Madagascar (Republic of Madagascar)

Madagascar Republic of Madagascar
Status	Independent State
Capital	Antananarivo
Land Area	581 540km21
Location	Africa
Population	21.9m (2011)2
Life Expectancy	65.52yrs (2017)3
GNI	$1 320 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	MG, MDG, 4505
Internet Domain	.mg6
Currency	Ariary (MGA)7
Telephone	+2618

1. Overview
2. Madagascar National and Social Development
3. Population and Demographics
4. Politics and Freedom
5. Gender Equality
6. Religion and Beliefs
7. The Internet
8. Public Health Issues
9. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries
10. Links

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1. Overview

“Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1896 but regained independence in 1960. During 1992-93, free presidential and National Assembly elections were held ending 17 years of single-party rule. In 1997, in the second presidential race, Didier RATSIRAKA, the leader during the 1970s and 1980s, was returned to the presidency. The 2001 presidential election was contested between the followers of Didier RATSIRAKA and Marc RAVALOMANANA, nearly causing secession of half of the country. In April 2002, the High Constitutional Court announced RAVALOMANANA the winner. RAVALOMANANA achieved a second term following a landslide victory in the generally free and fair presidential elections of 2006. In early 2009, protests over increasing restrictions on opposition press and activities resulted in RAVALOMANANA handing over power to the military, which then conferred the presidency on the mayor of Antananarivo, Andry RAJOELINA, in what amounted to a coup d'etat. Numerous attempts have been made by regional and international organizations to resolve the subsequent political gridlock by forming a power-sharing government. Madagascar's independent electoral commission and the UN originally planned to hold a presidential election in early May 2013, but postponed the election until late July 2013, due to logistical delays.”

CIA's The World Factbook (2013)₉

“Lemurs, baobabs, rainforest, beaches, desert, trekking and diving: Madagascar is a dream destination for nature and outdoor lovers, and half the fun is getting to all these incredible attractions.Madagascar is unique: 5% of all known animal and plant species can be found here, and here alone. The remarkable fauna and flora is matched by epic landscapes of an incredible diversity: you can go from rainforest to desert in just 300km. Few places on earth offer such an intense kaleidoscope of nature.

With 5000km of coastline, 450km of barrier reef and 250 islands, no stay in Madagascar would be complete without a few days on the island´s shores. Divers will revel in the choice of sites, from underwater `cathedrals´ to shipwrecks, and will relish the chance to see rays, whale sharks, reef sharks and many other kinds of sharks. Snorkellers will be awed by the sheer grace of turtles and marvel at the rainbow of colours displayed by corals and fish.

There is much history to discover, too, from the 12 sacred hills of Antananarivo to the pirate cemetery of Ile Sainte Marie and the vestige of Madagascar´s industrial revolution in Mantasoa.”

"The World" by Lonely Planet (2014)₁₀

2. Madagascar National and Social Development

#human_development

UN HDI (2016)11
Pos.		Lower is better Rank11
1	Norway	1
2	Australia	2
3	Switzerland	2
	...
155	Papua New Guinea	154
156	Solomon Islands	156
157	Mauritania	157
158	Madagascar	158
159	Rwanda	159
160	Comoros	160
161	Lesotho	160
162	Senegal	162
	World Avg	94.3
q=188.

Social & Moral Development Index12
Pos.		Higher is better Points12
1	Denmark	84.0
2	Sweden	83.9
3	Finland	83.5
	...
156	Benin	44.2
157	Lesotho	44.2
158	Togo	44.1
159	Madagascar	44.1
160	Ethiopia	44.0
161	Iran	43.9
162	Cameroon	43.8
163	Guinea-Bissau	43.8
	World Avg	53.8
q=198.

The United Nations produces an annual Human Development Report which includes the Human Development Index. The factors taken into account include life expectancy, education and schooling and Gross National Income (GNI) amongst many others..

The Social and Moral Development Index concentrates on moral issues and human rights, violence, public health, equality, tolerance, freedom and effectiveness in climate change mitigation and environmentalism, and on some technological issues. A country scores higher for achieving well in those areas, and for sustaining that achievement in the long term. Those countries towards the top of this index can truly said to be setting good examples and leading humankind onwards into a bright, humane, and free future. See: What is the Best Country in the World? An Index of Morality, Conscience and Good Life.

