Madagascar (2008) | Svalbard (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara | - |
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 | - |
Airports | 104 (2007) | 4 (2007) |
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 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 77
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 34 (2007) |
total: 3
under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km |
total: 61,020 sq km
land: 61,020 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of Arizona | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
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. | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | 38.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues: $1.22 billion
expenditures: $1.555 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $25.07 million
expenditures: $NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Antananarivo
geographic coordinates: 18 55 S, 47 31 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Longyearbyen
geographic coordinates: 78 13 N, 15 33 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
Coastline | 4,828 km | 3,587 km |
Constitution | 19 August 1992 by national referendum | - |
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: none
conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Death rate | 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $4.6 billion (2002) | - |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; administered by the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was awarded to Norway |
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 |
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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 |
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Disputes - international | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) | despite recent discussions, Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone |
Economic aid - recipient | $929.2 million (2005) | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
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. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gave the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some hunting of seal, reindeer, and fox. |
Electricity - consumption | 973.2 million kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 1.046 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m |
lowest point: Arctic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 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 |
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Ethnic groups | Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
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) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 5.8396 (2007), 6.4117 (2006), 6.4425 (2005), 6.7408 (2004), 7.0802 (2003) |
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: King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991)
head of government: Governor Per SEFLAND (since 1 October 2005); Assistant Governor Rune Baard HANSEN (since 2003) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
Exports | 363.9 bbl/day (2004) | $197.6 million (2004) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products | - |
Exports - partners | France 32.1%, US 25.3%, Germany 6.1%, Italy 5%, UK 4.1% (2006) | - |
Fiscal year | calendar year | - |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side | the flag of Norway is used |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27.3%
industry: 15.8% services: 56.8% (2007 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate | 6.3% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 47 00 E | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area; Spitsbergen Island is the site of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed repository established by the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the Norwegian Government |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 36.6% (2001) |
- |
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) | $NA |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food | - |
Imports - partners | France 14.5%, China 12%, Iran 9.3%, Mauritius 5.6%, Hong Kong 4.7% (2006) | - |
Independence | 26 June 1960 (from France) | none (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (2007 est.) | - |
Industries | meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, 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.) |
total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2007 est.) | - |
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 |
Irrigated land | 10,860 sq km (2003) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle | - |
Labor force | 7.3 million (2000) | 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% other: 100% (no trees; the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) (2005) |
Languages | English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official) | Norwegian, Russian |
Legal system | based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply |
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 62.14 years
male: 60.23 years female: 64.1 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.) |
NA |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Africa | Arctic Region |
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 |
territorial sea: 4 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia |
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) |
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Military - note | - | demilitarized by treaty on 9 February 1920 |
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) | - |
Nationality | noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy |
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Natural hazards | periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation | ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
Natural resources | graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower | coal, iron ore, copper, zinc, phosphate, wildlife, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA |
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] | - |
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 | - |
Population | 19,448,815 (July 2007 est.) | 2,214 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2004 est.) | - |
Population growth rate | 3.008% (2007 est.) | -0.007% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 854 km
narrow gauge: 854 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
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Religions | indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% | - |
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.) |
NA (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 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: probably adequate
domestic: local telephone service international: country code - 47-790; satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 129,800 (2006) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.046 million (2006) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) | NA |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
Total fertility rate | 5.24 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA |
Waterways | 600 km (2006) | - |