MGF

$NA

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$NA

Currency (code):

ariary (MGA)

Currency code:

Exchange rates:

Malagasy ariary (MGA) per US dollar - 1,880 (2007), 2,161.4 (2006), 2,003 (2005), 1,868.9 (2004), 1,238.3 (2003)

Communications
Madagascar

Telephones - main lines in use:

133,900 (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

2.218 million (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: system is above average for the region; Antananarivo's main telephone exchange modernized in the late 1990s, but the rest of the analogue-based telephone system is poorly developed; have added more than 50,000 new fixed lines since 2005 domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density only about 12 per 100 persons international: country code - 261; submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 2 (plus a number of repeater stations), FM 9, shortwave 6 (2001)

Radios:

3.05 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

1 (plus 36 repeaters) (2001)

Televisions:

325,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.mg

Internet hosts:

11,016 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

2 (2000)

Internet users:

110,000 (2006)

Transportation
Madagascar

Airports:

104 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 27 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 77 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 34 (2007)

Railways:

total: 854 km narrow gauge: 854 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

Roadways:

total: 65,663 km paved: 7,617 km unpaved: 58,046 km (2003)

Waterways:

600 km (2006)

Merchant marine:

total: 8 by type: cargo 4, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2 (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Antsiranana, Mahajanga, Toamasina, Toliara

Military
Madagascar

Military branches:

People's Armed Forces: Intervention Force, Development Force, and
Aeronaval Force (navy and air); National Gendarmerie

Military service age and obligation:

18-25 years of age for male-only compulsory military service; 18-month conscript service obligation (either military or equivalent civil service); 20-30 years of age for National Gendarmerie recruits (35 years of age for those with military experience) (2008)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 4,443,341 females age 16-49: 4,441,124 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 3,034,600 females age 16-49: 3,271,732 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 230,088 female: 229,932 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

1% of GDP (2006)

Transnational Issues
Madagascar

Disputes - international:

claims Bassas da India, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, and Juan de Nova Island (all administered by France)

Illicit drugs:

illicit producer of cannabis (cultivated and wild varieties) used mostly for domestic consumption; transshipment point for heroin

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

@Malawi

Introduction
Malawi

Background:

Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor and subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2005. As president, MUTHARIKA has overseen substantial economic improvement but because of political deadlock in the legislature, his minority party has been unable to pass significant legislation, and anti-corruption measures have stalled. Population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for Malawi.

Geography
Malawi

Location:

Southern Africa, east of Zambia

Geographic coordinates: