have recently begun to participate.<ref>{{harvp|Ratsimbazafy|2010|pp=14–18}}</ref> ''Savika'' or ''[[tolon-omby]]'', the wrestling of zebu cattle, is also practiced in many regions.<ref name=lambatradition>{{harvp|Kusimba|Odland | Bronson |2004|p=87}}</ref> 

In addition to sports, a wide variety of games are played. Among the most emblematic is ''[[fanorona]]'', a [[board game]] widespread throughout the Highland regions. According to folk legend, the succession of King Andrianjaka after his father Ralambo was partially the result of the obsession that Andrianjaka's older brother may have had with playing ''fanorona'' to the detriment of his other responsibilities.<ref name="iarivo">{{Cite web |last=City of Antananarivo |title=Antananarivo: Histoire de la commune |url=http://www.iarivo-town.mg/histoire.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223014034/http://www.iarivo-town.mg/histoire.php |access-date=2 August 2010 |archive-date=23 February 2010 |language=fr}}</ref>

Western recreational activities were introduced to Madagascar over the past two centuries. [[Rugby union in Madagascar|Rugby union]] is considered the national sport of Madagascar.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/regional/newsid=53025.html |access-date=24 July 2012 |title=Madagascar take Sevens honours |date=23 August 2007 |publisher=International Rugby Board |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024222252/http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/regional/newsid=53025.html |archive-date=24 October 2012}}</ref> [[Football in Madagascar|Soccer]] is also popular. Madagascar has produced a world champion in ''[[pétanque]]'', a French game similar to [[Bowls|lawn bowling]], which is widely played in urban areas and throughout the Highlands.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vegar |first=Ness |title=Madagascar won the World Championship |publisher=petanque.org |date=4 October 1999 |url=http://www.petanque.org/news/admin/61.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110317032530/http://www.petanque.org/news/admin/61.shtml |archive-date=17 March 2011 |access-date=14 January 2011}}</ref> School athletics programs typically include soccer, [[track and field]], [[judo]], [[boxing]], women's basketball, and women's tennis. Madagascar sent its first competitors to the [[1964 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] in 1964, and has also competed in the [[African Games]].<ref name="EBLand" /> [[Scouting]] is represented in Madagascar by [[Firaisan'ny Skotisma eto Madagasikara|its own local federation]] consisting of three Scouting clubs. Membership in 2011 was estimated at 14,905.<ref name="Census_2010">{{Cite web |title=Triennal review: Census as of 1 December 2010 |url=http://scout.org/en/content/download/22261/199900/file/Census.pdf |publisher=World Organization of the Scout Movement |access-date=13 January 2011 |date=1 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508035838/http://www.scout.org/en/content/download/22261/199900/file/Census.pdf |archive-date=8 May 2012}}</ref>

Because of its advanced sports facilities, Antananarivo gained the hosting rights for several of Africa's top international basketball events, including the [[2011 FIBA Africa Championship]],<ref>[http://madagascar2011.fiba.com/ 2011 FIBA Africa Championship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828040545/http://madagascar2011.fiba.com/ |date=28 August 2011 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015.</ref> the [[2009 FIBA Africa Championship for Women]],<ref>[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6996/_/2009_FIBA_Africa_Championship_for_Women/index.html 2009 FIBA Africa Championship for Women] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208025248/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/sid/6996/_/2009_FIBA_Africa_Championship_for_Women/index.html |date=8 February 2015 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015.</ref> the [[2013 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship]],<ref>[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/AFMCM/sid/9678/_/2013_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Men/index.html 2013 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021181708/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/AFMCM/sid/9678/_/2013_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Men/index.html |date=21 October 2013 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015.</ref> the [[2014 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship]],<ref>[http://u18madagascar2014.fibaafrica.com/ 2014 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812204620/http://u18madagascar2014.fibaafrica.com/|date=12 August 2014}}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015.</ref> and the [[2015 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship for Women]].<ref>[https://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid//sid/11791/_/2015_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Women/index.html 2015 FIBA Africa Under-16 Championship for Women] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130021741/http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/event/p/cid/sid/11791/_/2015_FIBA_Africa_U16_Championship_for_Women/index.html |date=30 January 2016 }}, FIBA.com, Retrieved 26 October 2015.</ref> At the [[3x3 basketball at the 2019 African Games|2019 African Games]], [[Madagascar's national 3x3 basketball team]] won the gold medal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://play.fiba3x3.com/embed/events/ac0e7b5d-a02c-4e07-a714-ca20914b73b7/schedule|title=2019 African Games|access-date=1 December 2025|website=FIBA 3x3}}</ref>

