Madagascar
Official Name: Republic of Madagascar
Capital City: Antananarivo
Gained Independence From France on June 26th 1960
Location: 250 off the southeast coast of Africa
Nickname: "The Forgotten Land" and "The eighth contenant"
Forth Largest Island on Earth: 1000 miles long, 350 miles wide
Population: Est. 20-25 Million People
- Estimated to double within 15-20 years because over half
the population being under the age of 15
Islands around Madagascar in need of the gospel
- Comoros Islands - 600,000 people
- Seychelles Islands - 100,000 people
- Mauritius Islands - 1.5 million people
- Reunion Islands - 1 million people
Life Expectancy is 50 years
Has one of the highest rates of homeless children in the world per capita
Very poor- considered a fourth world country
- 1 in 4 people have mental disorders because of lack of nourishment
- consumes more rice per capita than any other country in the world
- most third grade children can not read or write
- less than 1% of homes have running water
- less than 10% have electricity
- less than 2% have indoor bathroom
- less than 1% have a refrigerator
- less than 6% have a telephone
- poor health care, hospitals do not have nurses to care for patients
Money: Malagasy Ariary $2100 Ariary = $1 American
Agriculture is the main occupation: rice, coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, beans,
bananas, peanuts
Language: Malagasy
- Manao ahoana = Hello
- Veloma = Good by
- Misaotra anao = Thank You
- Azafady= Please
- Trano = House
- Antsy = Knife
- Mofodipaina = Bread
- Trandro = Fish
- Atody = Eggs
- Siramamy = Sugar
- Iray = 1
- Roo = 2
- Telo = 3
French is spoken in the bigger cities
English is spoken very little, but is more to be desired
Religion: Ancestral Worship, Witch Doctors, Catholicism, Mormon's, J.W.'s,
Lutherans, Pentecostal Holiness
Island was inhabited around 500 B.C. by Indonesians, Indians and Africans