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Madagascar
For other uses, see Madagascar (disambiguation).
Repoblikan'i Madagasikara
République de Madagascar
Republic of Madagascar
Flag of Madagascar Coat of arms of Madagascar
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Tanindrazana, Fahafahana, Fandrosoana  (Malagasy)
Patrie, liberté, progrès  (French)
"Ancestral-land, Liberty, Progress"
Anthem: Ry Tanindraza nay malala ô
Oh, Our Beloved Ancestral-land
Location of Madagascar
Capital
(and largest city)		 Antananarivo
18°55′S, 47°31′E
Official languages Malagasy, French, English1
Demonym Malagasy
Government Republic
 -  President Marc Ravalomanana
 -  Prime Minister Charles Rabemananjara
Independence from France 
 -  Date 26 June 1960 
Area
 -  Total 587,041 km² (45th)
226,597 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 0.13%
Population
 -  July 2007 estimate 19,448,815 [1] (55th)
 -  1993 census 12,238,914 
 -  Density 33/km² (171st)
86/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2006 estimate
 -  Total $17.270 billion (123rd)
 -  Per capita $905 (169th)
Gini? (2001) 47.5 (high) 
HDI (2004) 0.509 (medium) (143th)
Currency Malagasy ariary (MGA)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)
Internet TLD .mg
Calling code
1Official languages since 27 April 2007

Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic), is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth largest island in the world, and is home to five percent of the world's plant and animal species; more than 80 percent of which are endemic to Madagascar. Most notable are the lemur infraorder of primates, the carnivorous fossa, three endemic bird families and six endemic baobab species.



Contents

History

  • Antananarivo (1)
    • Analamanga
    Bongolava
    Vakinankaratra
    Diana
    Sava
    Atsimo Atsinanana
    Vatovavy-Fitovinany
    Sofia
    Androy
    Menabe

    The regions are further subdivided into 116 districts, 1,548 communes, and 16,969 fokontany.

    The major cities have a special status as "commune urbaine", at the same level as the districts.

    History

    The years after independence 1960, Madagascar had a French-inspired division system.

    During the second republic (1975-1991), Madagascar was divided into four levels of government:

    1. (province)
    2. (or fivondronampokontany)
    3. (or firaisampokontany)
    4. (or fokontany)

    Today, there are five different levels of division:

    1. (autonomous province) (6)
    2. (region) (22)
    3. (district) (116)
    4. (commune) (1,548)
    5. (16,969)

    The constitution of 1992 ruled that the country should be decentralized into territorial entities. The name, number, and limits of territorial entities should be determined by law. The law passed by the national assembly in 1994 defined three such entity levels: region (), department () and commune (). The communes were created in 1996. The existing provinces were not mentioned in the law.

    With former president Didier Ratsiraka back in power, the constitution was changed in 1998, to include and specifically mention six autonomous provinces, divided into undefined regions and communes. The autonomous provinces, having the same names and territories as the already existing provinces, were created in 2000. Elections for the six provincial councils were held on 3 December 2000, resulting in an AREMA majority in all provinces except Antananarivo.

    During the power struggle after the presidential elections in 2001, five of those provinces, whose governors supported Ratsiraka, declared themselves independent from the republic. The new president, Ravalomanana, replaced the provincial governments by special delegations, appointed by the president. This effectively means that the autonomous provinces have ceased to exist as such, and their dissolution is planned (see below).

    In 2004, the regions were finally created by the national assembly in law number 2004-001. Meanwhile the 28 regions originally proposed had become 22. Although they are subdivisions of the provinces, they are representatives (and representing the people) of the republic, not the province. The regions will also take over the assets of the "ex-Fivondronampokontany". It is also mentioned that the communes are the only entities that are operational, and there will be an unspecified period of transition to the new system. The departments are not mentioned in the law, instead the designation "components" of the regions is used.

    Also in 2004, the already existing Fokontany were redefined in the presidential decree 2004-299. They are subdivisions of the communes and headed by a chief designated by the mayor.

    In 2005, a new entity called "districts" (distrika) was created by presidential decree 2005-012, replacing the department level of 1994. There are 116 districts. They have the same boundaries as the old "Sous-préfectures" or "ex-Fivondronampokontany". They are defined as subdivisions of the regions, and contains one or more "Arrondissements Administratifs". The chief of a district is designated by the chief of the region.

    In the 2007 Constitution the autonomous provinces have been removed. Instead, the regions, the communes and the fokontany (but not the districts) are included.

    Geography

    At 226,642 mi² (587,040 km²), Madagascar is the world's 46th-largest country and its fourth largest island. It is comparable in size to Kenya and it also is one of 11 distinct physiographic provinces of the physiographic division.

