Madagascar (2008) | Norfolk Island (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 4,297,985/female 4,243,369)
15-64 years: 53% (male 5,117,874/female 5,190,032) 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 270,411/female 329,144) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Agriculture - products | coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 104 (2007) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 27
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 77
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 34 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km |
total:
34.6 sq km land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Arizona | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. RAVALOMANANA is now in his second term following a landslide victory in the generally free and fair presidential elections of 2006. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
Birth rate | 38.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $1.22 billion
expenditures: $1.555 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$4.6 million expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | name: Antananarivo
geographic coordinates: 18 55 S, 47 31 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Kingston |
Climate | tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south | subtropical, mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 4,828 km | 32 km |
Constitution | 19 August 1992 by national referendum | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form:
Territory of Norfolk Island conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $4.6 billion (2002) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador R. Niels MARQUARDT
embassy: 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101 mailing address: B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo telephone: [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56 FAX: [261] (20) 22-345-39 |
none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jocelyn Bertin RADIFERA
chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 FAX: [1] (202) 265-3034 consulate(s) general: New York |
none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $929.2 million (2005) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Having discarded past socialist economic policies, Madagascar has since the mid 1990s followed a World Bank- and IMF-led policy of privatization and liberalization. This strategy placed the country on a slow and steady growth path from an extremely low level. Agriculture, including fishing and forestry, is a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-fourth of GDP and employing 80% of the population. Exports of apparel have boomed in recent years primarily due to duty-free access to the US. Deforestation and erosion, aggravated by the use of firewood as the primary source of fuel, are serious concerns. President RAVALOMANANA has worked aggressively to revive the economy following the 2002 political crisis, which triggered a 12% drop in GDP that year. Poverty reduction and combating corruption will be the centerpieces of economic policy for the next few years. | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
Electricity - consumption | 973.2 million kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 1.046 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians |
Exchange rates | Malagasy ariary per US dollar - 1,880 (2007), 2,161.4 (2006), 2,003 (2005), 1,868.9 (2004), 1,238.3 (2003) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.7995 (January 2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997), 1.2773 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Charles RABEMANANJARA (25 January 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Marc RAVALOMANANA 54.8%, Jean LAHINIRIKO 11.7%, Roland RATSIRAKA 10.1%, Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO 9.1%, Norbert RATSIRAHONANA 4.2%, Ny Hasina ANDRIAMANJATO 4.2%, Elia RAVELOMANANTSOA 2.6%, Pety RAKOTONIAINA 1.7%, other 1.6% |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Anthony J. MESSNER (since 4 August 1997) head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Ronald Coane NOBBS (since 23 February 2000) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the Administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 23 February 2000 (next to be held by March 2003) election results: Ronald Coane NOBBS elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | 363.9 bbl/day (2004) | $1.5 million (f.o.b., FY91/92) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
Exports - partners | France 32.1%, US 25.3%, Germany 6.1%, Italy 5%, UK 4.1% (2006) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27.3%
industry: 15.8% services: 56.8% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.3% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 47 00 E | 29 02 S, 167 57 E |
Geography - note | world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel | - |
Highways | - | total:
80 km paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (2001) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin | - |
Imports | 17,830 bbl/day (2004) | $17.9 million (c.i.f., FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food | NA |
Imports - partners | France 14.5%, China 12%, Iran 9.3%, Mauritius 5.6%, Hong Kong 4.7% (2006) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Independence | 26 June 1960 (from France) | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism | tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 57.02 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 62.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2007 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10,860 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | 7.3 million (2000) | 1,395 (1991 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | tourism NA%, subsistence agriculture NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.03%
permanent crops: 1.02% other: 93.95% (2005) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 0% other: 75% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official) | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law |
Legislative branch | bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (127 seats - reduced from 160 seats by an April 2007 national referendum; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and a Senate or Senat (100 seats; two-thirds of the seats filled by regional assemblies; the remaining one-third of seats appointed by the president; to serve four-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 23 September 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TIM 106, LEADER/Fanilo 1, independents 20 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 23 February 2000 (next to be held by March 2003) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.14 years
male: 60.23 years female: 64.1 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.) |
- |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m deep isobath |
exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 9 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,896 GRT/18,466 DWT
by type: cargo 5, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 (2007) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | People's Armed Forces: Intervention Force, Development Force, and Aeronaval Force (navy and air); National Gendarmerie | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 26 June (1960) | Pitcairners Arrival Day, 8 June (1856) |
Nationality | noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy |
noun:
Norfolk Islander(s) adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
Natural hazards | periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower | fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [Pierrot RAJAONARIVELO]; Democratic Party for Union in Madagascar or PSDUM [Jean LAHINIRIKO]; Economic Liberalism and Democratic Action for National Recovery or LEADER/Fanilo [Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO]; Fihaonana Party or FP [Guy-Willy RAZANAMASY]; I Love Madagascar or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA]; Renewal of the Social Democratic Party or RPSD [Evariste MARSON] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | none |
Population | 19,448,815 (July 2007 est.) | 1,879 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 3.008% (2007 est.) | -0.71% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2,500 (1996) |
Railways | total: 854 km
narrow gauge: 854 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% | Anglican 39%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 16.4%, Seventh-Day Adventist 4.4%, none 9.2%, unknown 16.9%, other 2.4% (1986) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.013 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.986 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.822 male(s)/female total population: 0.992 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: system is above average for the region; Antananarivo's main telephone exchange modernized, but the rest of the analogue-based telephone system is poorly developed; planning to add 50,000 new private-subscriber fixed lines beginning in 2005
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density only about 7 per 100 persons international: country code - 261; submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
general assessment:
adequate domestic: NA international: radiotelephone service with Sydney (Australia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 129,800 (2006) | 1,087 (1983) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.046 million (2006) | 0 (1983) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (1998) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 5.24 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | - | NA% |
Waterways | 600 km (2006) | none |