Madagascar Index

Madagascar People - 2021

SOURCE: 2021 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK

Nationality

noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)

adjective: Malagasy

Ethnic groups

Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran

Languages

Malagasy (official) 99.9%, French (official) 23.6%, English 8.2%, other 0.6% (2018 est.)

note: shares sum to more than 100% because some respondents gave more than one answer on the census

Madagascar’s youthful population – just over 60% are under the age of 25 – and high total fertility rate of more than 4 children per women ensures that the Malagasy population will continue its rapid growth trajectory for the foreseeable future. The population is predominantly rural and poor; chronic malnutrition is prevalent, and large families are the norm. Many young Malagasy girls are withdrawn from school, marry early (often pressured to do so by their parents), and soon begin having children. Early childbearing, coupled with Madagascar’s widespread poverty and lack of access to skilled health care providers during delivery, increases the risk of death and serious health problems for young mothers and their babies.

Child marriage perpetuates gender inequality and is prevalent among the poor, the uneducated, and rural households – as of 2013, of Malagasy women aged 20 to 24, more than 40% were married and more than a third had given birth by the age of 18. Although the legal age for marriage is 18, parental consent is often given for earlier marriages or the law is flouted, especially in rural areas that make up nearly 65% of the country. Forms of arranged marriage whereby young girls are married to older men in exchange for oxen or money are traditional. If a union does not work out, a girl can be placed in another marriage, but the dowry paid to her family diminishes with each unsuccessful marriage.

Madagascar’s population consists of 18 main ethnic groups, all of whom speak the same Malagasy language. Most Malagasy are multi-ethnic, however, reflecting the island’s diversity of settlers and historical contacts (see Background). Madagascar’s legacy of hierarchical societies practicing domestic slavery (most notably the Merina Kingdom of the 16th to the 19th century) is evident today in persistent class tension, with some ethnic groups maintaining a caste system. Slave descendants are vulnerable to unequal access to education and jobs, despite Madagascar’s constitutional guarantee of free compulsory primary education and its being party to several international conventions on human rights. Historical distinctions also remain between central highlanders and coastal people.

Age structure

0-14 years: 38.86% (male 5,278,838/female 5,196,036)

15-24 years: 20.06% (male 2,717,399/female 2,689,874)

25-54 years: 33.02% (male 4,443,147/female 4,456,691)

55-64 years: 4.6% (male 611,364/female 627,315)

65 years and over: 3.47% (male 425,122/female 509,951) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 75.9

youth dependency ratio: 70.5

elderly dependency ratio: 5.5

potential support ratio: 18.3 (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 20.3 years

male: 20.1 years

female: 20.5 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

2.31% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

29.22 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

6.09 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)

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

Urbanization

urban population: 39.2% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.26% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

3.532 million ANTANANARIVO (capital) (2021)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

19.5 years (2008/09 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality rate

335 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 39.82 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 43.06 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 36.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 67.86 years

male: 66.54 years

female: 69.22 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.7 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

44.4% (2018)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 87.9% of population

rural: 36.3% of population

total: 55.5% of population

unimproved: urban: 12.1% of population

rural: 63.7% of population

total: 44.5% of population (2017 est.)

Current Health Expenditure

4.8% (2018)

Physicians density

0.18 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density

0.2 beds/1,000 population (2010)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 42.5% of population

rural: 16.6% of population

total: 26.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 57.5% of population

rural: 83.4% of population

total: 73.9% of population (2017 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

0.3% (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

42,000 (2020 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,800 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

5.3% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

26.4% (2018)

Education expenditures

2.8% of GDP (2018)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 74.8%

male: 77.3%

female: 72.4% (2018)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 10 years

male: 10 years

female: 10 years (2018)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 3.4%

male: 3.9%

female: 3% (2015 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Madagascar on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Madagascar 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Madagascar 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.