    Towards the east, a steep escarpment leads from the central highlands down into a ribbon of rain forest with a narrow coastal further east. The Canal des Pangalanes is a chain of natural and man-made lakes connected by canals that runs parallel to the east coast for some 300 miles (about 2 of the island, the descent from the central highlands toward the west is more gradual, with remnants of deciduous forest and savannah-like plains (which in the south and southwest, are quite dry and host spiny desert and baobabs). Although there are many protected harbours on the west coast, silting up, caused by sediment from the high levels of erosion suffered inland in Madagascar, is a major problem.

    Along the crest of this ridge lie the central highlands, a plateau region ranging in altitude from 2,450 to 4,400 ft (750 to 1350m) above sea level. The central highlands are characterised by terraced, rice-growing valleys lying between barren hills. Here, the red laterite soil that covers much of the island has been exposed by erosion, showing clearly why the country is often referred to as known as the "Red Island".

    The highest mountain on the island, Maromokotro, with an altitude of 9,436 ft (2,876 m), is found in this massif. The Ankaratra massif is in the central area south of the capital, Antananarivo and is where the second highest peak on the island, Tsiafajavona, with an altitude of 8,668 ft (2,643 m), is situated. Further south is the Andringitra massif which has several peaks over 8,000 ft (about 2,400 m) including the island’s third and fourth highest peaks, the 8,720 ft (2,658 m) Pic Boby and the 8,626 ft (2,630 m) Pic Bory. Other peaks in the massif, which is where the Andringitra Reserve, include Pic Soaindra (altitude: 8,594 ft, 2,620 m) and Pic Ivangomena (altitude: 8,385 ft, 2,556 m). The Ankaratra massif is the one part of the island where snow is found (above 8,000 ft, 2,400 m) and may remain for several days.

    There are two seasons: a hot, rainy season from November to April, and a cooler, dry season from May to October. South-eastern trade winds predominate, and the island occasionally experiences cyclones.

    Ecology

    Tsingy in Madagascar
    Tsingy in Madagascar
  • Cuisine of Madagascar
  • Music of Madagascar
  • List of writers from Madagascar
    • Salegy is a popular music form. There is a sudden interest in American culture and European popular culture, which is eroding the more traditional culture, and especially the music.
    • The Malagasy economy took a brief downturn during the 1980s when Coca-Cola, the world's leading purchaser of vanilla, switched to the New Coke formula that contained synthetic vanillin. The situation reversed itself when the company reintroduced its classic formula.

    Film

    Many films have been made on the country or reference is made to it. Some include the 1994 Cuban film Madagascar and the 2005 Dreamworks animation film Madagascar featuring a few zoo animals from New York who find themselves on the wilderness of the coast (where the lemur and fossa populations are highly featured). The 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale is featured in the beginning of the film where James Bond chases a bombmaking terrorist suspect Mollaka through a shantytown, a construction site, and an embassy. Madagascar is set as a location in the Bond film but was actually filmed in the Bahamas.

    Miscellaneous topics

    References

    1. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ma.html
    2. ^ From MADAGASCAR to the MALAGASY REPUBLIC by Raymond K. Kent pg 65-71
    3. ^ (French) 1947 L'insurrection à Madagascar - Jean Fremigacci - Marianne
    4. ^ Ravalomanana Marc, de President de la Rue, à President du Palais
    5. ^ Madagascar general in coup move Johnny Hogg in BBC News, November 18, 2006.
    6. ^ Attempted "coup" fizzles in desire for peaceful poll IRIN, November 20, 2006.
    7. ^ ARavalomanana likely to win presidential election IRIN, December 11, 2006.
    8. ^ Final results of referendum on Madagascar's constitution announced, China View - Xinhua online, 27 April 2007.
    9. ^ Référendum à Madagascar: le oui mène largement (deux-tiers des bureaux) Jeune Afrique, accessed 2007-06-10 (French)
    10. ^ The Eighth Continent: Life, Death, and Discovery in the Lost World of Madagascar
    11. ^ http://www.goway.com/africa/madagascar/mad_quickfacts.html
    12. ^ Madagascar - Mining: Heavy Minerals Mining [1]
    13. ^ L'ethnicisation des rapports sociaux à Madagascar [2]
    14. ^ "Le malgache et le français sont les langues officielles de la République Malgache." Constitution, Titre I, Art. 2; Constitutional Law 14 October 1958.
    15. ^ Haute Cour Constitutionnelle De Madagascar, Décision n°03-HCC/D2 Du 12 avril 2000 [3]
    16. ^ Madagascar adopts English as official language, ClickAfrique.com, 10 April 2007.
    17. ^ Madagascar, Southern Africa
    18. ^ [4] 17,500 of Intimor Tribe come back to Islam

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