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Madagascar SOCIETY
Population: July 1994 estimate 13,427,758.
Annual
growth rate 3.19 percent in 1994. Density 2.4 per square
kilometer in 1994.
Ethnic Groups: Some twenty ethnic groups of
which
principal ones are central highlanders (Merina and related
Betsileo) and côtiers of mixed Arab, African,
MalayoIndonesian ancestry. Other groups are Comorans, French,
IndoPakistanis , and Chinese.
Languages: Malagasy belonging to
Malayo-Polynesian
language family; French also used extensively.
Religion: Estimated 55 percent hold indigenous
beliefs;
40 percent Christian, evenly divided between Roman
Catholics and
Protestants; 5 percent Muslim.
Education and Literacy: Education compulsory for
children ages six to fourteen; higher education available
through
University of Madagascar with six campuses. Literacy
estimated at
80 percent in 1991.
Health: Economic decline has caused
deterioration of
medical services; 35 percent of population lacked adequate
access
to health services in early 1990s; infant mortality 114
per 1,000
in 1991. Major diseases malaria, schistosomiasis,
tuberculosis,
and leprosy as well as sexually transmitted diseases.
Traditional
medicine popular especially in rural areas.
Data as of August 1994
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