Country name:
conventional long form:
Republic of Madagascar
conventional short form:
Madagascar
local long form:
Republique de Madagascar/Repoblikan'i Madagasikara
local short form:
Madagascar/Madagasikara
former:
Malagasy Republic
etymology:
the name "Madageiscar" was first used by the 13th-century Venetian explorer Marco POLO, as a corrupted transliteration of Mogadishu, the Somali port with which POLO confused the island
Government type:
semi-presidential republic
Capital:
name:
Antananarivo
geographic coordinates:
18 55 S, 47 31 E
time difference:
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
6 provinces (faritany); Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara
Independence:
26 June 1960 (from France)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 26 June (1960)
Constitution:
history:
previous 1992; latest passed by referendum 17 November 2010, promulgated 11 December 2010
(2017)
amendments:
proposed by the president of the republic in consultation with the cabinet or supported by a least two-thirds of both the Senate and National Assembly membership; passage requires at least three-fourths approval of both the Senate and National Assembly and approval in a referendum; constitutional articles including the form and powers of government, the sovereignty of the state, and the autonomy of Madagascar’s collectivities cannot be amended
(2017)
Legal system:
civil law system based on the old French civil code and customary law in matters of marriage, family, and obligation
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth:
no
citizenship by descent only:
the father must be a citizen of Madagascar; in the case of a child born out of wedlock, the mother must be a citizen
dual citizenship recognized:
no
residency requirement for naturalization:
unknown
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Andry RAJOELINA (since 21 January 2019)
(2019)
head of government:
Prime Minister Christian NTSAY (since 6 June 2018)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
elections/appointments:
president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 7 November and 19 December 2018 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister nominated by the National Assembly, appointed by the president
election results:
Andry RAJOELINA elected President in second round; percent of vote - Andry RAJOELINA (TGV) 55.7%, Marc RAVALOMANANA 44.3% (TIM)
Legislative branch:
description:
bicameral National Assembly consists of:
Senate or Antenimieran-Doholona (dissolved following the 2009 coup and reestablished in December 2015) (63 seats; 42 members indirectly elected by an electoral college of municipal, communal, regional, and provincial leaders and 21 appointed by the president of the republic; members serve 6-year terms)
National Assembly or Antenimierampirenena (151 seats; 87 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 64 directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
elections:
Senate - last held 29 December 2015 (next to be held in 2021)
National Assembly - last held on 20 December 2013 (next to be held in 2019)
election results:
Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TIM 3, MAPAR 2, LEADER-Fanilo 1, independent 2, appointed by the president 21; composition - men 51, women 12, percent of women 19%
National Assembly - percent of vote by party - MAPAR 17.3%, MR 10.8%, VPM MMM 8.2%, PHI 3.8%, AMHM 3.5%, LEADER-Fanilo 2.8%, FFF 1.6%, AIM 1.%, SFN 0.3%, independent and other 50.6%; seats by party - MAPAR 49, MR 20, VPM MMM 13, PHI 5, AMHM 2, LEADER-Fanilo 5, FFF 2, AIM 2, SFN 2, other 22, independent 25, seats with delayed elections 4; composition - men 120, women 31, percent of women 20.5%; note - total National Assembly percent of women 20.1%
Judicial branch:
highest courts:
Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of 11 members; addresses judicial administration issues only); High Constitutional Court or Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (consists of 9 members); note - the judiciary includes a High Court of Justice responsible for adjudicating crimes and misdemeanors by government officials, including the president
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court heads elected by the president and judiciary officials to serve 3-year, single renewable terms; High Constitutional Court members appointed - 3 each by the president, by both legislative bodies, and by the Council of Magistrates; members serve single, 6-year terms
subordinate courts:
Courts of Appeal; provincial and city tribunals
Political parties and leaders:
I Love Madagascar (Tiako I Madagasikara) or TIM [Marc RAVALOMANANA]
Young Malagasies Determined (Malagasy: Tanora malaGasy Vonona) or TGV [Andry RAJOELINA]
Hery Vaovao ho an'ny Madagasikara or HVM [Hery Martial RAJAONARIMAMPIANINA Rakotoarimana]
GFFM [Andre Christian Dieu Donne MAILHOL]
Total Refoundation of Madagascar [Joseph Martin RANDRIAMAMPIONONA]
FOMBA [Ny Rado RAFALIMANANA]
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, CD, COMESA, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Eric ANDRIAMIHAJAMANANIRINA Robson (since 28 March 2018)
chancery:
2374 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 265-5525
FAX:
[1] (202) 265-3034
consulate(s) general:
New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Stuart R. WILSON (since 2 April 2018)
embassy:
Lot 207A, Point Liberty, Andranoro, Antehiroka, 105 Antananarivo
mailing address:
B.P. 620, Antsahavola, Antananarivo
telephone:
[261] 20 23 480 00
FAX:
[261] 20 23 480 35 or [261] 33 44 328 17
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and green with a vertical white band of the same width on hoist side; by tradition, red stands for sovereignty, green for hope, white for purity
National symbol(s):
traveller's palm, zebu; national colors: red, green, white
National anthem:
name:
"Ry Tanindraza nay malala o" (Oh, Our Beloved Fatherland)
lyrics/music:
Pasteur RAHAJASON/Norbert RAHARISOA
note: adopted 1959
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Madagascar on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Madagascar Government 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Madagascar Government 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
- Main Index
- 2019 Index
- Country Ranks
- Definitions
- Madagascar Index 2019
- Madagascar Main Index
- Introduction
- History
- Geography
- Climate Maps
- People Religion
- Government Gov. Leaders Flags
- Economy
- Energy
- Communications
- Transportation Airport Codes
- Military
- Transnational Issues
- Photos
- Advertise Here
- Feedback
This page was last modified 08-Feb-19