3. Population and Demographics

#demographics #health #immigration #life_expectancy #overpopulation #population

Old-Age Dependency Ratio (2016)13
Pos.		Lower is better Per 10013
1	Uganda	04.3
2	Mali	04.5
3	Chad	04.7
	...
33	Sao Tome & Principe	06.2
34	Comoros	06.3
35	Mozambique	06.4
36	Madagascar	06.4
37	Papua New Guinea	06.4
38	Ghana	06.5
39	Palestine	06.5
40	Ethiopia	06.6
	World Avg	18.3
q=185.

Emigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Dominica	104.8
2	Palestine	68.4
3	Samoa	67.3
	...
185	Qatar	0.7
186	Nigeria	0.6
187	Maldives	0.6
188	China	0.6
189	Japan	0.6
190	Oman	0.5
191	Madagascar	0.4
192	Montenegro	0.0
	World Avg	11.5
q=192.

Fertility Rate (2013)15
Pos.		2.0 is best15
1	N. Korea	2.00
2	Brunei	1.99
3	St Vincent & Grenadines	2.01
	...
149	Mauritania	4.40
150	Congo, (Brazzaville)	4.46
151	Central African Rep.	4.46
152	Madagascar	4.52
153	Iraq	4.57
154	Kenya	4.64
155	Senegal	4.65
156	Gambia	4.73
	World Avg	2.81
q=180.

Immigrants (2010)14
Pos.		%14
1	Qatar	86.5
2	Monaco	71.6
3	UAE	70.0
	...
181	Iraq	0.3
182	Somalia	0.2
183	Colombia	0.2
184	Madagascar	0.2
185	Myanmar (Burma)	0.2
186	N. Korea	0.2
187	Morocco	0.2
188	Cuba	0.1
	World Avg	9.2
q=192.

Life Expectancy (2015)16
Pos.		Higher is better Years16
1	Hong Kong	84.16
2	Japan	83.68
3	Italy	83.34
	...
140	Kiribati	66.23
141	Myanmar (Burma)	66.12
142	Turkmenistan	65.73
143	Madagascar	65.52
144	Tanzania	65.51
145	Namibia	65.06
146	Gabon	64.94
147	Rwanda	64.75
	World Avg	71.27
q=190.

Population (2012)17
Pos.		The Overpopulation of the Earth17
1	China	1.4b
2	India	1.3b
3	USA	315.8m
	...
49	N. Korea	24.6m
50	Mozambique	24.5m
51	Australia	22.9m
52	Madagascar	21.9m
53	Romania	21.4m
54	Sri Lanka	21.2m
55	Syria	21.1m
56	Ivory Coast	20.6m
	World Avg	36.0m
q=195.

Madagascar's population is predicted to rise to 35.33 million by 2030. These millions of extra people will all need space to live, food to eat, energy to consume, and will increase the burden on the planet's resources. This country has a fertility rate of 4.52. The fertility rate is, in simple terms, the average amount of children that each woman has. The higher the figure, the quicker the population is growing, although, to calculate the rate you also need to take into account morbidity, i.e., the rate at which people die. If people live healthy and long lives and morbidity is low, then, 2.0 approximates to the replacement rate, which would keep the population stable. If all countries had such a fertility rate, population growth would end. The actual replacement rate in most developed countries is around 2.1.

• The Overpopulation of the Earth
• Abortion, Birth Control and Contraception

4. Politics and Freedom

#burundi #corruption #eritrea #france #freedom #human_development #human_rights #indonesia #mass_media #peace #politics #slavery

Corruption (2012-2016)18
Pos.		Higher is better Avg Score18
1	Denmark	90.8
2	New Zealand	90.6
3	Finland	89.4
	...
131	Honduras	28.8
132	Nepal	28.6
133	Azerbaijan	28.6
134	Madagascar	28.4
135	Lebanon	28.2
136	Russia	28.2
137	Kazakhstan	28.0
138	Nicaragua	27.6
	World Avg	43.05
q=176.

Global Peace Index (2012)19
Pos.		Lower is better19
1	Iceland	1.11
2	New Zealand	1.24
3	Denmark	1.24
	...
96	Cameroon	2.11
97	Uganda	2.12
98	Tajikistan	2.12
99	Madagascar	2.12
100	Liberia	2.13
101	Mali	2.13
102	Sri Lanka	2.15
103	Congo, (Brazzaville)	2.15
	World Avg	2.02
q=157.

Nominal Commitment to HR (2009)20
Pos.		Higher is better Treaties20
1	Argentina	24
2	Chile	23
3	Costa Rica	23
	...
117	China	14
118	Mauritius	14
119	Botswana	14
120	Madagascar	14
121	Syria	14
122	Sudan	14
123	Cameroon	14
124	Uzbekistan	14
	World Avg	15.1
q=194.

Personal, Civil & Economic Freedom (2014)21
Pos.		Lower is better Rank21
1	Hong Kong	1
2	Switzerland	2
3	New Zealand	3
	...
62	Fiji	61
63	Dominican Rep.	63
64	Cambodia	64
65	Madagascar	65
66	Brunei	66
67	Serbia	67
68	Guatemala	68
69	Moldova	69
	World Avg	79.7
q=159.

Press Freedom (2013)22
Pos.		Lower is better22
1	Finland	638
2	Netherlands	648
3	Norway	652
	...
84	Kosovo	2847
85	Guinea	2849
86	Bulgaria	2858
87	Madagascar	2862
88	Gabon	2869
89	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	2872
90	Paraguay	2878
91	Guinea-Bissau	2894
	World Avg	3249
q=178.

Slavery (2018)23
Pos.		Lower is better % Victims23
1	Japan	0.03
2	Canada	0.05
3	Taiwan	0.05
	...
130	Syria	0.73
131	Liberia	0.74
132	Guinea-Bissau	0.75
133	Madagascar	0.75
134	Malawi	0.75
135	Uganda	0.76
136	Timor-Leste (E. Timor)	0.77
137	Philippines	0.77
	World Avg	0.65
q=167.

The taking of slaves has been an unwholesome feature of Human cultures since prehistory₂₄. Private households and national endeavours have frequently been augmented with the use of slaves. The Egyptian and Roman empires both thrived on them for both purposes. Aside from labourers they are often abused sexually by their owners and their owners' friends₂₅. The era of colonialism and the beginnings of globalisation changed nothing: the imprisonment and forced movements of labour continued to destroy many lives except that new justifications were invented based on Christian doctrine and the effort to convert non-Christians. By 1786 over 12 million slaves had been extracted from Africa and sent to colonial labour camps, with a truly atrocious condition of life₂₆. But they were not the only ones to blame; in Africa internal nations such as the Asantes sold and bought tens of thousands of slaves₂₇.

The abolition of the slave trade was a long and slow process. Until a relatively modern time, even philosophers, religious leaders and those concerned with ethics justified, or ignored, the problem of slavery₂₈. The first abolitionists were always the slaves themselves. Their protests and rebellions caused the industry to become too expensive to continue. After that, it was the economic costs of maintain slave colonies that led the British to reject and then oppose the slave trade globally. Finally, the enlightenment-era thinkers of France encouraged moral and ethical thinking including the declaration of the inherent value of human life and human dignity₂₉. A long-overdue wave of compassionate and conscientious movements swept across the West, eliminating public support for slavery, until the industries and churches that supported it had no choice but to back down.

'Modern slavery' includes forced labour (often of the under-age), debt bondage (especially generational), sexual slavery, chattel slavery and other forms of abuse, some of which can be surprisingly difficult to detect, but often target those fleeing from warzones and the vulnerable.₃₀. Some industries (diamond, clothing, coal) from some countries (Burundi₂₃, Eritrea₂₃, Indonesia₃₁) are a particular concern. The Walk Free Foundation, say that in 2016, 40.3 million people were living in modern slavery₃₂.

Madagascar practices conscription, which involves a mandatory period of service in the military. But the Walk Free Foundation reports that this sometimes becomes slave labour as some 'concscripts' are assigned to lengthy and arduous work which is clearly non-military in nature₃₃ such as public infrastructure and civil construction work.

5. Gender Equality

#politics #women

Year Women Can Vote34
Pos.		Lower is better Year34
1	New Zealand	1893
2	Australia	1902
3	Finland	1906
	...
119	Nigeria	1958
120	Burkina Faso	1958
121	Guinea	1958
122	Madagascar	1959
123	Tunisia	1959
124	Tanzania	1959
125	Tonga	1960
126	Cyprus	1960
	World Avg	1930
q=189.

The 1950s saw a late rush of 43 countries, including Madagascar and many developing nations, move to cease preventing women from voting.

