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About Madagascar |
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Madagascar,
the world's fourth largest island, has a staggering
diversity of plant and animal species, some 80% of which
are found nowhere else on the planet. It lies in the
Indian Ocean separated from Mozambique on the African
continent by 400 kilometres wide Mozambique Channel.
It has a surface area of some 600,000 square kilometres.
Besides being the home of the lemur, the island supports
two thirds of the world's chameleon species, plus the
cancer-treating Rosy Periwinkle.
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While one
of the biologically richest places on earth, it is also
one of the world’s poorest countries. Only about
a quarter of the 17 million population has access to
safe drinking water - as few as a tenth in rural areas
- and the infant mortality rate is a horrendous 1 in
10. The country typically spends as much on debt repayments
each year as it does on health and education combined.
Annual per capita income remains one of the lowest in
the world and the population often have to struggle
to survive. |
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There are
eighteen main ethnic groups in Madagascar. There has
also been significant migration from India, Pakistan,
China and Europe. Whilst Christianity is the dominant
organised religion many people still follow traditional
beliefs and values.
The first glimpses of Madagascar by Europeans occurred
in the 1500s, although there were Arab settlements as
early as the 9th Century. It became a French colony
in the late 1800s and did not regain its independence
until 1960. |
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Unlike neighbouring
Mauritus and Reunion, Madagascar is not a volcanic island.
The island can be divided geographically into three
parallel north-south regions. In the west is an area
of low plateaus that drop gently to a broad coastal
strip. Running through the centre of the island are
the hauts plateaux, which vary in altitude from 750m
to 1350m. The east is characterised with steep escarpments
that give way to rain forested hills and a narrow coastal
plain. Overall there is a dry season from April to October
and a wet season from November to March, but this does
vary depending on the region. |
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