Study, Work or Volunteer in Madagascar

Madagascar, officially known as Republic of Madagascar and previously called as Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, southeastern of the African coast. The central island, also known as Madagascar, is the 4th biggest island in the world. It is also home to 5% of world’s animal and plant species.

As part of East Gondwana, Madagascar broke up with Africa roughly 160 million years ago and the main island was separated from India 80-100 million years ago. Its written history starts in the 7th century after the Arab Muslims founded trading centers alongside the northwest coast. France occupied the country in 1883 and the French Parliament voted to take over Madagascar in 1896. the Malagasy Republic was declared on October 14, 1958 as a sovereign state and attained complete independence on June 26, 1960. It has a semi-presidential representative democratic republic type of government wherein the Prime Minister is the head of a government and of a multi-party system. Madagascar remains the largest producer and exporter of vanilla in the world. Its major industries include fishing, poultry, and various agricultural products. It received several debt cancellation grants in the early 2000s including those from World Bank, IMF, and Paris Club.

Malagasy is the official and most commonly used language in Madagascar. As a former colony of France, French is also widely spoken especially among the educated population. About 50% of the population observes traditional religion while 45% are Christians mostly Catholics and Protestants.