| Country (long form) |
Republic of Madagascar |
| Capital |
Antananarivo |
| Total Area |
226,657.41 sq mi
587,040.00 sq km
(slightly less than twice the size of Arizona) |
| Population |
15,506,472 (July 2000 est.) |
| Estimated Population in 2050 |
65,460,246 |
| Languages |
French (official), Malagasy (official) |
| Literacy |
80.0% total, 88.0% male, 73% female (1990 est.) |
| Religions |
indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% |
| Life Expectancy |
52.71 male, 57.26 female (2000 est.) |
| Government Type |
republic |
| Currency |
1 Malagasy franc (FMG) = 100 centimes |
| GDP (per capita) |
$780 (1999 est.) |
| Labor Force (by occupation) |
N/A |
| Industry |
meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar,
textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum,
tourism |
| Agriculture |
coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava
(tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products |
| Arable Land |
4% |
| Exports |
coffee 45%, vanilla 20%, cloves, shellfish, sugar,
petroleum products (1995 est.) |
| Imports |
intermediate manufactures 30%, capital goods 28%,
petroleum 15%, consumer goods 14%, food 13% (1995 est.) |
| Natural Resources |
graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar
sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower |
| Current Environmental Issues |
soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing;
desertification; surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other
organic wastes; several species of flora and fauna unique to the island are
endangered |
| Telephones (main lines in use) |
33,000 (1995) |
|