Ben+P.+Madagascar+Page+4A

__ Political Map of Madagascar __

__ Physical Map of Madagascar __

__ Did You Know? __

Ø Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. It’s about the size of Texas. Ø Lemurs are a type of primate that live only on Madagascar and the surrounding islands. Ø A meal in Madagascar is considered incomplete without rice. Ø Madagascar’s main livestock is humped cattle called zebus.

__ Comparison Table __ *U.S. Dollars //I think the most shocking piece of data is the GDP per capita. If someone in the United States made just $932 a year, they would be homeless and very poor. I think it could be so low because the adult literacy rate is also low and many jobs require literacy. //
 *  · [|**Nation**]  ||  [|**Region**]  ||  [|**Area (square miles)**]  ||  [|**Population**]  ||  [|**Real GDP (per capita)***]  ||  [|**Adult literacy**]  ||  [|**Infant mortality (per 1,000 births)**]  ||  [|**Life expectancy (male)**]  ||  [|**Life expectancy (female)**]  ||
 * Madagascar || Africa (Southern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa)  || 226,658  || 21,281,844  || $932  || 71%  || 54  || 58  || 62  ||
 * United States of America || Americas (North America)  || 3,794,100  || 310,232,863  || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; text-align: center;">$45,592  || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; text-align: center;">99%  || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; text-align: center;">6  || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; text-align: center;">77  || <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 7.5pt; text-align: center;">81  ||

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Flag __ <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">The flag of Madagascar got its colors from the countries rich history. Red and white were the colors of the Merina Kingdom which is an ethnic group from Madagascar that first migrated from Asia. Green was the color of the Hova, who was a class of commoners who played a major role in the independence movement from France. <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Languages __ <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">The main languages of Madagascar are the official language Malagasy, French, and English. Malagasy is a mixture of Indonesian, African, Arabic, and Malaysian languages. It was the dialect of the original Merina people. French has carried over in most government and schools from when the French ruled Madagascar. Some tribes have their own unique languages, but all can understand Malagasy.

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Currency __ <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">The currency of Madagascar is called an ariary. It's split into 5 iraimbilanja, and it's also one of two non-decimal currencies in the world. In their pre-colonial currencies, ariary means silver dollar.

<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">1 US Dollar = 2,107.90 Malagasy Ariary

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Tahoma','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Size and Density __

<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Area of America: <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">3,794,100 sq. mi. <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Area of Madagascar: 226,658 sq. mi.

<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Population of America: 310,232,863 <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Population of Madagascar: 21,281,844

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Population Density of America: 82 people per square mile <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Population Density of Madagascar: 94 people per square mile

//<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Though Madagascar has more people per square mile, they still have a smaller population. Their population size could be because of the larger infant mortality rate and the smaller area. //

__<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Infant Mortality and Birth Rate __ <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Birth rate of Madagascar: 37.89 births/1,000 population <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Birth rate of America: 13.83 births/1,000 population

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Infant mortality rate of Madagascar: 54 per 1,000 <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Infant mortality rate of America: 6 per 1,000

//<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">It's interesting that Madagascar's birth rate is a lot more than America's, but since their infant mortality rate is so high, their population is still a lot less. // <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">

__<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Life Expectancy and Adult Literacy __ <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Life Expectancy in Madagascar (male): 58 <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Life Expectancy in America (male): 77 <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Life Expectancy in Madagascar (female): 62 <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Life Expectancy in America (female): 81

<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Adult Literacy in Madagascar: 71% <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Adult Literacy in America: 99%

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Gross Domestic Product (per capita) __

<span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Madagascar: $932 <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">America: $45,592

//<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">The gross domestic product per capita is essentially the average amount of money each citizen earns. Madagascar’s might be so low because of the small percentage of adult literacy, because jobs that require literacy usually pay more. It could also be because the overall economy is doing poorly, and it’s based mainly on agriculture. //

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Government __ <span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Madagascar’s government is a democracy similar to America’s. They have a president who is head of state, and a prime minister who is head of government. The acting president is <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Andry Rajoelina, and he is elected to a five year term. They also have a 100 seat senate and a 127 seat National Assembly. Religious groups have a large influence in the government as well. The voting age is 18, just like in America.

__<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Political Leader(s) __ <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Andry Rajoelina, below (president) <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"> <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Albert Camille Vital (prime minister)

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Religions Practiced __ <span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Nearly half of Madagascar has indigenous beliefs that worship a supreme being called //<span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Andriamanitra //<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">, and see ancestors as a passage between the living and the dead. This religion also includes sacrificing zebus. The other half is almost completely Christian. Christianity came to Madagascar from England around the 1800’s.

__<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">Economy __ <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">The Malagasy economy is focused mainly on agriculture, and many cash crops (coffee, cloves, vanilla, and sugar) are exported to many places around the world. Their main livestock are zebus, sheep, and pigs. College graduates have trouble finding jobs, because the labor force is so agriculture oriented. __<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 16pt;">History __ <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">People first came to Madagascar almost two thousand years ago. They were the Merina people from Southeast Asia. They combined with a few African explorers to create the first Malagasy people. <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">During the 1500’s, Madagascar was a hot spot for pirates. The pirates also kept away the British. <span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Until about 1790, Madagascar was just a jumble of coastal tribes. Then, the Merina king, <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Andrianampoinimerina united the tribes and established Antananarivo as the capital. The Merina people kept control, and worked on uniting the entire island, before France took control of Madagascar in 1896. Madagascar revolted against French rule in 1947. The French suppressed the revolution and killed nearly 80,000 people. Madagascar still desired freedom, and they were granted it in 1960. Since then, the Malagasy have created their own government and grown into a nation, <span style="font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt;">but the French still have a major influence on the Malagasy people.

__<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Current Events __ <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Currently in Madagascar, the job of president is in question. After the 2001 election, it wasn't clear which candidate had the majority. There was a huge conflict of protests, and after a recount, a president was finally chosen. The other candidate was exiled for accusations of rigging the poles. Then in 2009, the mayor of the capital city took temporary control by force from the president who refused to give up power. Everything has now been straightened out, and a new election is to take place in March, 2011. One thing that the temporary president did while in office was lowering the minimum age of presidential candidates from 40 to 35, so he will be able to run in the upcoming election.

//<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">I think the reason Madagascar is having problems in their government is because they are a new nation, and they're still working on becoming a nation with a working system of government. // __<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">National Anthem __ <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Oh, Dear Homeland <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Music By: Norbert Raharisoa Lyrics By: Pasteur Rahajason <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">media type="file" key="Madagascar.mp3" width="264" height="22" <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 0px; margin-bottom: 0pt; overflow: hidden;"> __<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Google Earth Tour of Madagascar __

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__<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">Link to Madagascar Wordle __ []

__<span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">References and Resources __ <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">culturegrams.com <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">ciaworldfactbook.gov <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">flickrcc.com <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">wikimediacommons.com <span style="background: white; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 14pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">googleearth.com