NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 62; MALAGASY REPUBLIC; COUNTRY PROFILE

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• Collection: NIS
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080038-6
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i
Malag a-uma;' L Re ublic
p
August 1973
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY
SECRET
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GENERAL SURVEY CHAPTERS
COUNTRY PROFILE Integrated perspective of the
subject country Chronology Area Brief Sum-
mary Map
THE SOCIETY Social structure Population
Living and working conditions Religion Edu-
cation Artistic expression Public information
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Political evo-
lution of the state Governmental strength and
stability Structure and function Political dy-
namics National policies Threats to stability
The police Intelligence and security Counter
subversive measures and capabilities
THE ECONOMY Appraisal of the economy Its
structure agriculture, fisheries, forestry, fuels and
power, metals and minerals, manufacturing and con-
struction Domestic trade Economic policy and
development Manpower International eco-
nomic relations
TRANSPORTATION AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS Appraisal of systems
Strategic mobility Railroads Highways
Inland waterways Ports Merchant marine
Civil air Airfields Telecommunications
MILITARY GEOGRAPHY Topography and climate
Military geographic regions Strategic areas
Internal routes Approaches: sea, air
ARMED FORCES The defense establishment
joint activities Army Navy Air force Para
military
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Country Profile: I V 1 a I d g d S y
Republic
The Island Anomaly 1
Who Are Thar People? The ARgre%sirc
Minority SuhAsterim for the Majority
The .%Worn Few Building a Nation
Chronolosy Id
Area Brief 16
Summary Map follows
This Country Profile was prepared for the NIS by
the Central Intelhgence Agency. Research uai sub-
stantially completed by April 197:1.
S *A
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Country Profile: I V 1 a I d g d S y
Republic
The Island Anomaly 1
Who Are Thar People? The ARgre%sirc
Minority SuhAsterim for the Majority
The .%Worn Few Building a Nation
Chronolosy Id
Area Brief 16
Summary Map follows
This Country Profile was prepared for the NIS by
the Central Intelhgence Agency. Research uai sub-
stantially completed by April 197:1.
S *A
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The Island Anomaly
The tropical Indian Ocean island of Madagascar,
whose political name is the Malagasy Republic, is an
anomaly in many ways. On the map the huge island
looks like a fragment of Africa; yet its relationship to
the continent is remote, and it has developed in isola-
tion into a land different from any other. Strange
plants and animals found there exist nowhere else on
earth, and even the people differ from those of Africa.
The tribal cultures appear much more Asian, and in
fact the people are descendants of Malayo- Polynesians
who crossed the Indian Ocean in outrigger canoes
before historic times'. Later relationships �with
maritime peoples like the Arabs, French, and British;
with immigrant groups from China, India, and Re-
union and f '.,moro Islands; and with the many slaves
brought in from Africa �all have helped shape the
culture of Madagascar. (U /OU)
Malagasy society is superficially homogeneous; all
18 tribes share the same basic culture and speak
dialects of the same language� conditions that might
seem ideal for the development of a unified society.
Beneath this surface homogeneity, however, there are
distinct differences between the important Merina
tribe of the highlands and the coastal tribes. These t.vo
groups have developed a keen sense of separate inden-
tity, and animosity rather than cooperation has
characterized their relations. Although all the
Malagasy people speak closely related dialects, the
differences in dialect seem as exasperating to the
islanders as if there were differences of language. The
people vary in physical appearance from Malaysian to
African, and their customs differ considerably from
one locality to another. The island almost as large as
Texas includes a number of major ecological regions,
each with its own climate and wav of life: life in the
cool central highlands is quite diffewnt from that of
the tropical rain forests of the east coast or the
"tropical paradise" of the -sic of Nosy Be and adjacent
coast, where the traveler might imagine himself in a
particularly beautiful corner of Polynesia. (U /OU)
Since June 1960 the Malagasy Republic has been an
independent nation, and, in spite of sharp ethnic con-
flicts, the country until 1972 was relatively stable.
From 1895 to 1960 the country was a French colony,
but before the French came tiladagascar already hrd a
dynamic civilization headed b%- an aggressive minor
ity, the Merina. Under Fr nch rule, the Malagasy peo-
ple adopted parts of the French culture, but without
fundamentally altering their own culture. With in-
dependence there was a chance they could begin in
earnest their own slow progress toward a Malagasy
identity and unity that would override their longstand-
ing religious, economic, and social differences.
Ethnic conflicts and the problem of controlling French
economic interests in Madagascar were not solved,
however, and various groups are now pressing for
radical changes, many of which would further exacer-
bate tribal hostilities. The Malagasy Republic Govern-
ment is seeking policies that will calm tribal passions
and deal with the conflicting demands for reform.
(U /OU)
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Who Are These People? (ujou)
The first Malayo- Polynesian immigrants came to
Madagascar possibly as early as the beginning of the
Christian era and probably found no earlier in-
habitan!s. Some of the pioneers may have come via the
cast coast of Africa� arriving finally with African
women and produce in their outsize canoes. After A.D.
goo, when the Arabs became the dominant maritime�
power on the Indian Ocean, they established
settlements on the coasts of Madagascar and brought
in Bantu slaves as farm labor and as merchandise.
From then on until the late 19th century, major ac-
tivities around the coasts were the sale of Africans and
the purchase of islanders (prisoners taken in tribal
wars).
In appearance tile people range from
.Malayo- Polynesian types who would be at home in In-
donesia to Bantu types of black Africa; the nwjorih
have traits of both. The coastal tribes now tend to be
Negroid in appearance, whereas the highland people,
particularly of the upper classes, tend to be of the
Malaysian type and have rigid t. !)oos against
marriage with anyone of slave descent. The earl
African arrivals adopted Malagasy. a language which
belongs to the Malayo- Polym-sian stock but which has
words added front Arabic, S.vahili, French, English,
and other languages. Only the recent immigrants from
the Comoro Islands now speak African dialects.
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The traditional Malagasy religion has neither priests
nor temples, but it. sway over the people's lives is
almost absolute. It involves the individual in a lifetime
of constant appeasement of the spirits of his ancestors
(as well as of a multitude of nature spirits). To the
Malagasy people, the most potent spirits are those of
their immediate forebears, who are felt to concern
themselves constantly and intimately with family af-
fairs. The family tomb is the most sacred of all hal-
lowed places, and the head of the family or clan is un-
derstood to have special responsibility as intermediary
between the living and the dead. A particularly impor-
tant ceremony, known as the famadihana, brings
farnily members home tn participate even if they have
jobs hundreds of miles away. In this ceremony the
family takes its corpses from the tomb, washes them,
and re-fothes them in fresh shrouds.The occasion is one
for dancing, singing, feasting. and general gaiety, and
relatives take home pieces of the old shrouds as good
luck symbols.
The animistic Malagasy religion affects every aspect
of life, and even the Christianized and
Western- educated members of the community are
likely to call on the augur, or diviner, to fix the date for
a marriage, for beginning a new venture, for moving
into a house, and for all sorts of advice. Respect for the
spiritual imperatives is enforced by taboos. Transgres-
sion of the taboos is thought to expose an individual to
the spirits' vengeance, which could take the form of
the loss of crops and cattle, serious illness, and even
death. These powerful convictions impel the Malagasy
people to shun innovations and to live as nearly as
possible as their forebears have done. The basic sor;:.l
bond is the right to be buried in the family tomb, and
the worst possible punishment is to be denied it. The
best way to escape harm and to conform to the in-
numerable rules that govern all aspects of Malagasy
life is to avoid the new and the unknown.
The Aggressive Minority (ulou)
"For the coastal ptoiples, the Merina of the highlands
is even more foreign than is the F.urota�an." from Le
Monde. 23 January 40% quoting a French
anthropologist. 1073
Except for the longstanding friction between the
aggressive highland tribe, the Merina, and the rest of
the tribes (often referred to collectively as the cotters,
or coastal tribes), the Malagasy people are noted for
their friendliness to fallow tribesmen and to strangers.
They tend to treat all strangers �whose innate power
for evil is an unknown quantity �with respect, and
thus foreigners find themselves treated wit', courteous
caution anywhere on the island The villager's %%ants,
like his forefather's, are few and easily
satisfied enough land to grow the family's rice and a
place for the family tomb, plus a few head of cattle for
various uses, including sacrifice. Extra work is justified
at times to obtain a special item, such as a bicycle,
but most people see little reason to exert themselves all
day long every clay.
In addition to an estimated 7 million Malagasy
natives (there has never been a detailed census of the
whole island), at least 100,000 non Malagasy people
live on Madagascar. The largest of these minorities
consists of Muslims of African and Arab origin from
the nearby Comoro Islands; officially there were
39,000 Comorians on Madagascar in 1970, but un-
official estimates run as high as 100,000. Next
in number are the French (including the Reunionese),
of whom about 30,000 �ernain; they have controlled
most of the industry, banking, international trade,
and plantation agriculture. France is committed by
treaty to help with the island's defense, and a de-
tachment of French troops is stationed there. Next
in importance among the minorities are the 17,000
Indians (mostly Muslims from what is now Pakistan)
and the 20,000 Chinese; these two groups are the
shopkeepers and traders of rural Madagascar. except
in the Merina dominated highlands. About a thou-
sand Yemeni and a few hundred Creeks, originally
contract labor for the French, have settled on Mada-
gascar.
Though all have inherited the same language and
basically animistic culture, the Merina are more
aggressive and energetic than the cotters. They proudly
regard themselves as different, and they have
developed many differences in their way f life. In
highland valleys, where the climate is much cooler
than on the coasts, the Merina have thrived and have
become the richest, best educated, and most adaptable
of the Malagasy peoples. They have been strongly
affected by British Protestantism, whereas the coders
are ge,wrally more influenced by Catholicism.
K
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The Merina probably migrated to Madagascar
many centuries later than the coastal tribes. Their oral
traditions say that, finding no free land along the
coast, they moved up to the highlands, where lived
only the dark- skinned "Vazimba �a legendary peo-
ple with great magical powers. Families that consider
themselves to be of pure Merina blood tend to have
light bone structure and straight or wavy hair; some
have dark skin, which is riot itself undesirable, for it
may be attributed to a Vazimba princess in the
ancestry. Strong caste rules prohibit intermarriage with
anyone showing signs of African slave ancestry, as
denoted by kinky hair. This prejudice is well known to
the cotters, many of whom have kinky hair.
Until late in the 18th century, the Merina kingdom
of Tananarive occupied only a small area in the
highlands. The Tananarive and other Merina clans,
and their neighbors the Betsileo, were notable growers
of rice and engineers of irrigation systems. Gradually
the kingdom at Tananarive grew to include all the
Merina clans and conquered the Betsileo tribe. (Akin
to the Merina in appearance, the Betsileo are even
more industrious as rice farmers and craftsmen but less
able as warriors and administrators.) Then, conscript-
ing labor and building new canals and terraces, with
the result that the upland valleys look like something
out of Southeast Asia, the Merina unified the
highlands.
By 1820 the Merina monarchy ruled much of the
island and was an organizeu political state recognized
by both Britain and France. In 1817 the Merina es-
tablished their first embassy in London, and the British
sent a military adviser, Sgt. Hastie, to train the Merina
army and equip it with Napoleonic -war surplus
weapons, which the Merina used to conquer the
island. Western influence has effected Madagascar in
many ways since then, but mostly it has altered the
Merina. They were changed because �men and
women alike �they were eager to absorb and use
Western knowledge, and they were molded by u.itish
Protestant missionaries and teachers before being con-
quered by the French.
British missionaries and artisans established primary
schools and training programs. The Latin alphabet
was adapted to the Merina dialect, a grammar and a
Malagasy- English dictionary were compiled, and by
1821 about 4,000 Merina could read and write the
Malagasy language. (Until then, Arabs had served as
royal scribes, and no Malagasy people could read or
write.) The extraordinary surge in education con-
tinued. Education to age 16 was compulsory, and in
1885 it was estimated that 85% of the Merina children
were attending missioiu schools, where they were
taught in the Malagasy language. Under British
guidunce artisans were trained by the
thousands� tait tiers, stonecutters, carpenters,
leatherworkers, blacksmiths, tinsmiths, and printers.
The French were competing with the British for in-
fluence among the Merina, and a few Frenchmen were
very successful Probably the most remarkable was a
shipwrecked sailor, Jean Laborde, who became a
favorite of the `lerina Queen and then built an amaz-
ing industrial town near Tananarive; however, in 1857
an antiforeign mob destroyed his town, and he was
forced to flee the country. The French seemed to lose
out completely when Protestantism became the official
Merina religion in 1869.
After the opening or the Suez Canal that same year,
however, British interest in Madagascar diminished.
Without government support the London Missionary
Society could riot compete with the French Govern-
ment. In 1885, after a French blockade of the island, a
peace treaty empowered the French to install a
Resident General at Tananarive to control Malagasy
foreign affairs and represent French trading interests.
The Merina controlled internal affairs for another
decade, until 20,000 French troops invaded.
Resistance was light, and fewer than 50 French soldiers
died in battle (although several thousand died of dis-
ease). In 1896 a French protectorate exiled the Queen,
abolished the institution of royalty, and named Gen.
Joseph Gallieni �later to become renowned as savior
of Paris in 1914 �as the civil and military commander
of Madagascar.
To control the dynamic Merina, by far the most ad-
vanced of the Malagasy tribes, the French eliminated
the Merina civil service and tried to use cosier
trib-smea in local administrative jobs. The cotiers
v _-re found not to have the education or skills for such
positions, however, and were moving back into the
better jobs. By 1960, when French rule ended, the dis-
crepancies between the Merina and the cotiers had not
beer reduced; in some respects they were even greater
than they had been in 1896.
Before and after independence, the Merina have
shown that it is not easy to keep them down. Only a
quarter of the total population, they constitute
probably 80% of the doctors, lawyers, teachers, civil
servants, and paid workers in general �and this in a
country where about 90% of the labor force do not
work for wages at all but subsist in the traditional
economy of farming and herding. Whatever
ministration the country has, it will probably have to
be run for a long time though the Merina cadre of
skilled civil servants and professional people.
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Subsistence for the Majority (u/ou)
"W- 4A1 r41114.�
The Rupnhliv i one of the� world's poor
eonntrie with a (oaer GI)I per capita figure than
man% .lfrican countries. %et there is generally enough
III eat. The island i� �elf- snffic�ient in the essentials �hy
it� pn��ent standard�and depends on foreign trade
primarii% to meet the desire� of the --mall modern sec�
br of mwieh 'pine old of tell (N�ople� live almost en-
tirely o11 1 --ide the umney ev nromy heing more or Tess
�4- If- emplo%ed at subsistence� farming, livestock raising,
handivrafh, er fishing. Then need money at times for
,loth or bic�vele. lout they can trade l(wally for most
of what the% want :after the harvest, IH�ople Sometimes
drift from the village% to the c�itim. lierhaps with
.onwthine its m-11 in the public market, and sornetirnes
the% 1rk for a lob. but after it short stay most of them
qo busk to their %illav
lrnong the non- Merina tribes. the adventurous
doling have a marked taste for travel, but the family
tonif and ricefield are magnets that draw them hack
home�: these same forces tend to make permanent
vinignetion acceptable only in terms of a tribal expan-
sion that involves the shift of whole family units.
