Madagascar - Geography

Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Madagascar. World's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel; despite Madagascar’s close proximity to the African continent, ocean currents isolate the island, resulting in high rates of endemic plant and animal species; approximately 90% of the flora and fauna on the island are found nowhere else. Mother's mean age at first birth is N/A , whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is N/A.

Population Distribution

Most of population lives on the eastern half of the island; significant clustering is found in the central highlands and eastern coastline, as shown in this population distribution map

People and Society

In Madagascar, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran

Population N/A
Pop growth rate 2.15% (2025 est.)
Birth rate 27.54 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate 5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Current health expenditure N/A
Physicians Density N/A
Hospital bed Density N/A
Total fertility rate 3.47 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate 1.71 (2025 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate N/A
Est married women (ages 15-49) N/A
Literacy N/A
Education expenditures N/A
Net Migration rate N/A
Nationality Malagasy | Malagasy (singular and plural)
Languages N/A
Religions N/A
Age Structure
0-14 years 37% (male 5,507,847/female 5,400,551)
15-64 years 59.1% (male 8,720,012/female 8,673,880)
65 years and over 3.9% (2024 est.) (male 532,642/female 617,782)
Dependency Ratios
Total dependency ratio 73.4 (2025 est.)
Youth dependency ratio 66.9 (2025 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio 6.5 (2025 est.)
Potential support ratio 15.3 (2025 est.)
Median Age
Total 20.5 years (2025 est.)
Male 21.1 years
Female 21.5 years
Urbanization
Urban population 40.6% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization 4.26% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major urban areas (Pop) 3.872 million ANTANANARIVO (capital) (2023).
Sex Ratio
At birth 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.86 male(s)/female
Total population 1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
Infant Motality
Total 38.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
Male 40.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female 34 deaths/1,000 live births
Life Expectancy at birth
Total population 68.8 years (2024 est.)
Male 67.3 years
Female 70.3 years
Drinking Water Sources
Improved: urban urban: 79.8% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 36% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 53.5% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 20.2% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 64% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 46.5% of population (2022 est.)
Sanitation facility acess
Improved: urban urban: 53.9% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: rural rural: 25.2% of population (2022 est.)
Improved: total total: 36.7% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: urban urban: 46.1% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: rural rural: 74.8% of population (2022 est.)
Unimproved: total total: 63.3% of population (2022 est.)
Major Infectious diseases
Alcohol consumption per capita
Total 0.89 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Beer 0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Wine 0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Spirits 0.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Other alcohols 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Tobacco use
Total 24.1% (2025 est.)
Male 40.2% (2025 est.)
Female 8.2% (2025 est.)
Child marriage
Women married by age 15 12.7% (2021)
Women married by age 18 38.8% (2021)
Men married by age 18 11.2% (2021)
Demographic profile
No additional profile data available.
All Important Facts about Madagascar

Want to know more about Madagascar? Check all different factbooks for Madagascar below.

Madagascar is found in Eastern Africa