Introduction

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world (after Greenland, Papua New Guinea and Borneo), with 587,040 sq km square of land, representing 0.4% of the land surface of the planet. It is situated in the Indian Ocean 250 km off the eastern coast of Africa opposite Mozambique, and separated by the Mozambique Channel.

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Madagascar split from the African continent 160 million years ago and reached its current position 100 million years ago. The Indian continent separated from what is now the island of Madagascar 90 million years ago, which then began to develop independently, creating an environmental ratio of non-endemic to endemic species of 1:0.28 making it an island hotspot of biological importance.

Madagascar spans almost 14 degrees of latitude. The majority of the island’s coastline has a tropical climate, inner regions have a temperate climate and the southern region is arid. This gives the island a greater degree of diversity of flora, fauna and marine habitats than any other Indian Ocean country.

Facts and figures

Continent East Africa
Time zone GMT + 3 hours
Capital Antananarivo (usually shortened to Tana)
Area 587,040 sq km
Coastline 4,828 km
Climate Tropical along the coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Terrain Narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in centre
Natural resources Graphite, chromites, coal, bauxite, mica, fish, hydropower, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious stones
Land use Arable land: 5.03%
Permanent crops 1.02%
Other 93.95% (2005)
Irrigated land 10,860 sq km (est. 2003)
Natural hazards Periodic cyclones, drought and locust infestation
Environmental issues Soil erosion from deforestation and overgrazing; desertification; surface water pollution from raw sewage and other organic wastes; several endangered species of flora and fauna unique to the island
Environment - international agreements Party to: Biodiversity, Climate change, Climate change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification , Endangered species, Hazardous wastes, Law of the sea, Marine life conservation, Ozone layer protection, Wetlands Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Source: CIA World Factbook, 2006
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ma.html

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