Migration from one rural area to another is much
t;mater than is the movement to the towns. Men of the
semiarid smith often leave their homeland for seasonal
work, and many families have migrated permanently.
The expanding tribes of the interior, particularly the
Me�rina and Betsileo, have established new, ethnicall
homogeneous villages in undeveloped river valleys to
the .vest. There has been little movement, however, by
other tribes into the homelands of the Merina and Bet
silco.
5
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Ambitious Merina young people are drawn to
Tananarive �the nations capital and only large city
(more than 400,000 inhabitants) �in the heart of the
Merina homeland. The center of the nation's political
and economic life, it attracts many migrants and has a
significant unemployment problem. Tananarive has
little attraction, however, for non Merina people.
Madagascar's diverse regions permit different ways
of life. Despite an old saying that it has the color and
fertility of a red brick, the island has some sizable areas
of fertile soil, and because of its diversity of climates
and soils, a wide variety of tropical and temperate
zone crops can be grown. The most striking aspect of
the island is the huge expanse of bare rolling hills and
mountains in the interior. The great forests that once
covered almost all of Madagascar have b, en destroyed
through the centuries, and forests remain only along
the coasts and in scattered groves in the interior.
Herders and farmers burn over vast areas every year,
because the ashes fertilize the soil and enable them to
farm or graze the land for a few seasons. The destruc-
tion of vegetation has led to widespread erosion, and
the exposed red clay has earned Madagascar its
nickname, "the great red island." The government has
a strong program for reforestation and tries to prevent
the burning, but most of tl,e people regard it as
necessary to their way of life.
In the highlands, the Merina and Betsileo have
developed agriculture to a relatively high degree. Their
highland basins and valleys have a mild, sunny
climate with plentiful summer rainfall. They use
almost every acre of the valley floors and lower slopes,
leveling and terracing to grow irrigated rice as their
major crop, plus vegetables, fruits, and coffee during
the dry season. They raise poultry, pigs, and a few
cattle usually oxen for plowing and pulling the ox-
cart, still the main form of rural transport. Livestock
graze on the eroded upper slopes, where meager grass
grows after the burning. Near Tananarive there is some
dairying, and a modern milk- treatment plant was
opened in 1965. In some ways this highland
agriculture resembles that of southern Japan, though
considerably less productive.
The tropical east coast is an environment that has
not yet been mastered. Mountains rise in a sheer wall
50 to 75 miles from the coast, and the rivers tumble
and race down to the sea. The inhabitants, mostly of
the Betsimisaraka tribe, live in large villages perched
above narrow river valleys, raising coffee, various
tropical fruits and vegetables, and, in some cases,
vanilla and cloves. They grow mountain rice on
neriodical'.y burned land and use some valley bottoms
L
r
as irrigated paddy fields. Rain is heavy all year
typhoons hit the coast in late winter, and every 2 or 3
years catastrophic floods wipe out wh-ie villages, cut
roads, sweep away irrigated fields, and destroy crops.
Most of the 10 million cattle on Madagascar are in
the western half of the island, where several
tribes- especially the Bara, Sakalava, Antandrov, and
Mahafaly� center their life around them. The horned
and humped zebu cattle are cherished as sacrifidal
animals, as living capital, and as status symbols. The
cattlemen want to own as many as possible, regardless
of age, size, or condition. A man's status is displayed
by the number of cattle sacrificed at his funeral, and
skulls and horns often are placed on the tomb as
a permanent record. Because the best speci-
mens� preferably young bulls �are slain at religious
and family ceremonies, the herds generally consist
of cows and the poorer bulls.
The cattlemen are also haphazard farmers; with
each year's rainy season they plant rice and other crops
in the valleys, and the young people take the cattle up
into the hills for the new grass. They make little effort
to avoid overgrazing or to grow fodder for the dry
season. In areas where the young unmarried men
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Merina highland farmers.

traditionally steal cattle from neighboring tribes :o
prove their manliness, the animals are driven into cor-
rals at night. These overcrowded enclosures are never
cleaned, because most tribes do not use manure as fer-
tilizer, and diseases spread rapidly among the under-
nourished cattle. Probably more than half the calves
die during the first year.
Except in the Merina dominated highlands, the
middlemen of rural Madagascar are Chinese in the
east and Indians in the west. They run the general
stores in the villages, and they buy and sell and trade
and lend, for the coastal people have not acquired the
taste or experience for commerce. The Chinese and In-
dians have the patience to permit customers to handle
every item in the store before buying perhaps one
cigarette, a few lumps of sugar, or a pair of plastic san-
dals. To make a profit, the village shop must stock
small quantities of an endless variety of goods, ranging
from foodstuffs to toys and clothing.
The merchants keep a grip on Malagasy families by
advancing them goods during the year against a share
in the next harvest. lit addition, they buy the call;
crops �such as coffee, cloves, and vanilla �for sale to
export firms. Many storekeepers form part of a chain
headed by a woolesale grocer in a larger town who
owns a truck. He may control a dozen village
The Modern Few (u/ou)
"There is no doubt that the Malagasy in all parts of
the island can almost always procure without ap�
preciahle effort what he waits in order to nourish,
clothe, and house himself. To leave the native in this
condition is to renounce for him all progress, all im-
provement in his social anal economic position...."
Quotation from Ncuf Ans a Madagascar. General
Callieni, 1908, page 272.
The Malagasy elite tend to live like the French. The
Malagasy government official. who spent many years
working under French officials, regards the perquisites
enjoyed by the French as eminently suitable for
himself, now that he is an official of the sovereign
Malagasy Republic. All the doctors, lawyers, bankers,
businessmen, and government officials have risen
though the French system. They may still be firmly
rooted in the Malagasy culture in some respects, but
they tend to consume like Frenchmen.
storekeepers by u system of advances either in goods or
in cash before' harvests; their relationship thus
resembles that of the storekeeper and the peasunt. The
government is anxious to control the Asian middlemen
but not nee ^scarily to eliminate them, for there is no
one to replace them.
Traditionally the country has been considered to be
underpopulated, but the near doubling of population
in the past 25 years I ,s created patches of overpopula-
tion. Until the end of World War If the high death
rate especially among children �from m Muria,
tuberculosis, and other diseases trade the French
despair of ever "developing" the island through its in-
digenous population. The French even considered
mass transfers of pe tple from the Comoro and Reunion
islands, in spite of the Malagasy people's extreme dis-
like of them. After World War It the French began to
improve the public health services and to use DDT to
combat malaria, which in the past had caused 30,; of
all deaths. The "problem of underpopulation" was
resolved by the spectacular increase in recent decades,
but some Malnusy officials still think in the old way
and would like to, promote further growth. As recently
as 1967, President Tsiranana urged every Malagasy
family to have 12 children.
Each year the stnali elite group absorbs a greater
amount of expensive consumer imports, and, like the
French officials in colonial days, they try to pay for it
by increasing production for export. However, most of
the island's exports must compete in the world market
with better quality products at a lower price from other
trepical countries that are located nearer the center of
demand, and the government's efforts to increase and
improve these products encounter many obstacles,
particularly that of Malagasy indifference toward
economic progress. Since independence, imports have
exceeded exports: in 1971 exports totaled only US$ 147
million. while imports reached $211 trillion. Generous
foreign aid averaging nearly $50 million per year
(mostly from France, the Eli opean Community, and
Jhe United Nations) has helped offset the annual
deficits. The U.S. AID program is concentrated in
7
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livestock, railroads, and communications. AID
self -help funds have averaged about $100,000 MUM
ally in re -mot years. In addition, AID contributes
about $700,000 per year in supplies to school food
prograins administered by Catholic Relief Services
and takes part in other programs operated by Church
World Services and the United Nations World Food
Program.
