Norfolk Island (2005) | Madagascar (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 4,171,821/female 4,158,288)
15-64 years: 52.2% (male 4,809,173/female 4,900,675) 65 years and over: 3% (male 249,414/female 306,098) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 116 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 29
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 87
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 42 under 914 m: 43 (2006) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 587,040 sq km
land: 581,540 sq km water: 5,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of Arizona |
Background | 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. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA | 41.41 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $703.6 million
expenditures: $853 million; including capital expenditures of $331 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | name: Antananarivo
geographic coordinates: 18 52 S, 47 30 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south |
Coastline | 32 km | 4,828 km |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | 19 August 1992 by national referendum |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 |
Death rate | NA | 11.11 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $4.6 billion (2002) |
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 | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador James D. MCGEE
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Rajaonarivony NARISOA
chancery: 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 FAX: [1] (202) 265-3034 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $354 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | 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. | 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 United States. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 767.7 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 825.4 million kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Maromokotro 2,876 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 |
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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | Malagasy ariary per US dollar - 2,003 (2005), 1,868.9 (2004), 1,238.3 (2003), 1,366.4 (2002), 1,317.7 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) 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 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
chief of state: President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Jacques SYLLA (27 May 2002) 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 16 December 2001 (next to be held December 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Marc RAVALOMANANA (TIM) 50.5%, Didier RATSIRAKA (AREMA) 37.7% |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | France 30.9%, US 30.3%, Germany 8.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 27.6%
industry: 16.5% services: 55.9% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 5.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 20 00 S, 47 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | 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%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1999) |
Illicit drugs | - | illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin |
Imports | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | NA | capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | France 16.6%, China 10.6%, Iran 7.9%, Mauritius 6.5%, South Africa 5.9%, Hong Kong 5% (2005) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 26 June 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | meat processing, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 75.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 83.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 66.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 15% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | NA | 10,860 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle |
Labor force | 1,345 | 7.3 million (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 5.03%
permanent crops: 1.02% other: 93.95% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | French (official), Malagasy (official) |
Legal system | 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 | based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | 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 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (160 seats; members are directly 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 whose members will be elected by popular vote; the remaining one-third of the seats appointed by the president; all members will serve four-year terms)
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held December 2006) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - TIM 103, FP 22, AREMA 3, LEADER/Fanilo 2, RPSD 5, others 3, independents 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 57.34 years
male: 54.93 years female: 59.82 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.9% male: 75.5% female: 62.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique |
Map references | Oceania | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
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 |
Merchant marine | - | total: 9 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,896 GRT/18,466 DWT
by type: cargo 5, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 2 (2006) |
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 - dollar figure | - | $329 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 7.2% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 26 June (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation |
Natural resources | fish | graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower |
Net migration rate | NA | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [Pierrot RAJAONARIVO]; 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 | none | 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 | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 18,595,469 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 50% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 3.03% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 854 km
narrow gauge: 854 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
general assessment: system is above average for the region
domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions international: country code - 261; submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 66,900 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 504,700 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center |
Total fertility rate | NA | 5.62 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | - |
Waterways | - | 600 km (2005) |