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Malagasy cuisine}}

Malagasy cuisine reflects the diverse influences of [[List of Asian cuisines#Southeast Asian cuisine|Southeast Asian]], [[African cuisine|African]], [[Oceanian cuisine|Oceania]], [[Indian cuisine|Indian]], [[Chinese cuisine|Chinese]], and [[European cuisine|European]] culinary traditions. The complexity of Malagasy meals can range from the simple traditional preparations introduced by the earliest settlers to the refined festival dishes prepared for the island's 19th-century monarchs.

Throughout almost the entire country, Madagascar's contemporary cuisine typically consists of a base of rice (''vary'') served with an accompaniment (''laoka''). The many varieties of ''laoka'' may be vegetarian or include animal proteins, typically featuring a sauce flavored with such ingredients as ginger, onion, garlic, tomato, vanilla, coconut milk, salt, curry powder, and green peppercorns, or less commonly, other spices or herbs. In parts of the arid south and west, pastoral families may replace rice with [[maize]], [[cassava]], or [[curd]]s made from fermented zebu milk. A wide variety of sweet and savory [[fritter]]s as well as other street foods are available across the island, as are diverse tropical and temperate-climate fruits.

Locally produced beverages include fruit juices, coffee, herbal teas, and alcoholic drinks such as rum, wine, and beer.<ref name="Antal">{{harvp|Bradt |2011| p= 312}}</ref> [[Three Horses Beer]] is the most popular beer on the island<ref name="THBpilsner">{{Cite web |title=THB Pilsener |url=http://www.brasseries-star.com/produits/bieres/thb-pilsener |work=Brasseries Star |year=2015 |access-date=5 June 2015 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605195142/http://www.brasseries-star.com/produits/bieres/thb-pilsener |archive-date=5 June 2015}}</ref> and is considered emblematic of Madagascar.<ref name="promos">{{Cite web |last=Marsaud |first=Olivia |title=THB, star de la bière à Madagascar |url=https://www.afrik.com/thb-star-de-la-biere-a-madagascar |publisher=Afrik.com |date=12 July 2008 |access-date=5 June 2015 |language=fr |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106195645/https://www.afrik.com/thb-star-de-la-biere-a-madagascar |url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Madagascar|Countries|Africa|Islands
}}
* [[Outline of Madagascar]]
{{Clear}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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* {{Cite book |author1-link=Chapurukha M. Kusimba |last1=Kusimba |first1=Chapurukha |last2=Odland |first2=J. Claire |last3=Bronson |first3=Bennet |title=Unwrapping the textile traditions of Madagascar |publisher=Regents of the University of California |series=Textile Series |location=Los Angeles |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-930741-95-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lehoullier |first=Sara |title=Madagascar: Travel Companion |publisher=Other Places Publishing |location=New York |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-9822619-5-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QhAbnvPKaVUC}}
* {{Cite book |last=Middleton |first=Karen |title=Ancestors, Power, and History in Madagascar |publisher=Brill |location=Los Angeles |year=1999 |isbn=978-90-04-11289-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=My4B9q9FTiYC}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Moriarty |first1=H. A. |title=Islands in the southern Indian Ocean, westward of longitude 80 ̊east, including Madagascar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-NmhAAAAMAAJ |location=London |publisher=J. D. Potter |year=1891 |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=29 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929074055/https://books.google.com/books?id=-NmhAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Nalla |first1=Mahesh |title=Crime and Punishment Around the World: Volume 1, Africa |location=Los Angeles |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-313-35133-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ogot |first=Bethwell |title=Africa from the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century |publisher=UNESCO |location=Paris |year=1992 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WAQbp7aLpZkC |isbn=978-92-3-101711-7 |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715221905/https://books.google.com/books?id=WAQbp7aLpZkC |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Oliver |first1=Roland |first2=John Donnelly |last2=Fage |first3=G. N. |last3=Sanderson |date=1983 |title=The Cambridge History of Africa |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |publisher=Cambridge University Press |volume=6 |issue=2 |page=195 |location=Cambridge, UK |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xh-QcHRG3OwC |isbn=978-0-521-22803-9 |bibcode=1983JArEn...6..195S |doi=10.1016/S0140-1963(18)31535-0}}