About 85% of Madagascar's exports are agric! ?4ural
products; minerals (4.5% of exports in 1971), refined
petroleum products (4%), and shrimp (3%) follow in
importance. Expansion of mineral production seems
unlikely unless new deposits turn tip. No oil or gas
fields have been found, although foreign companies
are prospecting, onshore and offshore. An oil refinery
at Tamatave refines enough foreign crude to supply
the domestic market and have some left for export.
Fishing is not a popular occupation, but the recent ex-
pansion of shrimp fishing shows that it has
possibilities. The government hopes to develop port
and fleet :acilities for deep -sea fishing and arouse some
interest in it.
Development of modem economy is hindered by the
inadequacy of Madagascar's transportation. During
the rainy season the regio -,:s are essentially isolated
from each other except by air or coastal shipping. The
most populous and developed areas are in the interior
and are linked to the coasts by a few poor roads, two
small, obsolete rail lines, and expensive air service.
Only intermittent short stretches of the rivers are
navigable, and river traffic is negligible. Population
centers are far apart, and the cost of maintaining roads
through the difficult terrain between them becomes
ruinous for a poor country.
Probably the most suitable areas for economic ex-
pansion are in agriculture, but here the government
planners come tip against the resistance of their coun-
tryman the Malagasy peasant. His deep and constant
fear of offending the omnipresent and omnipotent
spirits has intensified his natural peasant conservatism.
He is generally unresponsive to the government's ef-
forts to improve his agricultural techniques and equip-
ment, to have him plant different crops, to offer him
credit and selected seed, and even to persuade him to
register his ownership of land. The planners generally
believe that cotton could be valuable for a local textile
industry and for export, but decades of effort have
brought slow progress. In the Mangoky valley, for ex-
ample, it proved to be very difficult to persuade the
farmers to raise cotton as a cash crop instead of cape
peas (lima beans). The cotton was four times as
valuable per acre, but the cape peas were easy to grow
8
and left the farmers much leisure time �which they
preferred to the extra money.
The supply of Malagasy labor to work for wages has
never been dependable. Under the Merina monarchy
the elite economy was based on slave labor and on
forced labor (coruee) by freemen. (During the 19th
century, freemen were required to work so much for
local government officials that slaves, who were not
subject to the coruee, are said to ha ve refused offers of
freedom.) The French could build the island's roads
and railroads �such as they are �only by using forced
labor, both military and civilian. In their effort to pry
loose a little manpower, the French also tried to push
people into the money economy by imposing heavy
poll taxes, on the theory that the people would have to
earn some wages in order to pay the tax. The French
found their scheme not very rewarding. Since in-
dependence the officials of the Malagasy Republic
have continued the effort, but their peasant com-
patriots are as unresponsive as ever to appeals to work
hard and produce.
For the Malagasy young people the path upward
into the elite L via the university, usually followed by
government service. In this nominally socialist society,
most university graduates are absorbed into the large,
academically trained civil service. The youth who are
interested are usually the children of Westernized
parents, who constitute a self perpetuating group that
is developing some of the characteristics of a caste. To
give more opportunity to the educated young, all
government officials no must retire at age 55.
A Malagasy government agency, the National
Investment Company, promotes industrial develop-
ment, arid has established a number of new fac-
tories� primarily for textiles, concentrated milk,
gelatin, and beer. The government encourages foreign
investment but also is pushing the replacement of
foreign personnel by Malagasy nationals.
Old ties with France still dominate the modern sec-
tor of Madagascar's eof i:arnv; French companies con-
trol most of the industry, plantation agri- 14ture, bank-
ing, and international trade, arid French products ac-
count for more than half of the imports. The French
influence is gradually diminishing, however. Until its
announced withdrawal in May 1973, Madagascar was
a member of the franc zone, and its franc w,as freely
convertible with the French franc. This withdrawal,
along with the signing in June 1973 of eight revised ac-
cords which generally provided for less extensive
cooperation between Madagascar and France, in-
dicate Madagascar's intention to cut back its extensive
ties with Paris.
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Building A Nation (c)
For two centuries Madagascar has been attempting
to achieve unification. The 18th century mosaic of
kingdoms has been replaced by a unified political ad-
ministration, but a national identity is missing.
Today's political disunity is derived from the 19th cen-
tury surge to power of the Merina, and the ensuing
crystallization of separate Merina and cotier com-
munities was furthered by the additional competition
between the British and French. After their conquest
and establishment of a colonial government in 1896,
the French abolished the Merina government and
decreed that all ethnic groups should be governed by
their own leaders. They organized schools to educate
the illiterate cotier tribes, and in the existing schools
they replaced Malagasy with French as the classroom
language. English mission schools were closed unless
they taught in French and conformed to official
standards, and tariffs kept out English products, In
a latent form English influence survived, however,
in the tenacity with which the Merina used Protes-
tantism to express their hostility to the French and
their disdain for the Malagasy Catholics,
French hopes of elevating the cotiers and keeping
down the Merina foundered on the shoals of
bureaucracy. Budget cuts in Paris reduced the educa-
tional programs in Madagascar, and the French soon
realized that the Merina, better educated and more
politically experienced than the other groups, made
far better bureaucrats. Gradually the highest posts
in the civil service that were open to Malagasy people
were being filled b% 'y Merina. They always worked un-
der French officers, of course, but they nevertheless
enjoyed comparatively high status, and their
Tananarive was still the capital of the island. Within a
decade or t:vo the cotiers were once again taking orders
from Merina officials, and still hating them. At the
same time, most Merina resented being denied access
to the top levels of power.
World War II brought an upheaval in ideas and
emotions that led to a bloody insurrection in 1947. The
British took the island from the Vichy French in 1942,
then turned it over to the Free French, A Free French
conference at Brazzaville in 1944 proposed drastic
reforms in colonial administration, thus encouraging
the Malagasy elite to expect that Madagascar would
become a fully autonomous state within the French
Union. In late 1946 the French granted a new con-
stitution that provided some representative govern-
ment, but it was not enough to satisfy even the
moderate nationalists.
The 1947 uprising began with simultaneous
small -scale attacks on French military depots, setting
in motion a spontaneous uprising that spread over
large areas. Some bands were led by fanatical sorcerers,
who gave their followers amulets guaranteed to turn
bullets into water and convinced them that their
9
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New government complex in Tananarive.

r
c
ancestors wanted them to destroy all agents of change.
In the violence which was unleashed, thousands
thought to be tinged with Western ideas were
murdered, regardless of the color of their skin. The
French responded with equal violence in stamping out
the rebel bands during the next 18 months.
For the most part, the Merina stayed aloof from the
bloody affair, but the French thought they had in-
spired it and concentrated on removing Merina from
the government and grooming cotier tribesmen to
replace them. These efforts intensified as in-
dependence approached. A French educated cotier,
Philibert Tsiranana, was chosen head of state, and his
Social Democratic Party won an overwhelming victory
in the Malagasy Republic's first national election in
June 1960. A national gendarmerie, made up of
cotiers, was established to offset the Malagasy Army,
whose officers and men were mostly Merina veterans
of the French Army. With French fAp, the cotiers
soon monopolized top government jobs. Below them,
however, most of the skilled civil servants were still
Merina.
The Malagasy Republic's first government, led by
President Tsiranana, maintained relative peace and
political s` ability until 1972. In return for French sup-
port, including subsidies, the Tsiranana government
followed a generally pro- French foreign policy line
and allowed French residents to continue to run the
country's modern sector. The cotiers controlled the
government completely and enjoyed the available
patronage. The Merina, though excluded from the up-
per ranks of the administration, were allowed to
organize politically; they continued to dominate the
professions, and their children continued to
monopolize the university student rolls.
The decline and fall of the Tsiranana regime
probably began in 1970 with the President's third
heart attack, after which he slipped into bizarre
behavior patterns and spells of paranoia. In a country
where politics has traditionally been conspiratorial, the
obsessed Tsiranana saw plots even where none existed
and became increasingly authoritarian and bumbling.
