| Capital |
Antananarivo |
| Government |
Republic |
| Currency |
ariary (MGA) |
| Area |
total: 587,040 km2
water: 5,500 km2
land: 581,540 km2 |
| Population |
18,595,469 (July 2006 est.) |
| Language |
French (official), Malagasy (official), English (offical) |
| Religion |
Indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7% |
|
| Calling Code |
+261 |
| Internet TLD |
.mg |
| Time Zone |
UTC+3 |
While Madagascar is an island off the coast of Africa, it was originally settled by people from Indonesia. Only later did African and Arab immigrants mix into the population of the island. As a result, Madagascar is a little bit of an oddity when compared to other African nations.
Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896, but regained its independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held, ending 17 years of single-party rule.
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