Geography
Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island, located 250 miles off the eastern coastline of Africa in the Indian Ocean. The country is 587,041 square kilometers and is home to almost 25,000 different species of wildlife. The climate is tropical along the coastline and temperate in the midlands, which allows for a large array of different wildlife to thrive. The island itself has been geographically isolated for 88 million years, which gave its inhabitants the ability to evolve independently of threats from neighboring populations of wildlife. The result is an astounding array of wildlife that is unique to the island and an extraordinary level of biodiversity. Despite this, 71 percent of the island is used for agricultural purposes (Sawe, 2016).
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History
A map depicting the migration of peoples to Madagascar (Lewis, 2012)
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Although Madagascar has a close geographic proximity to Africa, the inhabitants of the island, called the Malagasy peoples, are actually more closely related to the peoples of Indonesia and Western Malayo-Polynesia. Malagasy peoples are part of a larger ethnic group and language family called Austronesian, which describes the groups of peoples from the Pacific islands to Madagascar who speak Austronesian languages. The first inhabitants of the island were probably from present day Indonesia and settled there between the years 350 and 550 AD although this settlement pattern is still being debated among anthropologists. Madagascar was colonized by the French in 1896, during which time the French language largely infiltrated the daily life, culture, and language of the Malagasy peoples (Butler, 2008).
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Population
The population of the country of Madagascar as of July 2017 is 25,054,161 individuals, with just over 60 percent of this population under the age of 25. Madagascar continues to struggle with widespread poverty and is characterized by many rural, poor, and underserved communities. As a result of the island's diverse settlement history, the population consists of 18 different ethnic groups, all of which speak the Malagasy language. Due to the country's history of slavery, most notably during the Merina Kingdom from the 16th to the 19th centuries, there still exists a divide between the country's socioeconomic classes. Further historical population distinctions exist between residents of the Eastern coastline and the plateau region in the center of the island (Southall and Covell, 2017).
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The composition of ethnic backgrounds of people living on Madagascar as of the year 2000 (Southall and Covell, 2017).
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Politics
The National Flag of Madagascar
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The Malagasy Republic declared independence from France on June 26, 1960, only 58 years ago. Since this country's ties with France were so recently severed, many facets of French culture, government, policy, and language still exist. Madagascar's civil code in its constitution is largely based on French laws. After military rule from 1972-1975, socialist movements reorganized the governmental system and urged for the creation of a constitution, and thus the Democratic Republic of Madagascar was formed. The elected president (the head of state) appoints the Prime Minister (head of the government). The legislative branch of their government is composed of the National Assembly and the Senate.
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Religion
Almost half of the population of Madagascar is Christian, with 27 percent being Catholic and 20 percent being Protestant. This is due to the long term cultural impact of French and English societies on the people of Madagascar during colonization, and the introduction of the Latin alphabet by missionaries sent by the British. In contrast, 42 percent of the population maintains the traditional religion, which is based on the worship of ancestors, and a divine being named Zanahary. There is also a small Sunni Muslim population in the northwest region of the island.
Education
The crest of the University of Antananarivo (Antananarivo, 2014).
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Education from ages 6 through 13 is free and compulsory; however, there exists secondary and tertiary levels of education as well. The largest university in Madagascar is the University of Antananarivo, which uses French as its official language. Historically, during French colonization, missionary schools were created, and French became the language of the elite, while other public schools established for the poorer, rural Malagasy people focused on vocational education. Literacy has increased since 1960, from approximately 40 percent of the population to 64 percent. Additionally, communities along the coastal region have historically lower education levels and attendance than the communities in the plateau highlands where most of the original schools were founded (Southall and Covell, 2017).
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Language
The country's current official languages are both French and Malagasy. Malagasy is written with the Latin alphabet and is a version of Merina, which is an Austronesian language. The official Malagasy language is based off of the Merina dialect which is spoken in the highlands. The Malagasy people came into contact with the Bantu speaking inhabitants of Eastern Africa whose language influenced several sound shifts and vocabulary. During British influence in the early 1800s, the Protestant London Missionary Society introduced Christianity to Madagascar, transcribed Malagasy into a written language using the Latin alphabet, and translated and printed Bibles for the Malagasy people. Both languages utilize the Latin alphabet; however, the Malagasy language lacks the letters C, Q, U, W, and X, making the Malagasy spelling of Madagascar, "Madagasikara." French was introduced during the French colonial period which began in 1896. During this time, French became the elite language, and Malagasy reverted to an inferior language. English is also spoken in Madagascar with its rate increasing in frequency, literacy, and use (Butler, 2008).
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Ballew, Winter 2018
Ballew, Winter 2018