In June 1971, Tsiranana jailed his Vice President and
Interior Minister, Andre Resampa, and requested the
departure of U.S. Ambassador Marshall and five other
Americans, though no specific charges were leveled at
anyone. In 1972 Tsiranana ?dmitted that he had been
gulled this matter and he threatened another witch
hunt �to find the false accusers of Resampa and the
Americans.
In January 1972 the Tsiranana regime flagrantly
manipulated the national elections to win a third
7 -year term, but within a few months a change of
government had been forced. A minor strike by
10
medival students, which the government tried to sup-
press, was joined by all of Tananarive's university and
secondary school students, who demanded an overhaul
of the entire educational system. In May, Tsiranana's
special riot police, made up completely of cotiers, shot
over 40 students, and his threat on radio to "kill
thousands more if necessary" brought out the capital's
workers and civil servants on general strike. Rioting
quickly spread to other cities; both the police
(predominantly cotiers) and the army (predominantly
Merina) stayed out of the fighting and showed obvious
sympathy wth the demonstrators. When France an-
nounced in mid -May that French troops would not in-
tervene, the government agreed to the strikers' demand
that Tsiranana be ousted and that Gen. Gabriel
Ramanantsoa, a Merina and a respected career soldier,
take charge on a caretaker basis.
In a referendum on 8 October 1972, Ramanantsoa
won popular approval to rule without a parliament for
a years. His government rules somewhat more ef-
ficiently than its predecessor, has a firm grip on the
army and security organizations, has cut government
expenses, a has abolished two unpopular `axes �the
poll tax and the livestock tax. Acutely aware of cotier
sensitivity, Ramanantsoa tried to be evenhanded in his
appointments to ministerial jobs, appointing only four
Merina to his 10 -man cabinet. Nevertheless, cotier
leaders say that most key jobs are held by Merina or
their sympathizers, and the view is spreading among
the cotiers that the Ramanantsoa regime is a govern-
ment by the Merina.
Tension between the Merina and the cotiers con-
tinues. During the winter cf 1972 73, government
reforms designed to reduce french influence in the
educational system set off new demonstrations. Cotier
students saw the reforms as benefiting the Merina.
They especially resented efforts to increase the use of
the official Malagasy la;iguage (Merina dialect). and
they wanted Merina t_achers replaced by cotiers. In
December 1972 agitation by cotier high school
students in Tamatave developed into clashes with
Merina students which led to 3 days of intertribal
rioting, looting, and burning and ended only when the
government declared a state of siege in that major port
city. General Ramanantsoa tried to restore calm by a
nationwide radio address in which he said he opposed
unduly rapid changes in the school system and prom-
ised the creation of a new national language synthe-
sizing the major dialects. He faces a serious test, how-
ever, in trying to assuage cotier fears and at the same
time deal with dissatisfaction among radical Merina
elements who believe the government is carrying out
reforms too slowly.
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What Paco innovation? (s)
The modern world. with its desire for innovation
and progress, has touci:ed the island, hot its touch has
penetrated i-to the different tribes and layers of soci-
ety very unevenly. Among the elite it has penetrated
deeply, creating the demand for a new Malagasy way
of life. for plans and reforms, and for television and
French wine. Among the peasants it has penetrated
hardly at all. Tananarive still leaves village affairs yen�
largely to the village councils. Seeing no particular use
for change, the peasant accepts the dirt and pove: ty of
his village as a part of the virtuous life that provides
both material and immate r iai necessities. The villager
is master of his c;a'n time and his own labor, even
though at harvesttime he already owes much of his
crop to the Asian shopkeeper. Fie admires those who
reach age and respectability by foilwving, with
shrewdness hot without doubts, the traditional paths.
Fie may appear to acquiesce to government programs
(9551 in favor in the referendum 4 8 October 1972),
but acceptance of the status qua is part of his tradition,
and his acquiescence reveals indifference to faraway
matters rather than personal conviction. When his
spiritual or tribal security seems threatened, the
villager can resist violently.
The government desires to improve the social and
economic welfare of the peorie and is committed to
asserting more government control over the economy.
[A-aders would like to provide the best sciv)ols, medical
care, roads, and other good things for the people, but
they face the problem of where to get :he money.
Economic planners have wanted to modernize the
country's economy through foreign investment that
will diversify the econcnry. generate new exports, and
promote domestic production to replace imports, but
further developments in this area will depend on the
nee investment code promised by the Ramanantsoa
government.
Farm production could be greatly increased with the
wider use of fertilizer and of improved techniques and
varieties. The burned -over highlands could be re-
forested or planted to suitable pasture grasses, and
livestock production could be increased manyfold. The
World Bank has helped set up demonstration ranches,
with Brahmin cattle from the United States, as well as
feedlots and slaughterhouses. The future will show
whether the Malagasy culture can accept such in-
novations.
The island of Madagascar has magnificent rivers for
harnessing electric power, but electric power today is
inadequate and very expensive. Two hydroelectric
plants that serve Tananarive and surroundings now
provide two thirds of all the electricity the country has.
Foreign aid programs envisage several new power
projects. The emphasis in planning is on inexpen-
sive power for industrial sites such as the planned
silicon- chrome plant near the Andriamena chromite
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mine and the planned cement plant at Antsirabe. Only
a Few of the people now have access to electricity, but
aid programs elan widespread electrification systems.
Of potential value is th island's location between
two main sea routes through the Indian Ocean �traf-
Fic around the Horn to Asia passes east of the island,
:uul traffic to the Middle East passes west of it. Of
most interest is the supertanker route from the Middle
Eastern oilfields. This part of the worid needs ship
repair and drydock facilities, but Madagascar's two
existing ports, Tamatave and Majunga, have serious
flaws. A proper port could be built at Baie de Narinda,
an excellent natural harbor on the northwest coast, but
international financing would be needed.
At the same time, the country's population is in-
creasing at the rate of 2.3 per year, and the importa-
tion or sale of contraceptive devices is prohihited by
law. In rural areas the desire for large fani !ies to work
the land is still strong, and the feeling remains in some
areas that anybody can go out and burn over a few
more acres of scrub or shape and terrace another little
valley for growing rice. Already, however, population
pressures along the east coast and in the highlands in-
dicate the likelihood of serious food shortages in the
com: years. The technical ways of bringing about
large increases in productivity exist; the major draw-
back is the attitude of the people.
Unemployment and underemployment are
problems. The number of paid jobs has increased only
slightly �if at all� during the years of independence,
and unemployment is growing.. Registered unemploy-
ment figures are deceptive; most unemployed do not
register but live with other members of the family ur go
back to the ancestral village. In the labor market, non
Malagasy people work at many middle and upper
level jobs. Most of the managers and supervisors are
French, while many skilled craftsmen are Reunionese,
Yemeni, or other.
Government planners think that the Merina and
other Malagasy peoples have dettionstrated they can
acquire skills and educatio i as quickly as the Japanese
or Taiwanese and that the potential exists for develop-
ment of industries based on high quality manpower.
In fact, the relatively high literacy and the tradition of
school attendance particularly around
Tananarive �might provide the basis for rapid
development of skill, and the situations are s -)mewhat
comparable at Fianarantsoa (the Betsileo capital) and
at Tamatave. On- the -job training has been established
to upgrade the skills of Malagasy employees. Other
training programs involve the teaching of managerial
skills to Malagasy entrepreneurs and vocational in-
struction to those who have never been on a payroll.
12
The need for changes in the educational system con-
cerns the Malagasy government and the elite group in
general. Many Malagasy children attend primary
schools, but relatively few have gone on to secondary
schools and universities; those whe have done so have
received a French education. Nationalist feeling
demands a system geared to the country's needs and
taught in Malagasy, but the cotiers are reluctant to
abandon French prior to the creation of a revised
Malagasy language based on all the dialects.
