nd 26%; other 11%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment:
subject to periodic cyclones; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
desertification
Note:
world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel

:Madagascar People

Population:
12,596,263 (July 1992), growth rate 3.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
46 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
14 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
93 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
51 years male, 55 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Malagasy (singular and plural); adjective - Malagasy
Ethnic divisions:
basic split between highlanders of predominantly Malayo-Indonesian origin
(Merina and related Betsileo) on the one hand and coastal tribes,
collectively termed the Cotiers, with mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and
Arab ancestry (Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), on the other;
there are also small French, Indian, Creole, and Comoran communities; no
current, accurate assessment of tribal numbers is available
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian about 41%, Muslim 7%
Languages:
French and Malagasy (official)
Literacy:
80% (male 88%, female 73%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
4,900,000; 90% nonsalaried family workers engaged in subsistence
agriculture; 175,000 wage earners - agriculture 26%, domestic service 17%,
industry 15%, commerce 14%, construction 11%, services 9%, transportation
6%, other 2%; 51% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor:
4% of labor force

:Madagascar Government

Long-form name:
Democratic Republic of Madagascar
Type:
republic
Capital:
Antananarivo
Administrative divisions:
6 provinces (plural - NA, singular - faritanin'); Antananarivo, Antsiranana,
Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliary
Independence:
26 June 1960 (from France; formerly Malagasy Republic)
Constitution:
21 December 1975; note - a new constitution is to be in place before 1993
Legal system:
based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 June (1960)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, Coun