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Madagascar National Accounts and Budget
Economists note that Madagascar's economy severely
deteriorated from the 1960s to the late 1980s,
particularly as a
result of the misguided economic policies of the Ratsiraka
regime. Whereas the growth rate in the gross domestic
product
(GDP--see Glossary)
rose at an average of 2.9 percent in
real
terms during the 1960s, during the 1970s and the early
1980s this
figure declined to 0.2 percent, compared with 2.6 percent
population growth. Real GDP rebounded in the latter half
of the
1980s, reaching a high of 4 percent in 1989. In the 1980s,
GDP
increased at 1.1 percent per year and at 1 percent in
1992, but
the economic output was unable to keep pace with
population
growth. This is seen in Madagascar's economic ranking
relative to
other countries. In terms of gross national product
(GNP--see Glossary)
per capita, for example, the country declined
from a
World Bank ranking of the thirtieth poorest country in the
world
in 1979 (GNP per capita of US$290) to the tenth poorest in
1991
(GNP per capita of US$210).
Going beyond the traditional indicators of GDP and GNP
per
capita, however, Madagascar is doing better than might be
thought. For example, according to the Human
Development
Report published by the United Nations Development
Programme
(UNDP) in 1993, Madagascar ranked 128th in the world (and
seventeenth in Africa) in terms of "human development."
This
category represents a composite score of several
indicators of
development, such as life expectancy and literacy. The
UNDP
report further notes that, despite a slight drop in the
early
1990s, Madagascar's human development steadily advanced
during
the decades of the 1970s and the 1980s.
The Zafy regime tried to balance the need for economic
growth
with a desire to enhance social welfare after the
turbulent
transition period of the early 1990s by putting together a
Public
Investment Program for 1994-96. The priorities of the
US$326
million budget are clearly demonstrated by the breakdown
of
investments according to four broad categories:
infrastructure
(US$160 million--49 percent), with transportation
receiving the
largest share of US$87 million; producing sector (US$79
million--
24 percent), with US$53.5 million of this devoted to
agriculture;
social assistance, including education, health care, and
social
assistance (US$52.2 million--16 percent); and public
administration (US$32.4 million--10 percent). An
overriding
interest in development as opposed to security is clearly
demonstrated by the relatively small amount of investment
funds
(US$2 million--0.6 percent) allocated to the Malagasy
Armed
Forces. Finally, the percentage of investment funds slated
for
each of the individual regions suggests an awareness of
the need
to favor those that historically have been neglected. The
breakdown of investments by region in order of importance
is as
follows: Antsiranana (28 percent), Toliara (21 percent),
Mahajanga (18 percent), Toamasina (15 percent),
Antananarivo (10
percent), and Fianarantsoa (9 percent).
Data as of August 1994
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