Madagascarofficially Republic of Madagascar, Malagasy Madagasikara or Repoblikan’i Madagasikara, French Madagascar or République de Madagascarcountry lying off the southeastern coast of Africa. It occupies the fourth largest island in the world—after world, after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo—with a surface area of 226,658 square miles (587,041 square kilometres)Borneo. Located in the southwestern Indian Ocean, it is separated from the African coast by the 250-mile- (400-kilometre-) wide Mozambique Channel.

In spite of Madagascar’s proximity to the continent, its population is primarily related not to African peoples but rather to those of Indonesia, more than 3,000 miles to the east. The Malagasy peoples, moreover, do not consider themselves to be Africans, but, because of the continuing bond with France that resulted from former colonial rule, the island has developed political, economic, and cultural links with the French-speaking countries of western Africa. French and Malagasy are the country’s official languages.

Madagascar remains a geographic and historical paradox, linked in practice to Africa but identified in feeling with Indonesia, which is so far away as to have hardly any awareness of Madagascar or to maintain any contemporary ties of substance with it. The animal life and vegetation of the island are equally anomalous, differing greatly from that of nearby Africa and being, in many respects, unique.

Although the coastlands have been known to Europeans for more than 400 years and to Arabs for much longer, recent historical development has been more intense and concentrated in the central plateau, which contains the capital city of Antananarivo (formerly Tananarive). The road network and communications are generally better on the plateau, where the majority of the inhabitants have received some school education and are professing Christians, while in the coastal areas the majority follow traditional religions and generally have not attended school.