:Macedonia Economy

Illicit drugs:
NA
Economic aid:
$NA
Currency:
denar (plural - denars); 1 denar (NA) = 100 NA
Exchange rates:
denar (NA) per US$1 - 240 (January 1991)
Fiscal year:
calendar year

:Macedonia Communications

Railroads:
NA
Highways:
10,591 km total (1991); 5,091 km paved, 1,404 km gravel, 4,096 km earth
Inland waterways:
NA km
Pipelines:
none
Ports:
none - landlocked
Airports:
2 main
Telecommunications:
125,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 6 AM, 2 FM, 5 (2 relays) TV;
370,000 radios, 325,000 TV; satellite communications ground stations - none

:Macedonia Defense Forces

Branches:
Army, Air and Air Defense Force
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 590,613; NA fit for military service; 22,913 reach military age
(18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - 7.0 billion dinars (est.), NA% of GDP (1992);
note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current
exchange rate could produce misleading results

:Madagascar Geography

Total area:
587,040 km2
Land area:
581,540 km2
Comparative area:
slightly less than twice the size of Arizona
Land boundaries:
none
Coastline:
4,828 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
12 nm
Disputes:
claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova
Island, and Tromelin Island (all administered by France)
Climate:
tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Terrain:
narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
Natural resources:
graphite, chromite, coal, bauxite, salt, quartz, tar sands, semiprecious
stones, mica, fish
Land use:
arable land 4%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 58%; forest and
woodland 26%; other 11%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment:
subject to periodic cyclones; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion;
desertification
Note:
world's fourth-largest island; strategic location along Mozambique Channel

:Madagascar People

Population:
12,596,263 (July 1992), growth rate 3.2% (1992)
Birth rate:
46 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
14 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
0 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
93 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
51 years male, 55 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Malagasy (singular and plural); adjective - Malagasy
Ethnic divisions:
basic split between highlanders of predominantly Malayo-Indonesian origin
(Merina and related Betsileo) on the one hand and coastal tribes,
collectively termed the Cotiers, with mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and
Arab ancestry (Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), on the other;
there are also small French, Indian, Creole, and Comoran communities; no
current, accurate assessment of tribal numbers is available
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian about 41%, Muslim 7%
Languages:
French and Malagasy (official)
Literacy:
80% (male 88%, female 73%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
4,900,000; 90% nonsalaried family workers engaged in subsistence
agriculture; 175,000 wage earners - agriculture 26%, domestic service 17%,
industry 15%, commerce 14%, construction 11%, services 9%, transportation
6%, other 2%; 51% of population of working age (1985)
Organized labor:
4% of labor force