Madagascar

AfricaCapital city: AntananarivoCapital metro: AntananarivoPresident: Michael Randrianirina
2026 population
32.7M
Rank #49 globally
Area
587k km² (227k sq mi)
Metros tracked
7
17% of population in metros
Composite score
4.2
Rank #139 globally

population: National annual projection (1 Jul 2026) · indicators as of 5 Sep 2026 · 7 metros tracked

🗺️ Geography7 metros

Madagascar metro footprint, shaded by composite tier.

Loading map…
7 polygons

Select a metro for its rank and a link to its page. Boundaries derived from Overture Maps administrative divisions; metros without source coverage are omitted.

🏙️ 7 tracked metros
7 metros
#853Antananarivo★ Capital▲ Largest
Analamanga · 4.0M · Emerging Metro
2.2
Anosy · 361K · Local Metro
0.4
Atsinanana · 351K · Local Metro
0.4
Boeny · 258K · Local Metro
0.3
#2287Toliara
Atsimo-Andrefana · 175K · Local Metro
0.3
Diana · 135K · Local Metro
0.3
#2452Nosy Be
Diana · 118K · Local Metro
0.3
🗂️ Regions

22 entries listed under Madagascar. Select any to see its metros and footprint.

22 total
📋 At a glance
Official languages
French, Malagasy
Currency
Ariary (MGA)
Government
Republic
Legislature
Parliament of Madagascar
Demonym
Malagasy
Time zone
UTC+03:00
Driving side
Right
Calling code
+261
Internet TLD
.mg
ISO 3166
MG
Established
1960
Highest point
Maromokotro (2,876 m (9,436 ft))
National anthem
Ry Tanindrazanay malala ô!

Facts via Wikidata.

🗣️ Languages of Madagascar

Plateau Malagasy first; 3 languages share the country; 3 official.

LanguageShareStatus
Plateau Malagasy90%Official
French27%Official
English18%Official

Shares count first and second language, so they overlap and can add past 100%.

English reach
18%
Tier 3 country
Effective languages
1.1
Official-language gap
10%
Plateau Malagasy is spoken by 90%

Madagascar on the languages board · Language power

💹 Economy and developmentLow income
Human Dev. Index
#181 / 191
0.487
UNDP · 2023
GDP
#134 / 193
$19.6B
World Bank · 2025
GDP per capita
#190 / 193
$599
World Bank · 2025
GDP/capita (PPP)
#182 / 190
$2.0k
World Bank · 2025
GNI/capita (Atlas)
#189 / 192
$560
World Bank · 2025
Life expectancy
#174 / 194
63.8 yrs
World Bank · 2024
Median age
18.9 yrs
UN WPP · 2023
Urban population
#166 / 194
33%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. growth
2.4%
World Bank · 2025
Pop. density
#131 / 193
54/km² (139/mi²)
World Bank · 2023
Foreign-born
#192 / 193
0.1%
World Bank · 2024
Rule of law
#149 / 175
0.15
V-Dem · 2025
Gini index
#98 / 166
36.8
World Bank · 2021
Internet users
#181 / 193
19%
World Bank · 2024
Inflation
#152 / 185
8.1%
World Bank · 2025
CO₂ per capita
★ #10 / 192
0.1 t
Global Carbon Budget · 2024
Renewable electricity
#80 / 186
42%
Ember · 2024

Ranks are among sovereign countries with data; ★ marks a top-5% finish. Sources: World Bank Open Data and Our World in Data (UNDP, UN WPP, V-Dem, Global Carbon Budget, Ember, Energy Institute; CC BY 4.0). Each card credits its originating body. Renewable share is of electricity generation, not of primary energy. Each figure is the most recent year available.

Alliances & Organisations2 full memberships

Political & Economic

Subregional

Full memberDashed border = Candidate / ApplicantItalic = Dialogue / Observer

🏛️ Leadership History20 leaders · click to expand

marks a monarch.

