Madagascar


Region Type Maps & Charts (if available, no international)
Africa Island Madagascar

Republic (area; 226,658 sq miles; 1993 pop. 12,092,157), in the Indian Ocean, separated from E Afr. by the Mozambique Channel; (cap.) Antananarivo, Toamasina, and Mahajanga are the chief ports. Madagascar carries on a relatively small foreign trade, and the annual value of imports is usually considerably higher than the value of exports. The principal trade partners are France, Reunion, the U.S., and Germany. From the 9th cent., Muslim traders (including some Arabs) from E Afr. and the Comoro Isls. settled in NW and SE Madagascar. Probably the 1st European to see Madagascar was Diogo Dias, a Port. navigator, in 1500.

Sources

Robert A. McCaughey

Compiler

Peter Richards

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