Language: Malagasy, French, English
Currency: Malagasy ariary (MGA)
Calling Code: +261
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar,
is an island country located in the Indian Ocean, off the
southeastern coast of the African continent, east of Mozambique. It
is also the largest island in Africa and the fourth largest in the
world, and is formed by small and numerous islands. It is separated
from the mainland by the Mozambique channel. Formerly the island was
united to the African continent, from which it separated. Its
isolation has favored the conservation in its territory of many
unique species in the world, 80% of them endemic to the island. The
most notable are the lemurs (an infraorder of primates), the
carnivorous pit, five endemic families of birds and six endemic
species of baobabs. Madagascar is in the list of mega-diverse
countries, Madagascar is Madagascan and Malagasy is the national
language, French is its second language. The majority of its
inhabitants have traditional beliefs, are Christians, or an
amalgamation of both.
Madagascar belongs to the group of
least developed countries, according to the United Nations.
Ecotourism and agriculture, together with increased investments in
education, health and private enterprise, are key elements of
Madagascar's development strategy. However, these benefits were not
distributed evenly throughout the population, producing tensions
over the rising cost of living and the decline in the standard of
living among the poor and some segments of the middle class. In
2017, the political and economic crisis 2009-2013 has weakened the
economy and the quality of life remains low for the majority of the
Malagasy population.
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Isalo National Park covers an area of 815 km² and contains 88 species of birds, 15 species of frogs, 33 species of reptiles, 14 species of mammals and 3 species of lemurs. |
Perinet Rainforest is a large expanse of virgin jungles situated in the central eastern Madagascar. Much of territory of Perinet Rainforest is protected by Andasibe-Mantadia National Park that covers an area of 155 square kilometers. |
Ranomafana National Park lies in the Fianarantsoa Province of Madagascar. Ranomafana National Park covers 41,600 hectares (161 square miles). |
Tsingy de Bemaraha is situated in the Melaky Region on the Western Coast of Madagascar. |
Radiocarbon analysis of the bones of flightless
birds of epiornisis (Aepyornis) with traces of cutting showed that
the marks left during the cutting of birds with stone tools have an
age of approx. 10.5 thousand years.
By archaeological
standards, the settlement of Madagascar occurred relatively
recently. Madagascar was inhabited around the 200s-500s. e., the
colonists from the Austronesian peoples, who got there by canoe.
This theory is supported by many parallels between the Austronesian
culture and the culture of the inhabitants of Madagascar, for
example, a special type of canoe or a special method of growing
rice, as well as the close relationship between the Malagasy
language and the language of the population of the southern part of
the island of Kalimantan and genetic research carried out at the
beginning of the 21st century. There is no evidence of Austronesian
colonization of mainland Africa.
Around the same time or
somewhat later, settlers from the Bantu tribes moved to the island
through the Mozambique Channel. At the same time, new arrivals
occupied mainly coastal territories, while the descendants of the
Austronesians lived in the middle of the island. Genetic studies
have shown that the confluence of the Austronesian and African
populations began around the 10th century, as a result of which a
people formed with the self-name of malagasy.
In the VII
century, with the arrival of the Arabs on the island, written
references to Madagascar begin.
The name of the island was
given by the famous Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who casually
mentioned in his notes about the island of countless treasures,
called Madeigascar. Most modern researchers believe that in fact it
was not about the island at all, but about the current capital of
the state of Somalia - the port of Mogadishu. However, after marking
the island on Italian maps as Madagascar, the name stuck and has not
changed since.
Despite the widespread influence of Muslim
culture on the island, Islam in Madagascar did not take root.
However, some signs of Arab influence, such as patriarchy and
calendar names for days, months, and seasons, still exist to this
day.