Other

Michael Randrianirina✦ Current
President · 0y 8m
2025–Present
Andry Rajoelina
President · 6y 8m
2019–2025
Hery Rajaonarimampianina
President · 4y 7m
2014–2018
Andry Rajoelina
President · 4y 10m
2009–2014
Marc Ravalomanana
President · 6y 8m
2002–2009
Didier Ratsiraka
President · 5y 4m
1997–2002
Norbert Ratsirahonana
President · 0y 5m
1996–1997
Albert Zafy
President · 3y 5m
1993–1996
Didier Ratsiraka
President · 17y 9m
1975–1993
Gilles Andriamahazo
President · 0y 4m
1975–1975
Richard Ratsimandrava
President · 0y 0m
1975–1975
Gabriel Ramanantsoa
President · 2y 3m
1972–1975

Kingdom of Madagascar

Ranavalona III
Queen · 13y 6m
1883–1897
Ranavalona II
Queen · 14y 10m
1868–1883
Rasoherina
Queen · 4y 10m
1863–1868
Radama II
King · 1y 8m
1861–1863
Ranavalona I
Queen · 33y 0m
1828–1861
Radama I
King · 18y 6m
1810–1828
Andrianampoinimerina
King · 23y 0m
1787–1810
📈 Power over timeThe Power Atlas →
Today
Minor#134 · 0.0%
3%5%8%10%2000
Power (headline share)Latent (material mass)Recognised (standing)

The power line is the headline share of world power, running from the state’s first ranked year (benchmark estimates with wide error bars before 1816). Latent power is material mass a state could mobilise (population, manpower, heavy industry). Recognised power is what the system actually treats it as (military spending, productive economy, reach, and status such as a Security Council seat or nuclear arsenal). When latent runs above recognised, a power is rising or under-rated; when recognised runs higher, it is punching above its weight or coasting on prestige. Material sub-indices run 1816 through 2016.

👥 Population over time
Population 2023
31.2m
#49 in the world
Since 1800
21×
from 1.5m
Peak
2023
at its largest now
Share of world
0.39%
0.15% in 1800
8.4m16.8m25.1m33.5m18001850190019502000

Our World in Data population (CC BY): UN WPP 2024 from 1950, Gapminder v7 1800-1949, HYDE 3.3 earlier; today's borders. Figures above are as of 2023, the last year that is estimated rather than forecast. The dashed tail to 2026 is a UN WPP medium-variant projection. It is drawn because the line should reach the present, and drawn differently because it has not happened yet: no rank, peak or share on this page uses it. Before 1950 the series is reconstruction rather than contemporaneous statistics, which is worth knowing when a country’s peak sits back there. The current population shown elsewhere on this page comes from the workbook and is unchanged by this. Note that people and share of world can move in opposite directions. A country can grow steadily and still become a smaller part of humanity, which is what happened to almost every rich country after 1960.

👥 To 2100

The UN’s probabilistic projection for Madagascar: the median with its 80% and 95% bands, the UN’s own high, low and zero-migration scenarios beside it. Not this site’s model; the site reads it and says what it implies.

Peak on the median
after 2100
still growing at 2100
2050
53.2m
95% band 43.9m to 64.3m
2100
85.3m
95% band 45.1m to 185m
2100 against 2025
2.61×
median still rising in 2100
48.4m96.9m145m194m1950197520002025205020752100
estimateUN median80% and 95% bandshigh and low fertilityzero migration

What drives it

Births, deaths and net migration on the UN medium path, with fertility, life expectancy and median age, every decade from 1950.

1950
197k born · 97k died · 0 net migration
TFR 7.43 · life expectancy 39.7 · median age 19.7
1960
243k born · 110k died · 0 net migration
TFR 7.34 · life expectancy 43.3 · median age 16.8
1970
312k born · 118k died · -3k net migration
TFR 7.10 · life expectancy 47.9 · median age 15.6
1980
422k born · 146k died · -4k net migration
TFR 6.84 · life expectancy 50.0 · median age 15.4
1990
532k born · 171k died · -2k net migration
TFR 6.14 · life expectancy 52.1 · median age 15.8
2000
694k born · 173k died · -4k net migration
TFR 5.67 · life expectancy 58.0 · median age 16.1
2010
815k born · 174k died · -2k net migration
TFR 4.90 · life expectancy 62.6 · median age 16.7
2020
964k born · 228k died · -1k net migration
TFR 4.17 · life expectancy 62.7 · median age 18.4

Every country to 2100 →

Source: United Nations, DESA, Population Division. World Population Prospects 2024. Licensed under CC BY 3.0 IGO. Estimates to 2023; projections 2024 to 2100, medium variant and probabilistic intervals. The UN revises every two years; this is the WPP 2024 revision.

🏆 National Teams

Madagascar on the international stage. Select a card for the full record.