Free medical care is a basic tenet of the government,
and plans have been drawn up for improving public
health services, particularly in rural areas. The larger
towns have hospitals and clinics. but rural areas have
roughly one health station for each 800 square miles.
These stations usually are staffed only by a nurse or
midwife, with occasional visits from a roving doctor
from the public health service. Virtually all water
sources are polluted; the only sewage- treatment plant
is in Tananarive, and even there most households use
latrines or privies. Gastrointestinal disorders are com-
mon, affecting people of all ages. Programs to improve
health care and sanitation are being carried out with
aid from 1'rance and agencies of the United Nations.
The Malagasy military forces were closely tied to
those of the French until negotiations with France in
1973 significantly changed the Franco Malagasy
defense relationship. Most French forces in the country
are to be withdrawn by late 1973, except for a naval
detachment �at Diego- Suarez,* and the headquarters of
the French 'Forces, South Indian Ocean, will leave
Tananarive. It is not Iikely, however, that French sup
port for Malagasy forces will be cut off completely.
The Ramanantsoa government is reorienting foreign
policy as it moves on the path of decolonization and
nationalism �more than a decade after the other states
that emerged from the breakup of the French colonial
empire. Its leaders have shown interest in closer
cooperation with the countries of black Africa �an in-
terest which has cost them possible Portuguese invest-
ment in the supertanker facility at Baie de Narinda
and led them to request the withdrawal of South
African investments in tourist facilities at Nosy Be
(island). Diplomatic relations have been established
with the U.S.S.R., ?nd Foreign Minister Ratsiraka has
visited Peking, Pyongyang, and Bucharest. This
reorientation does not as yet indicate any real
Malagasy interest in Africa or the Communist coun-
tries but appears to have been prompted by the
government's desire to emphasize its affinity with
other recently independent countries as well as to dis-
arm leftist critics at home. Economic interests still tie
For diacritics on place names see the list of names on the vpron of
the Sutntnan� Ntap and the tnap itself.
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the island to France and the European Community; a
break with them would have serious economic and
political consequences.
The U.S. involvement in the Malagasy Republic is
slight, and U.S. investments are negligible. More than
20% of the island's total exports are sold to the United
States, but none is of strategic interest. Vessels of the
U.S. Navy have been calling at Malagasy ports every 2
or 3 months. The large NASA tracking station near
Tananarive has been criticized by Malagasy extremists
and could be forced, to close, although it is highly
regarded by the Malagasy Republic Government
because it provides jobs and technical training to
about 160 Malagasy personnel. Th'e' station collects
data from unmanned scientific satellites, and it is ex-
pected to be important to the U.S. space program until
at least 1980.
An unusual dimension is added to any discussion of
Malagasy Republic Government policy whether of
economics, of plans, of potential, of foreign policy �by
the fact that only 9% of the Malagasy labor force work
for money. Any foreigner who wants to deal with the
island must bear in mind that the tail (the modern sec-
tor) can only fitfully and imperfectly wag the dog.
13
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Chronology (u/ou)
1828
The Merina, largest of some 18 ethnic groups on Madagascar,
impose their rule and their language on most of the peoples
of the island.
1895
Merina authority collapses in the face of French military
conquest.
19011
The last of the resisting non Merina tribesmen are subdued,
and France controls all of Madagascar.
1947
August
French quell nationalist uprising which began in April.
Official de. th toll put at 12,000, with unofficial estimates
much higher.
1958
October
Madagascar is proclaimed autonomous Malagasy Republic
within French Community.
1959
May
Philibert Tsiranana elected Press lent.
1960
June
Malagasy Republic becomes independent slate within French
Community. France and Madagascar agree to wide- ranging
cooperation agreements.
September
Malagasy Republic becomes member of United Nations.
1966
June
President Tsiranana has heart attack, the first of several
serious illnesses.
1967
June
Closing of Suez Canal adds to Malagasy economic difficuhies.
1968
July
;Malagasy economic delegation visits Republic of South
Africa.
1969
August
Tsiranana announces belt tightening economic, treasures,
including reduction of imports in response to deteriorating
economic situation caused partly by earlier devaluation of
French currency. Clandestine antiregime tracts appear in
Tananarive.
14
1970
January
Tsiranana flown to France after another heart attack, and he
is absent from Madagascar until May.
1971
March
Tsiranana closes University of Madagascar in Tananarive
following student strike.
April
Uprising in Tulear Province results in deaths of :30 gendarmes
and hundreds of civilians. Monja Jaona and several hun-
dred other members of MONI MA political party imprisoned.
June
Former Interior Minister Andre Resampa arrested as alleged
subversive. U.S. Ambassador withdrawn after unsubstanti-
ated Malagasy Republic Government allegations of U.S.
involvement with subversives.
October
Malagasy 'Kepublic Government announces it has foiled yet
another subversive plot, this one led by persons asso0 ted
with the French research organization ORSTOM.
1972
January
Tsiranana reelected to presidency with over 99% of vote.
May
Inept government response to student strike culminates
in over 40 deaths in Tananarive. Pro student demonstrators
force Tsiranana's relegation to figurehead status. Armed
forces commander Maj. Gen. Gabriel Ramanantsoa takes
charge.
June
Several hundred political prisoners, including Andre Resampa
and Monja Jaona, freed.
September
Committee of Protest Orgauizations, sin outgrowth of May
demonstrations, holds national convention in Tananarive.
October
Over 80% of voters approve referendum giving Ramanantsoa
5 -year rule without it parliament.
December
Communal rioting erupts in port city of Tamatave.
1973
January
Malagasy French negotiations begin on revision of bilateral
military, economic, and cultural accords.
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February May
rsiranana makes political trip to northern Madagascar. Foreign Affairs Minister Ratsiraka announces Madagascar's
y Disorders er!ot in Diego- Suarez, Majunga, and two other decision to withdraw from the franc zone.
localities.
June
t
March Madagascar and France sign wide ranging accords which
edu. -e France's overall role in Mada ascar
provide for
V Several former high ranking members of Tsiranana's party evacuution of most French forces by late 1973, but permit
arrested on charges of inciting February riots. continued French use of Diego- Suarez.
]5
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T T ar r rr
r a ar rr �rr raq lr YlYYI Y r ar v varr
Area Brief (u/ou)
LAND
230,000 sq. mi.; 5 cultivated, 58% pastureland, 21%
'i
forested, 8 9 /6 wasteland, 2% rivers and lakes, 6% other
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 12 n. mi.
Coastline: 3,000 mi.
PEOPLE
Population: 7,141,000 (est. I Jan. 1973); density (est.), 31.5
persons per square mile; 21 urban, 79%, rural
Ethnic composition: 18 tribal groups; Merina comprise about
25% of the total; basic ethnic split between the Merimu and
the cnliers.
