]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique ^# 20 00 S, 47 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 587,040 sq km `" 581,540 sq km `# 5,500 sq km ^& slightly less than twice the size of Arizona ^' 0 km ^( 4,828 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m deep isobath ^* tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south ^+ narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center ^, `% Indian Ocean 0 m `& Maromokotro 2,876 m ^- graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower ^. `' 5.03% `( 1.02% `) 93.95% (2005) ^/ 10,860 sq km (2003) ^0 periodic cyclones, drought, and locust infestation ^1 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 _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel 
]# ^3 19,448,815 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 43.9% (male 4,297,985/female 4,243,369) `, 53% (male 5,117,874/female 5,190,032) `- 3.1% (male 270,411/female 329,144) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 17.8 years `. 17.6 years `/ 18 years (2007 est.) ^6 3.008% (2007 est.) ^7 38.6 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 8.51 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.03 male(s)/female `1 1.013 male(s)/female `, 0.986 male(s)/female `- 0.822 male(s)/female `2 0.992 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 57.02 deaths/1,000 live births `. 62.09 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 51.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 62.14 years `. 60.23 years `/ 64.1 years (2007 est.) ^= 5.24 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 1.7% (2003 est.) ^? 140,000 (2003 est.) ^@ 7,500 (2003 est.) _` `h high `i bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2007) ^A `3 Malagasy (singular and plural) `4 Malagasy ^B Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran ^C indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% ^D French (official), Malagasy (official) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 68.9% `. 75.5% `/ 62.5% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Madagascar `7 Madagascar `Z Republique de Madagascar/Repoblikan'i Madagasikara `[ Madagascar/Madagasikara `\ Malagasy Republic ^H republic ^I `8 Antananarivo `9 18 52 S, 47 30 E `: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara ^K 26 June 1960 (from France) ^L Independence Day, 26 June (1960) ^M 19 August 1992 by national referendum ^N based on French civil law system and traditional Malagasy law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Marc RAVALOMANANA (since 6 May 2002) `< Prime Minister Charles RABEMANANJARA (25 January 2007) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister `> president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 3 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011); prime minister appointed by the president `? percent of vote - Marc RAVALOMANANA 54.8%, Jean LAHINIRIKO 11.7%, Roland RATSIRAKA 10.1%, Herizo RAZAFIMAHALEO 9.1%, Norbert RATSIRAHONANA 4.2%, Ny Hasina ANDRIAMANJATO 4.2%, Elia RAVELOMANANTSOA 2.6%, Pety RAKOTONIAINA 1.7%, other 1.6% ^Q bicameral legislature consists of a National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (160 seats; members are 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; the remaining one-third of seats appointed by the president; all members serve four-year terms) `> National Assembly - last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held in 2007) `? 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 ^R Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle ^S Association for the Rebirth of Madagascar or AREMA [Pierrot RAJAONARIVELO]; 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] ^T 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 ^U ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Narisoa RAJAONARIVONY `S 2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 265-5525, 5526 `U [1] (202) 265-3034 `V New York ^W `R Ambassador James D. McGEE `_ 14-16 Rue Rainitovo, Antsahavola, Antananarivo 101 `` B. P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo `T [261] (20) 22-212-57, 22-212-73, 22-209-56 `U [261] (20) 22-345-39 ^X two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side 
]% ^Y 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 US. 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. ^Z $17.27 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $5.097 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 5.5% (2006 est.) ^] $900 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 26.9% `A 16.5% `B 56.6% (2006 est.) ^_ 7.3 million (2000) _! 50% (2004 est.) _" `C 3% `D 29% (1999) _d 47.5 (2001) _# 12% (2006 est.) _V 26.3% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $879.9 million `F $1.147 billion; including capital expenditures of $331 million (2006 est.) _& coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts; livestock products _' meat processing, seafood, soap, breweries, tanneries, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plant, paper, petroleum, tourism _( 3% (2000 est.) _) 984 million kWh (2004) _* 915.1 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 90.59 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 14,500 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _W 0 bbl (1 January 2002) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Z 0 cu m (1 January 2005 est.) _Q $-504 million (2006 est.) _3 $993.5 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, chromite, petroleum products _5 France 31.6%, US 31%, Germany 8.8% (2005) _6 $1.544 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food _8 France 16.8%, China 10.7%, Iran 8%, Mauritius 6.7%, Hong Kong 5%, South Africa 4.9% (2005) _[ $563 million (2006 est.) _9 $4.6 billion (2002) _: $354 million (2001) _; Madagascar ariary (MGA) _< Malagasy ariary per US dollar - 2,161.4 (2006), 2,003 (2005), 1,868.9 (2004), 1,238.3 (2003), 1,366.4 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 66,900 (2005) _? 504,700 (2005) _@ `G system is above average for the region `H open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions `I country code - 261; submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) _A AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001) _B 1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001) _C .mg _D 1,504 (2006) _E 90,000 (2005) 
]' _F 116 (2006) _G `! 29 `a 1 `J 2 `b 4 `c 20 `W 2 (2006) _R `! 87 `b 2 `c 42 `W 43 (2006) _e `! 854 km `n 854 km 1.000-m gauge (2005) _H `! 49,827 km `K 5,780 km `L 44,047 km (1999) _b 600 km (2005) _S `! 9 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,896 GRT/18,466 DWT by type: cargo 5, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 2 (2006) _I Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara 
]( _J People's Armed Forces: Intervention Force, Development Force, and Aeronaval Force (navy and air); National Gendarmerie _T 18-50 years of age; conscript service obligation - 18 months (either military or equivalent civil service) (2004) _K males age 18-49: 3,542,797 females age 18-49: 3,551,447 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 2,218,662 females age 18-49: 2,408,810 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 187,000 females age 18-49: 184,833 (2005 est.) _U 1.1% (2006 est.) 
]) _N claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France) _O illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin 