Madagascar People - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Population: 10,227,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 2.8%

Nationality, noun—Malagasy (sing, and pl.); adjective—Malagasy

Ethnic divisions: basic split between highlanders of predominantly Malayo-Indonesian origin, consisting of Merina (1,643,000) and related Betsileo (760,000* on the one hand and coastal tribes—collectively termed the Cotiers—with mixed Negroid, Malayo-lndonesian, and Arab ancestry on the other; coastal tribes include Betsimisaraka 941,000, Tsimihety 442,000, Antaisaka 415,000, Sakalava 375,000; there are also 10 000-12,000 European French, 5,000 Indians of French nationality, and 5,000 Creoles

Religion: more than half indigenous beliefs; about 41% Christian, 7% Muslim

Language- French and Malagasy official

Infant mortality rate: 177/1,000(1984)

Life expectancy: 46

Literacy: 53%

Labor force: about 4.8 million (1984), of which 90% are nonsalaried family workers engaged in subsistence agriculture; of 175,000 wage and salary earners, 26% agriculture, 17% domestic service, 15% industry, 14% commerce, 11% construction, 9% services, 6% transportation, 2% miscellaneous

Organized labor: 4% of labor force

NOTE: The information regarding Madagascar on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Madagascar 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Madagascar 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.