Religion: Approximately 41% Christian (1.5 million Roman
Catholics, 1.3 million Protestants), 7% Muslim; remainder
follow traditional religious practices
Languages: Malagasy and French
Literacy: About 45 of the population age 10 and over (066
estimate)
Health, nutrition, and sanitation levels: Low
GOVERNMENT
Legal name: Malagasy Republic
Type: Republic; military civilian government established
May 1972; given 5 -year mandate in popular referendum
October 1972
Capital: Tananarive
Political subdivisions: ii provinces
Legal system: 1 red on French civil law system and tradi-
tional Malagasy law; constitution of 1959 modified in
October 1972 by law establishing provisional government
institutions; legal education at National School of Law,
University of Madagascar, has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Branches: Executive �Gen. Ramanantsoa heads government
assisted by cabinet called Council of Ministers; National
Popular Development Council created to replace the legis-
lature in October 1972; regular courts are patterned after
French system and a Iligh Council of Institutions reviews
all legislation to determine its constitutional validity
Government leader: Gen. Gabriel Ramanantsoa
Suffrage: Universal for adults
Elections: Government in October 1972 postponed all politi-
cal elections indefinitely
16
Political parties and leaders: Par Social Democrate (I'SD),
I by Philibert Tsiranana; Congress Party for the Inde-
,andence of Madaga� ear (AK M), led by Richard Andria-
manjato; Natimud Movement for the Independence of
Madagascar (MONNNIA), led by IN4onja Jaona; parties are
permitted to exist but are barred from positions of political
authority because of postponement of elections
Communists: Communist party of virtually no importance;
small and vocal group of Communists has gained strong
position in leadership of A K FM, the rank and file of which
is non Communist
Member of: EAMA, FAO, IAEA, ICAO, ILO, IMCO, ITU,
La Francophonie, OAU, OCAM, Seabeds Committee, U.N.,
UNESCO, UPU, W110, WMO
ECONOMY
GDP: $970 million (1971 est.); about 81:35 per capita; real
growth rate 4.5%41 p.a. 1967 -71.
Agriculture: Main cash crops coffee, cloves, vanilla, rice,
and sugar; main food crops rice, manioc, corn, ooco -yams,
sweet potatoes, bananas, and pulses.
Major industries: Agricultural processing, light consumer
goods, mining, and oil refining
Electric power: 58,000 kw. capacity (1971), 175 million
kw. -hr. produced (1971), 25 kw. -hr. per capita
Exports: $147 million (f.o.b. 1971); mainly coffee, cloves,
vanilla, rice, sugar, minerals, animals, meat and meat prod-
ucts
Imports: $214 million (f.o.b. 1911); mainly consumer and
capital goods, and foodstuffs
Major trade partners: France, United States, EC, and franc
zone countries
Aid: Economic- -(1970 grunts �$41.5 million) France $21.1
million, E Development Fund $11.9 million, United
Nations and others $8.5 million; (1970 loans �$8 million)
France $6.4 million, World Bank Group, United States, and
West Germany $1.6 million
Monetary conversion rate: 255.78 Malagasy franes=US $1
(official) since December 1971; 277 francs =US 81 prior to
that date. Member of French franc /one
Fiscal year: Calendar year
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 549 miles of meter -gage line
Highways: 5,:300 miles; 1,875 bituminous surfaced, 2,225
crushed stone and gravel, 1,200 earth roads
Inland waterways: i,200 miles navigable
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S ttci{ t. �r
Ports: 4 major, 13 minor ground station; 27,000 telephones; 500,000 radio and 5,000
Civil air: 11 major transports TV receivers; I AA1, no FM, and I TV stations
Airfields: 1011 t{ usable; 2-1 with permanent surface runways; DEFENSE FORCES
:3 with runways 8,000- 11,999 feet, �111 with runways 4,00()- Military manpower: Males 15 -49, 1,014,000; 950,000 fit for
7,999 fe About 200 sites, 0 seaplane stations military service; average number reaching military age (20)
annually about 75,000
Telecommunications: Extensive open -wire lines, some radio. Supply: Largely dependent e:r France; has received some
relay and coaxial cable links, and a communication satellite ground force materiel from Israel and West Germany
S t�:clt t�: r
17
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200080038 -6

t
1 0
Places and features referred to in this General Survey u /ou)
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200080038 -6
('(lo It of \Airs
I (�nna UlNA'r F'S
o '.5.
o fAl
o '.S. o
Alaotra, Lac (lake)
17 30
48 :30
\I :ingok\. saran).........................
21 29
13 11
A mbalanjanakontbv
Ili �12
47 0.5
Mania stran
11) 42
15 22
Ambanja
1:3 41
48 27
Maroantsetra
15) 26
49 �1.1
A III hatofinandr ahana
20 :3:3
-Ili 48
Marovoa y..............................
Ili 06
W :39
Anthatolampy
19 2:3
�17 25
Ma SOmeloka
20 17
48 :37
A III hatosoratra
17 37
48 :31
Mora, maxi ga............................
18 56
.18 12
A III batondrazaka
17 50
�18 2:5
Morarano
17 9(i
�I8 10
Ambila Lem :titso
18 5O
49 01)
M oronlhe
21 45
�13 22
Andravoahangy (sec (j paid )glace)
18 53
�17 32
Morondava
20 17
44 17
Anrhositra
20 31
47 15
Mozambique Channel (channel)...........
20 OO
43 111)
Anlhovolllhe
2.5 11
.16 05
Narinda, 13aie de (bay)
1.1 fi5
la 30
Amb( hallo
I:) �19
�16 21
Nord, Passe du (channel)
Iti O4
.11) 26
Andapa
1.1 :39
49 :39
Nord- Ouest, Chenal du (ehaarncl)..........
I:i �1(I
�16 13
And riamena
21 :i8
47 05
Or ngea, Passe d' (channel)
12 1.1
49 22
Andringitra (nits) 22 20
41i 5:5
Pang -Hanes, Canal des (canal) 22 �18
17 :ill
Anjafy, Ilauts Plateau de 1' (plateau)
18 00
48 00
Perinet
18 56
18 25
Antalaha
1,1 :i3
:i0 lti
Port Berge I:i :3:3
17 �10
Antsinthe
19 51
47 02
Port Saint Louis...................... 13 0:
�18 .51
Arivoninlaluo
19 01
47 11
Saint -Denis (lr( 0 anioat)................... :i2
:55 28
liefundriaim
1:5 16
�18 32
Sainte- Marie, Ile (ish.................... Ili :5O
49 :5:5
Rclo
19 12
44 3:3
Sakaruha 22 :i5
�1.1 :32
Be, Nosy islan (l)
1:3 's0
48 115
Sambuvlt 14
Ili
50 10
13etsiboka stmt) 1(i 03
4 :36
Sofia (strvn) I:i
27
�17 2a
13_tsimitatatra (region) 18
5.1
47 30
T anratln� e.............................. 18
10
19 2:3
13rickaville 18
�lit
49 04
T ananariv e............................. 18
55
�17 :31
Diego Suarez 12
1(i
49 17
Tongohor y........................ 33 :32
44 20
Diirgo- Suarez, 13aie de (hny) 12 1.5
�19 20
'I'saratanana, Massif de (ants)............. 1.1
O()
�19 OO
F. trafangana 22 49
47 :50
Tsiribihina (strm)....................... 19
42
44 31
Fenerive 17
22
49 2.5
I' sirmmonrandidy 18
4(i
46 02
Fianarantsoa 21 26
47 05
'I' clear 23
21
�13 �1O
Fort- Dauphin 25 02
47 00
V angaindrano 23
21
�17 36
Ihosy 22 24
4608
Vohentar 1:3
21
:ill (II
InivriIm .M :32
�17 22
Vohidiala (rr sta) 17
53
48 Ili
Isotry (see a o al glace
f P I I 18
5 4
�17 :31
Ivato 20 :37
47 12
Le fort, Iteunion 20 55
55 18
Selected Airfields
Nlallrtvavy (stran) 13
00
48 55
M. thabo 2(l
23
44 .10
Diego Suarez /Andrakaka� 12
15
49 15
Dlaintirano 18
03
4.1 01
Fort Dauphin............... 2:5 02
4(i :i7
alunga 15
4:3
40 19
Iajurlga /AnIhorovy..................... 15 40
-Ili 21
Maoftkara 22
O8
�18 M
Nossi 13e /Faseene............ 1:3
19
�18 19
Nlananjtt ry 21
1:3
48 20
Tamatave 18 07
49 24
anantenina 24
17
47 19
T.tImna ri /Ari inlamo................ 11)
02
�17 10
M andraka I8
55
47 56
1 1 IMnarive /Ivato........................ I, 18
4i 29
Mundrtre (stmt)..... 25 10
4(i 27
'I'ulear..
