Population:
16,979,744 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 3,822,823; female 3,807,958)
15-64 years: 51.9% (male 4,366,748; female 4,452,686)
65 years and over: 3.1% (male 243,411; female 286,118) (2003 est.)
Median age:
total: 17.4 years
male: 17.2 years
female: 17.6 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
3.03% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
42.16 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
11.88 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 80.21 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 71.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 88.63 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 56.14 years
male: 53.82 years
female: 58.53 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.73 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.3% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
22,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
870 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Malagasy (singular and plural)
adjective: Malagasy
Ethnic groups:
Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed
African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka,
Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%
Languages:
French (official), Malagasy (official)
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.9%
male: 75.5%
female: 62.5% (2003 est.)