Country Info

Important information about Madagascar and Africa

Physical Location

About 200 miles off the coast of Africa, across the Mozambique Channel in the south Indian Ocean. Astride the Tropic of Capricorn, between 12 (degrees) and 24 (degrees) latitude south and 43 (degrees) and 50 (degrees) longitude east, Madagascar covers 228,880 square miles.

Population:
19,448,815 (July 2007 est.)

Languages:

English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official)

Capital:

Antananarivo

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$19.95 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$5.504 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

6.3% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$1,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 27.3%
industry: 15.8%
services: 56.8% (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:

coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products

Industries:

meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism

Exports:

$1.027 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products

Exports - partners:

France 32.1%, US 25.3%, Germany 6.1%, Italy 5.1%, UK 4.1% (2006)

Imports:

$2.005 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - partners:

France 13.9%, China 12%, Iran 9.3%, Mauritius 5.6%, Hong Kong 4.8% (2006)