'l'3
23
�ti �1 :3
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA- RDP01- 00707R000200080038 -6

42 OWN
1
Grande ILES GLOR/EUSES
Moroni�' c vmore Franca)
COMORO cap a
Anjeuan ISLANDS
(Francs)
y D(6go-i
o.
Mohelt, Geyser Reef -r
Mayotte .aDzautdzi
Nosy Mitsio
L
Nil Saint �Louis,p
Nosy Be y
T
HeIN& r r
DAmbanja j
.'Jr1
ILES
y RADAMA d
Maromandw
Analalava
t i
t j
Antsohlhy t
e, Befandr ana
a Port Bergs p
Majunga,
t Mandritsara
2 Cap Soalala o Mampikory.
J Saint�And /A Marovoay
I/e r
Chesterfield
t bato
1
ti Besampys
a Bekodoka Maevawtana Tsaratanana
//a Juan de Nova Andilamene
(Fr.)
1 t >rani
Tambotloranoa r9 y Andrwr>ena r
Ambabsoratra
r ,jf HauL5
slerrobe
I Pletn,)( .DAmbabondrazaka
ILES t �be Anpzorobea
BARREN c
Antsalova a Tsiroanomanddy 1 j t A
p f
Ambohidratrwro bohrcn
C anar +a Bndtav
t Tananarive Perim
y t lakar>dr
1 Miarmtvo N onimamo 4 arriangs
Bekopaka Soavmandnana
OrAmbatolampy J
tAah
11
Miardr ivazo 1
Bob ,i:n I
1 N Antsw be o
l.Fandr' Wolamb.
h
Morondavao \4 71
rr Ambatobnarna� AmbosRr
NosyVarlka
.e c"
Mandabe
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v
46 A)
GLORIEUSES
(Fans)
Cap dAmbre
Rwgo-suaiwevo
.4&jq IL
ES
LOWRY
Nosy Mitsio
Port Saint- Louis m
Nosy Be 6ilobe
Iville oh
Vohernw
Ambania
Massif
de n
Ttaratanaa
ILES
RADAMA"
Maromandia L_ Sambava
no Be I ana
Wilaw
dAndap
'0. AntaJaha
I 1345 r V
J I
Befand,wm Arnbohitralanana
fAffoantsethra
Pwrt�Berg6
;a
Mand,
C
.4268
T,
watanana fie
Arditamena r Sainte�Marie
Ambodffototra
tvfanin
Feneriv.
A&Wwnena
Va;atenina
HautsNvwlot Ambaton&azaka
Pletea.qx 3366 1 n d i a n
--de-
Tamatave
0 c e a n
Anjozorobe
0
A
66hganar
perirret Ambda Lwnaitso
l Vatornandry
nbatolam
py
I b Mahanoro
Nosy Varika
52
.Tananarive
ChLgo
Oncinnati
kno�I
J4
Tribal Groups
t'j
q
Q/Tananarlve
Marondava/
,A
m
Fanfangan
Tulear
V,
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080038-6

Lq)
NO
in
r;rew York-
Ch 6in-na. W
knoxvilg
7Zgglahasse
Tribal Groups
Majunga -T
c o
Tamatav
C
Tananarlve
Tsiribihina
lorondava
C O
-A
At 11 1,11 U ;A t<
A I MOR 0
!i A y
Farafangana
ar
MA11AFAL Y
;1w Fnrt-Dauohin
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080038-6
Population itigo-Suarez
Persons per square mile
0 26 52 aa
0
Persons per square kilometer
I January 1970
Tamatave
J
iribihina 1 1
ondava
Mananiary
Economic Activity
AGRICULTURE
Coffee Sisal
Vanilla Rice
Sugar Tobacco
Cloves
MINING
Gr Graphite M Mica
Chromrte
INDUSTRY
7:
12 Hydroelectric powerplant
A Thermal powerplant
A Petroleum refining
mal'unfla

s
Y v Cap
1� Saint-Andre I J f ovoay llro,
Chesterfield 1
a Ambato
e I i
ti Besalampy!
O Bekodoka Maeva Tsaratanana
Andilamena
lie Juan de Nova 1
Tambo anon T
T9 1 Ands iamena r
Vaiate,I
Amba�a
Aoratenobe Haut DAmbatondrazaka
Plaiea t3cc
o iMaintirano Anjrtfy
7 a
ILES Gc An azobe, Anjozorobn�
BARREN
ySoaloka 1 t J
I Antsabva'jl i
i Tsiroanomandidy F. ima Anivorano
1 Ambohdratrimo!ioAmbohnrwl Brwkavil
Ten ynve Periret
MiarnilrNo *ivohimamo !i
Bekolpaka, -a i ,Soavinandriana
VatDr
Amb- olampy
Miandrivazo_
Belo j l I
Antsirabe I O 90 o Mahanoro
olambo
Fand:i
Morondava
Mahabo
e Ambositra' Q i
Ambatofinanrraliana�- c r
I ,Nosy Varika
y Mandate Ambohimahasoa I V
ttanana n 1 I f
s206 i 4 5WO Ifanad i M la7
Manja t Ftart rantsoa0
i
r Bar
Morombe; !Ankiliabo tvlan9o Zon `n a
Lar
aAmbalavao I
Fort iarnOf
Befandrlana Q :26R
Manakara
�4 -a ItgsyJ AndrA "tra'
qj
Wohibe
I I 4419
`ene I o Farafangana
Manombo r Sakaraha 0
'Betroka`
Tulear 0 gaindrano
7 ngobory
i M dort4Ar Sud
Betioky
l Berake Na ^fir 0
Man
Ejeda 1 p wri
Ampanihy y
i
I V
Androka
Cap Sainte -Marie
Central Intelligence Agency For Official Use Only
I
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1- V
fie
Andt j arnena tc I S ainte-Maric
Ambodifototra
nerive
Lac
Vielateni
Ambatondrazaka
zx
Tarnatave
Ambib Lemaitso
FIE,
Valomandry
Wanoro,
K
Madagascar
Province boundary
National capital
iulew- Province capital
Railroad
Surface road
Unsurfaced road
Airfield
Major port
Populated places
Tananarive 343,000
40.000 to 60,000
0 10,000 to 40,000
Under IQOOO
The name of each province is the same as its capital
Spot feet
Scale 1:3,465,000
0 50 100
Statute Wes
0 50 100
Kdornewrs
I n d ian
O ce an
Vegetation
Broadleaf evergreen fores
(wah mangrove on west
Deciduous forest
Secondary growth (savoka
Savanna
Marsh
Scrub
iliffiIIIIIII
Tuh
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It
U, Suomi
Tribaq Groupr.
q,
Maiun I bN
Cb
41
P Ct
C
am
T Tamalave
C-D
T -nanar
V
lorondava
C- D
rJi
0
-7
Farafangana
L
Madagascar
Province boundary
National capital
iulew- Province capital
Railroad
Surface road
Unsurfaced road
Airfield
Major port
Populated places
Tananarive 343,000
40.000 to 60,000
0 10,000 to 40,000
Under IQOOO
The name of each province is the same as its capital
Spot feet
Scale 1:3,465,000
0 50 100
Statute Wes
0 50 100
Kdornewrs
I n d ian
O ce an
Vegetation
Broadleaf evergreen fores
(wah mangrove on west
Deciduous forest
Secondary growth (savoka
Savanna
Marsh
Scrub
iliffiIIIIIII
Tuh
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080038-6

Tribal Groups C1
Majunga Q
Q m
Q Tamatave
CO All
Q SCI Tananarive-
V
Tsiribihina
Morondava
C
A;�r.v,uoF �o
At 741..7