* {{Cite book |first=Samuel Pasfield |last=Oliver |author-link=Samuel Pasfield Oliver |title=Madagascar: an historical and descriptive account of the island and its former dependencies, Volume 1 |place=London |publisher=Macmillan |year=1886 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lKtBAAAAIAAJ |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=26 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726123956/https://books.google.com/books?id=lKtBAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pezzotta |first=Federico |title=Madagascar: a mineral and gemstone paradise |place=Ann Arbor, MI |publisher=University of Michigan |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-9715371-0-1}}
* {{Cite book |last=Pryor |first=Frederic L. |title=The political economy of poverty, equity, and growth: Malawi and Madagascar |publisher=World Bank |location=Washington, D.C. |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-19-520823-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0P0fDzMA5lEC |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=10 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110044240/https://books.google.com/books?id=0P0fDzMA5lEC |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Rabearivelo |first1=Jean-Joseph |title=Translated from the Night |location=Pittsburgh, PA |publisher=Lascaux Editions |year=2007 |orig-date=1936 (translation by Robert Ziller) |isbn=978-1-60461-552-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-5I6QlMfJEC |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715221903/https://books.google.com/books?id=F-5I6QlMfJEC |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rajaonarimanana |first=Narivelo |title=Grammaire moderne de la langue malgache |publisher=Langues et mondes – l'Asiatheque |series=Langues INALCO |year=2001 |location=Paris |isbn=978-2-911053-79-5 |language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ralibera |first=Daniel |title=Madagascar et le christianisme |location=Paris |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GOeAT76TGN0C |publisher=Editions Karthala |year=1993 |isbn=978-92-9028-211-2 |language=fr |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715221351/https://books.google.com/books?id=GOeAT76TGN0C |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Randier |first=Jean |title=La Royale: L'histoire illustrée de la Marine nationale française |year=2006 |publisher=Babouji |location=Maîtres du Vent – La Falaise |isbn=978-2-35261-022-9 |language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |last=Randrianary |first=Victor |title=Madagascar: les chants d'une île |publisher=Actes Sud |location=Paris |year=2001 |isbn=978-2-7427-3556-3 |language=fr}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Ratsimbaharison |first1=Adrien |title=The Political Crisis of March 2009 in Madagascar: A Case Study of Conflict and Conflict Mediation |date=2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |location=Lanham, Boulder, New York, London |isbn=978-1-4422-7235-4}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ratsimbazafy |first=Ernest |editor-last=Green |editor-first=Thomas |editor2-last=Svinth |editor2-first=Joseph |title=Martial Arts of the World: An Encyclopedia of History and Innovation, Volume 2 |contribution=Moraingy |publisher=ABC CLIO |location=Santa Barbara, CA |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59884-243-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P-Nv_LUi6KgC |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308220952/https://books.google.com/books?id=P-Nv_LUi6KgC |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Regnier |first1=Denis |title=Clean people, unclean people: the essentialisation of 'slaves' among the southern Betsileo of Madagascar |journal=Social Anthropology |volume=23 |issue=2 |year=2015 |pages=152–158 |doi=10.1111/1469-8676.12107 |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/REGCPU |access-date=24 October 2018 |archive-date=25 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025070918/https://philpapers.org/rec/REGCPU |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Reinsch |first=Paul Samuel |title=Colonial Administration |publisher=Macmillan |location=New York |year=1905 |url=https://archive.org/details/colonialadminis00reingoog}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Rodd |first1=Tony |last2=Stackhouse |first2=Jennifer |title=Trees: A Visual Guide |publisher=University of California Press |location=Los Angeles |year=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mpsc2hsYk1YC |isbn=978-0-520-25650-7 |access-date=4 July 2020 |archive-date=30 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330034513/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mpsc2hsYk1YC |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Room |first=Adrian |title=Placenames of the world: origins and meanings of the names for 6,600 countries, cities, territories, natural features, and historic sites |publisher=McFarland |location=Jefferson, NC |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-7864-2248-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=29 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329060933/https://books.google.com/books?id=M1JIPAN-eJ4C |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sharp |first=Leslie |title=The Sacrificed Generation: Youth, History, and the Colonized Mind in Madagascar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5IFbKsKxYQYC |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=University of California Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-520-22951-8 |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714114457/https://books.google.com/books?id=5IFbKsKxYQYC |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last=Shillington |first=Kevin |title=Encyclopedia of African history |publisher=CRC Press |location=New York |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-57958-453-5}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Shinnie |first1=P. L. |title=The Cambridge History of Africa |journal=Journal of Arid Environments |date=June 1983 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=195–196 |doi=10.1016/S0140-1963(18)31535-0 |bibcode=1983JArEn...6..195S }}
* {{Cite encyclopedia |last=Strakes |first=Jason |contribution=Armed Forces of the People |year=2006 |title=Encyclopedia of the developing world |editor-last=Leonard |editor-first=Thomas M. |volume=1 |place=New York |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-57958-388-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mE04D9PMpAC |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=19 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150519041852/https://books.google.com/books?id=3mE04D9PMpAC |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Virginia |last2=Adloff |first2=Richard |year=1965 |title=The Malagasy Republic: Madagascar today |url=https://archive.org/details/malagasyrepublic0000thom |url-access=registration |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-0-8047-0279-9 |location=San Francisco, CA}}
* {{Cite book |last=Uwechue |first=Raph |title=Makers of modern Africa: profiles in history, Volume 1 |publisher=Africa Books Ltd |location=Dearborne, MI |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-903274-14-2}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wink |first=André |title=Volume 3 of Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World: Indo-Islamic society, 14th–15th centuries |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |year=2004 |isbn=978-90-04-13561-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C |access-date=14 October 2015 |archive-date=29 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529144236/https://books.google.com/books?id=nyYslywJUE8C |url-status=live}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|Madagascar|voy=Madagascar|d=Q1019}}
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861843 Country Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729052321/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13861843 |date=29 July 2018 }} from [[BBC News]]
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ Madagascar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210214064652/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/madagascar/ |date=14 February 2021 }}. ''[[The World Factbook]]''. [[Central Intelligence Agency]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120829212249/http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/for/madagascar.htm Madagascar] from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''
* {{Wikiatlas|Madagascar}}
* [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=MG Key Development Forecasts for Madagascar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119105615/http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=MG |date=19 November 2020 }} from [[International Futures]]
* {{OSM relation|447325}}
* [https://www.nli.org.il/en/maps/NNL_ALEPH002492934/NLI#$FL13737163 Map of Madagascar, 1666] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203131355/https://www.nli.org.il/en/maps/NNL_ALEPH002492934/NLI#$FL13737163 |date=3 February 2021 }}, (in French). Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The [[National Library of Israel]]

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