World Factbook
Madagascar
République de Madagascar/Repoblikan'i Madagasikara
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
77.9% (2021 est.)
female
71.8% (2021 est.)
total population
74.7% (2021 est.)
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
Religions
Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar/Malagasy Lutheran Church/Anglican Church 34%, Roman Catholic 32.3%, other Christian 8.1%, traditional/Animist 1.7%, Muslim 1.4%, other 0.6%, none 21.9% (2021 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.01 male(s)/female
total population
1.01 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.86 male(s)/female
Birth rate
27.54 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
5.95 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
21.1 years
total
20.5 years (2025 est.)
female
21.5 years
Population
male
15,647,362
total
31,345,040 (2025 est.)
female
15,697,678
Nationality
noun
Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective
Malagasy
Tobacco use
male
40.2% (2025 est.)
total
24.1% (2025 est.)
female
8.2% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
40.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
4.26% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
37% (male 5,507,847/female 5,400,551)
15-64 years
59.1% (male 8,720,012/female 8,673,880)
65 years and over
3.9% (2024 est.) (male 532,642/female 617,782)
Ethnic groups
Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran
Child marriage
men married by age 18
11.2% (2021)
women married by age 15
12.7% (2021)
women married by age 18
38.8% (2021)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
73.4 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
66.9 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
15.3 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
6.5 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.17 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
3.5% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
5.7% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.47 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 36% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 53.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 79.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 64% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 46.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 20.2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
18% national budget (2019 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
40.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total
38.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
34 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.15% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.71 (2025 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
Life expectancy at birth
male
67.3 years
female
70.3 years
total population
68.8 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
445 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 25.2% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 36.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 53.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 74.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 63.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 46.1% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.5 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.07 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.89 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.32 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
3.872 million ANTANANARIVO (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
5.3% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
19.5 years (2021 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
62.3% (2021 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
22.6% (2021 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
9 years (2019 est.)
total
9 years (2019 est.)
female
9 years (2019 est.)