THE IDENTITY OF

THE ISLAND

- Localisation: Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean, 400 Km westward away from the african coast. Comoro, Mayotte are near in North-western, Mauritius & La Réunion are in his East.

- Population: Circa 20 millions of inhabitants with the prevision of reaching the 25 Millions in 2015.

- Density: 30.6 inhabitant / Km2

- Life Expectancy: according to sources, not so relyable, about 55 years old

- Capital City: Antananarivo or Tananarivo but mostly called "Tana", counts 3 millions of Inhabitants

- Official Language: malagasy with many dialectes. French is the second one, most of the population speak & understand it, yet a little bit in the countryside. English is beginning to be known.

- Money Value: the "Ariary", however many peole is still using the old malgasy franc (changed in 2005). To be comfortable with this, 500 Malagasy Franc (MGF) equal 100 Ariary. And 1 Euro is more or less 2600 Ariary, variable every day. Must be on the spot to know it exactly.

- Government System: Republic Democratic with Presidential character

- Ethnic Group: 18 Official plus some under categorised ones, + foreigners like the Indopakistanese community, chinese, comorians & europeans.

- Religion: 50% of the malagasy people still practise the ancestoral worship. Catholicism & protestancism are egualy parted without giving up the ancestral worship. Then in few percentage are the Muslims. Nowadays very outspread are the many kind of Sectes brought by Americans & Europeans.

- World Heritage Site by UNESCO: The Royal hill of Ambohimanga, the wood working piece of the Zafimaniry tribe, the Natural Reserve of Bemaraha.

Are you in search of a new frontier & new cultures?

Madagascar will be a special post for you!

The Fourth biggest isle in the World, also called the eighth

continent or the Red Island, probably the paradise in this

world that hides in itself many natural & humanitary

resources.