Madagascar

agricultural land:

71.1%;

• arable land 6%;
• permanent crops 1%;
• permanent pasture 64.1%

forest:

21.5%

other:

7.4% (2011 est.)

total:

16.5 cu km/yr (2%/1%/97%)

per capita:

1,010 cu m/yr (2005)

• periodic cyclones;
• drought;
• and locust infestation

volcanism:

Madagascar's volcanoes have not erupted in historical times

• soil erosion results from deforestation and overgrazing;
• desertification;
• surface water contaminated with raw sewage and other organic wastes;
• several endangered species of flora and fauna unique to the island

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

noun:

Malagasy (singular and plural)

adjective:

Malagasy

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.83 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

very high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

malaria and dengue fever

water contact disease:

schistosomiasis

animal contact disease:

rabies (2013)

total number:

1,827,423

percentage:

28%

note: data represents children ages 5-17 (2007 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Madagascar

conventional short form:

Madagascar

local long form:

Republique de Madagascar/Repoblikan'i Madagasikara

local short form:

Madagascar/Madagasikara

former:

Malagasy Republic

name:

Antananarivo

geographic coordinates:

18 55 S, 47 31 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

description:

unicameral National Assembly or Antenimierampirenena (151 seats; 87 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 64 directly elected in two-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

• National Assembly - last held on 20 December 2013 (next to be held in 2017);
• note - a power-sharing agreement in the summer of 2009 established a 15-month transition, concluding in general elections held in 2013 after repeated delays

election results:

• National Assembly - percent of vote by party - MPAR 17.3%, MR 10.8%, VPM MMM 8.2%, independent and other 63.7%;
• seats by party - MPAR 49, MR 20, VPM MMM 13, PHI 5, other 35, independent 25, seats with delayed elections 4

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 11 members; addresses judicial administration issues only);
• High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (consists of 9 members);
• note - the judiciary includes a High Court of Justice responsible for adjudicating crimes and misdemeanors by government officials including the president

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court heads elected by the president and judiciary officials to serve single-renewable, 3-year terms;
• High Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 each by the president, by both legislative bodies, and by the Council of Magistrates;
• members serve single, 6-year terms

subordinate courts:

Courts of Appeal; provincial and city tribunals

• AVANA Party [Jean-Louis ROBINSON]
• Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery/LEADER Fanilo or LF [Manasse ESOAVELOMANDROSO]
• Green Party/Parti Vert or AMHM [Sarah Georget RABEHARISOA]
• National Unity, Freedom, and Development or FFF [Andriamparany Benjamin RADAVIDSON]
• New Force for Madagascar or FIDIO [Hery RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA]
• Parti Hiaraka Isika or PHI [Albert Camille VITAL]
• Party of Andry Rajoelina or MPAR [Andry RAJOELINA]
• Pillar of Madagascar or AIM [Andry RAKOTOVAO]
• Ravlomanana Movement or MR [Marc RAVALOMANANA]
• Sambo Fiaran'i Noe or SFN
• Union Party or Tambatra [Pety RAKOTONIAINA]
• Vondrona Politika Miara dia Malagasy Miara Miainga or VPM MMM [Milavonjy ANDRIASY]

• Committee for the Defense of Truth and Justice or KMMR
• Committee for National Reconciliation or CRN [Albert ZAFY]
• National Council of Christian Churches or FFKM

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Velotiana Rakotoanosy RAOBELINA (since 20 June 2011)

chancery:

2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-5525 through 5526

FAX:

[1] (202) 265-3034

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert T. YAMATE (since 13 January 2015); note - also accredited to Comoros

embassy:

Lot 207A, Point Liberty, Andranoro, Antehiroka, 105 Antananarivo

mailing address:

B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo

telephone:

[261] (23) 480 00/01

FAX:

[261] (23) 480 35

• two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side;
• by tradition, red stands for sovereignty, green for hope, white for purity

name:

"Ry Tanindraza nay malala o" (Oh, Our Beloved Fatherland)

lyrics/music:

Pasteur RAHAJASON/Norbert RAHARISOA

note: adopted 1959

lowest 10%:

2.2%

highest 10%:

34.7% (2010 est.)

general assessment:

system is above average for the region; Antananarivo's main telephone exchange modernized in the late 1990s, but the rest of the analogue-based telephone system is poorly developed

domestic:

combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity about 40 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 261;
• landing point for the EASSy, SEACOM, and LION fiber-optic submarine cable systems;
• satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region) (2010)

• state-owned Radio Nationale Malagasy (RNM) and Television Malagasy (TVM) have an extensive national network reach;
• privately owned radio and TV broadcasters in cities and major towns;
• state-run radio dominates in rural areas;
• relays of 2 international broadcasters are available in Antananarivo (2007)

total:

836 km

narrow gauge:

836 km 1.000-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 97

total:

34,476 km

paved:

5,613 km

unpaved:

28,863 km (2010)

country comparison to the world: 92

total:

1

by type:

cargo 1

registered in other countries:

1 (unknown 1) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 152

• 18-25 years of age for male-only voluntary military service;
• no conscription;
• service obligation is 18 months for military or equivalent civil service;
• 20-30 years of age for National Gendarmerie recruits and 35 years of age for those with military experience (2012)

males age 16-49:

4,900,729

females age 16-49:

4,909,061 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

3,390,071

females age 16-49:

3,682,180 (2010 est.)

male:

248,184

female:

246,769 (2010 est.)

• claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France);
• the vegetated drying cays of Banc du Geyser, which were claimed by Madagascar in 1976, also fall within the EEZ claims of the Comoros and France (Glorioso Islands, part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands)

current situation:

• Madagascar is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking;
• poor Malagasy women hired as domestic workers in Lebanon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia are vulnerable to abuse by recruitment agencies and employers;
• Malagasy men experience forced labor aboard Chinese-flagged fishing vessels in South Africa’s territorial waters;
• Malagasy children, mostly from rural areas, are subjected to domestic servitude, prostitution, forced begging, and forced labor within the country, often with the complicity of family members;
• child sex tourism continues to increase, especially in coastal cities, with Malagasy men being the main clients

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Madagascar does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• the first seven convictions under the 2007 anti-trafficking law were secured in 2013;
• no government employees were investigated, despite widespread corruption and the alleged official complicity in human trafficking;
• authorities lacked formal procedures to identify victims among vulnerable groups and did not systematically provide or refer victims to NGOs for care;
• the government did not engage with the Lebanese Government regarding the protection of and legal remedies for exploited Malagasy workers but began discussions with Saudi and Kuwaiti officials (2014)