Madagascar

Madagascar is an Island in the Indian Ocean located east of Mozambique with a total population of approximately 29,955,737 inhabitants.

The island covers an area of approximately 587,041 sq. km of which almost 99% or 581,540 sq. km is land and 1% or 5501 sq. km is water, averaging some 52 persons per sq. km.

Of the total land available 6% or 34,892 sq. km is arable. Almost 21.5% of the total land available or 123,286 sq. km is covered with forests.

The services sector is the island’s largest GDP contributor accounting for 56.4% of total GDP or 6.49 billion. The island’s total GDP is valued at 11.5 billion.

The services sector is followed by the agricultural sector which accounts for 24% or 2.76 billion of total GDP and industry which accounts for 19.5% or 2.24 billion of total GDP.

The island’s industries include meat processing, seafood, soap, beer, leather, sugar, textiles, glassware, cement, automobile assembly plants, paper, petroleum, tourism and mining. The island’s agricultural produce include coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava (manioc, tapioca), beans, bananas, peanuts and livestock products.

The islands primary exports are coffee, vanilla, shellfish, sugar, cotton cloth, clothing, chromite, petroleum products, gems, ilmenite, cobalt, and nickel.

Madagascar’s major export partners are France 24.8%, the United States 16.5%, China 6.7%, Germany 6.5%, Japan 6%, and the Netherlands 4.7%. The island’s major import partners are China 18.7%, India 9.3%, France 6.4%, South Africa 5.6% and the UAE 5.3%.