The Republic of Madagascar, abbreviated as Madagascar, was formerly known as the Republic of Malagasia. It is an island country in the Indian Ocean in southeast Africa, facing the African continent across the Strait of Mozambique, with a land area of 592,000 square kilometers (including surrounding islands) and a coastline of about 5,000 kilometers. It is rich in mineral deposits, among which graphite reserves rank first in Africa. As of 2023, the Republic of Madagascar has a population of about 30.3 million, made up of 18 ethnic groups, with a total of 6 provinces and 23 regions, with the capital Antananarivo. The majority of the population professes traditional religions and Christianity, the national language is Malagasy, and the official lingua franca is French. The Republic of Madagascar is one of the least developed countries, with an economy dominated by agriculture, heavily dependent on foreign aid, a weak industrial base, and the largest producer and exporter of vanilla in the world. Water and land transportation is underdeveloped, and the railway is a monorail. In 2022, the Republic of Madagascar had a GDP of $15.23 billion and a per capita GDP of $516.6. The Republic of Madagascar is a Member State of the United Nations and a member of the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and the Organization of la Francophonie, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean Commission and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation.
