Madagascar - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Madagascar. World's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel; despite Madagascar’s close proximity to the African continent, ocean currents isolate the island, resulting in high rates of endemic plant and animal species; approximately 90% of the flora and fauna on the island are found nowhere else. Mother's mean age at first birth is 19.5 years (2021 est.) (Note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 445 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Geographical data of Madagascar
Location Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique
Geographic coordinates 20 00 S, 47 00 E
Map references Africa
Tarrain narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
Natural Resources graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, rare earth elements, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones, mica, fish, hydropower
Natural Hazards periodic cyclones; drought; and locust infestation

volcanism: Madagascar's volcanoes have not erupted in recorded history
Irrigated Land 10,860 sq km (2012)
Major rivers (by length in km)
Major aquifers
Land Boundaries 0 km
Border Countries
Coastline 4,828 km
Climate tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Area
Total Area
Land Area 581,540 sq km
Water Area 5,501 sq km
comparative Area almost four times the size of Georgia; slightly less than twice the size of Arizona
Maritime Claims
Territorial sea 12 nm
Contiguous zone 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone 200 nm
Continental shelf 200 nm or 100 nm from the 2,500-m isobath
Elevations
Highest point Maromokotro 2,876 m
Lowest point Indian Ocean 0 m
Mean elevation 615 m
Land Use
Agricultural land 70.3% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: arable land arable land: 5.2% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent crops permanent crops: 1% (2022 est.)
Agricultural land: permanent pasture permanent pasture: 64.1% (2022 est.)
Forest 21.3% (2022 est.)
Other 8.4% (2022 est.)
Population Distribution

Most of population lives on the eastern half of the island; significant clustering is found in the central highlands and eastern coastline, as shown in this population distribution map

People and Society

In Madagascar, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran

Population
Pop growth rate 2.18% (2024 est.)
Birth rate 27.6 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate 5.8 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Health expenditure
Physicians Density
Hospital bed Density
Total fertility rate 3.47 children born/woman (2024 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.71 (2024 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate
Est married women (ages 15-49) 60.1% (2023 est.)
Literacy
Education expenditures
Net Migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Nationality Malagasy | Malagasy (singular and plural)
Languages Malagasy (official) 99.9%, French (official) 23.6%, English 8.2%, other 0.6% (2018 est.)
Religions Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar/Malagasy Lutheran Church/Anglican Church 34%, Roman Catholic 32.3%, other Christian 8.1%, traditional/Animist 1.7%, Muslim 1.4%, other 0.6%, none 21.9% (2021 est.)
Age Structure
0-14 years 37% (male 5,507,847/female 5,400,551)
15-64 years 59.1% (male 8,720,012/female 8,673,880)
65 years and over 3.9% (2024 est.) (male 532,642/female 617,782)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 69.3 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 62.7 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 6.6 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio 15.1 (2024 est.)
Median Age
Total 21.3 years (2024 est.)
Male 21.1 years
Female 21.5 years
Urbanization
Urban population 40.6% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 4.26% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 3.872 million ANTANANARIVO (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.86 male(s)/female
Total population 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 37.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male 40.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 34 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 68.8 years (2024 est.)
Male 67.3 years
Female 70.3 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 79.8% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 36% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 53.5% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 20.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 64% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 46.5% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 53.9% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 25.2% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 36.7% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 46.1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 74.8% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 63.3% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 0.89 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 24.1% (2025 est.)
Male 40.2% (2025 est.)
Female 8.2% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 12.7% (2021)
Women married by age 18 38.8% (2021)
Men married by age 18 11.2% (2021)
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Madagascar

Want to know more about Madagascar? Check all different factbooks for Madagascar below.

Madagascar is found in Eastern Africa