See:

• "Religion Versus Womankind" by Vexen Crabtree (2007)

6. Religion and Beliefs

#belief #buddhism #christianity #god #hinduism #islam #judaism #religion

Disbelief In God (2007)35
Pos.		Higher is better35
1	Vietnam	81
2	Japan	65
3	Sweden	64
	...
125	Cameroon	0
126	Philippines	0
127	Kuwait	0
128	Madagascar	0
129	Nigeria	0
130	Malawi	0
131	Chad	0
132	Nepal	0
	World Avg	9.9
q=137.

Data from the Pew Forum, a professional polling outfit, states that in 2010 the religious makeup of this country was as follows in the table below₃₆:

Christian	85.3%
Muslim	3%
Hindu	0.1%
Buddhist	0.1%
Folk Religion	4.5%
Jew	0.1%
Unaffiliated	6.9%

The CIA World Factbook has slightly different data, and states simply: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%₃₇.

Links:

• A List of All Religions and Belief Systems
• Secularisation Theory: Will Modern Society Reject Religion? What is Secularism?

7. The Internet

#internet #the_internet

Internet Users (2016)38
Pos.		Higher is better38
1	Iceland	100%
2	Faroe Islands	99%
3	Norway	98%
	...
186	Benin	6%
187	Tanzania	5%
188	Central African Rep.	5%
189	Madagascar	4%
190	Ethiopia	4%
191	Congo, DR	4%
192	Guinea-Bissau	4%
193	Chad	3%
	World Avg	48.1%
q=201.

Internet access has become an essential research tool. It facilitates an endless list of life improvements, from the ability to network and socialize without constraint, to access to a seemingly infinite repository of technical and procedural information on pretty much any task. The universal availability of data has sped up industrial development and personal learning at the national and personal level. Individuals can read any topic they wish regardless of the locality of expert teachers, and, entire nations can develop their technology and understanding of the world simply because they are now exposed to advanced societies and moral discourses online. Like every communications medium, the Internet has issues and causes a small range of problems, but these are insignificant compared to the advantages of having an online populace.

8. Public Health Issues

#alcohol #health #parenting #population #smoking #vaccines

Adolescent Birth Rate (2015)39
Pos.		Lower is better Per 100039
1	N. Korea	0.5
2	S. Korea	1.6
3	Switzerland	2.9
	...
170	Nigeria	110.6
171	Uganda	111.9
172	Gambia	113.0
173	Madagascar	116.2
174	Congo, (Brazzaville)	117.7
175	Sierra Leone	118.2
176	Tanzania	118.6
177	Congo, DR	122.6
	World Avg	47.9
q=185.

Alcohol Consumption (2010)40
Pos.		Lower is better Per Capita40
1	Libya	0.1
2	Pakistan	0.1
3	Kuwait	0.1
	...
35	Tuvalu	1.5
36	Tonga	1.6
37	Solomon Islands	1.7
38	Madagascar	1.8
39	Singapore	2.0
40	Turkey	2.0
41	Bahrain	2.1
42	Benin	2.1
	World Avg	6.2
q=191.

Food Aid, Health Contributions & WHO Compliance (2017)41
Pos.		Lower is better Rank41
1	Sweden	1
2	Ireland	2
3	Denmark	3
	...
133	Grenada	133
134	Montenegro	134
135	Iraq	135
136	Madagascar	136
137	Congo, (Brazzaville)	137
138	Albania	138
139	Ghana	139
140	Chad	140
	World Avg	82.0
q=163.

Infant Immunizations 2011-2015 (2015)42
Pos.		Higher is better Avg %42
1	Hungary	99.0
2	China	99.0
3	Uzbekistan	98.9
	...
174	Liberia	72.6
175	S. Africa	72.5
176	Angola	71.9
177	Madagascar	71.9
178	Iraq	70.7
179	Afghanistan	70.6
180	Niger	69.7
181	Samoa	68.1
	World Avg	88.3
q=194.

Smoking Rates (2014)43
Pos.		Lower is better43
1	Guinea	15
2	Solomon Islands	26
3	Kiribati	28
	...
42	Guatemala	190
43	Ecuador	191
44	Myanmar (Burma)	206
45	Madagascar	206
46	Burkina Faso	213
47	Maldives	215
48	Panama	224
49	Grenada	224
	World Avg	819
q=182.

9. More Charts and Comparisons to Other Countries