Madagascar political map shows the international boundaries, regional boundaries with names, the national capital, regional capitals, and major cities of the country.
Geography of Madagascar
Madagascar is a huge island within the Indian Ocean lying near the southern seashore of Africa and the eastern coast of Mozambique. The country is the 4th biggest island worldwide, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd largest being Greenland; New Guinea, and Borneo, respectively. Occupying an overall 587,040SQKm area, approx. 581,540SqKm consists of land and the remaining 5,500 Sq Km is occupied by water. The large Island has a slender seaside plain and elevated mountains and plateau in the center point. The higher most mountains in Madagascar is “Maromokotro” (9,435 feet).
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Demography of Madagascar
The total population of Madagascar as per the UN data is 27819, 995 as of Aug 2020; it is equal to 0.36% of the entire population of the world. According to Madagascar Map – Political, around 38.5% of the overall population of Madagascar is urban. Life expectancy at birth is 68.21 years for both males and females. The Infant Mortality rate is 23 deaths/1000 births; while the death rate under age 5 is 34.1deaths/1000 births.
Culture of Madagascar
Madagascar’s culture echoes the ancestries of the Malagasy communities and people within Eastern Africa and Southeastern Asia. The domination and inspiration of British, French, Indians, Arabs, and Chinese settlers are quite evident in the culture here. The official languages of Madagascar include French and Malagasy; the island has eighteen Malagasy clans, along with the societies of Indian Ocean Comorans, Chinese inhabitants, and French people. Some of the interesting and unique traits of Madagascar include purchasing the newly-born child’s “umbilical cord”; shaving babies’ heads after 3 months; every house within the island must face west; bed’s head should be North facing; funerals must not happen on Thursday. Approx. half of the people in Madagascar are Protestant or Catholic. People are highly religious here and tradition such as “Sunday Mass” is closely followed in the town. The Malagasy, however, believe that there is a solo originator of the world and a single god known as “Zanahary”.
Best places to visit in Madagascar
Antananarivo
Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar reflects a mesmerizing amalgamation of culture and traditions and is the heart of the Island. Also known as “Tana”, the capital city is situated at the hills of the neighboring mountains at a height of around 1400m. The older portions of Antananarivo beautifully display the French colonization and the architecture of Paris arranged on the hills. The capital city is also more developed compared to other parts of Madagascar; therefore visitors would enjoy their trip. The places of attraction in Antananarivo include Rova; Musée Andafiavaratra and Ambohimanga.
Avenue Of The Baobabs
The tall and popular Baobab trees lie in the western region of Madagascar; the place is of great attraction due to the symmetrical assortment of the trees on the muddy road situated in between Belon’i Tsiribihina and Morondava. The unusually beautiful and raw Baobab trees are also called “Renala” meaning the “Queens of the forest”. The oddly shaped, 30m tall trees have existed for more than 1000 years and the sight of these trees at the sunset is certainly a sight to preserve forever.
Tsingy Of Bemaraha National Park
Situated in the regions of Melaky, the Northwest area of Madagascar, the national park is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The park consists of spiked and enormous limestone rocks, molded some five million years ago, popularly called “Tsingies”, from which the park has got its name. Proclaimed as the “World Heritage Site” by UNESCO, the National Park is literally the must-visit place for adventurers across Africa.
Best time to visit Madagascar
The most ideal time to visit Madagascar is between April through mid-December as the season becomes dry and pleasant. Visitors must avoid visiting the place from December through March due to rain and cyclones.
