MADAGASCAR: ECONOMY

The following is excerped from the Country Studies--Area Handbook program of the U.S. Department of the Army. The original version of this text is available at the Library of Congress.
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Madagascar

ECONOMY

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Estimated at US$10.4 billion in 1993. Economic growth rate 1 percent in 1992.

Gross National Product (GNP) per Capita: US$210 in 1991; rated tenth poorest country in world by World Bank.

Agriculture: Constituted 33 percent of GDP in 1993, provided almost 80 percent of exports, and in 1992 employed almost 80 percent of labor force; l6 percent of cultivated land is irrigated. Major crops: coffee, vanilla, sugarcane, cloves, cocoa, rice, cassava, bananas, peanuts; widespread cattle raising; also extensive fishing.

Industry, Mining, and Energy: Responsible for 13 percent of GDP in 1993; major sectors food-processing, mining, and energy; and in export processing zones clothing manufacturing. Country has many minerals but exploitation has been disappointing. Dependent on imported oil and local firewood for energy.

Exports: Estimated at US$311 million in 1992. Major exports coffee, vanilla, cloves, shellfish, and sugar. Main markets France, United States, Germany, and Japan.

Imports: Estimated at US$614 million in 1992. Major imports intermediate manufactures, capital goods, petroleum, consumer goods, food. Main suppliers France, Japan, and Germany.

Balance of Payments: External debt in November 1993 more than US$4 billion; debt has been rescheduled with Paris Club (see Glossary) and London Club (see Glossary).

Currency and Exchange Rate: 1 Malagasy franc (FMG) = 100 centimes; in May 1995, US$1 = FMG4,236.9.

Inflation Rate: Estimated at 20 percent in 1992.

Fiscal Year: Calendar year.

Data as of August 1994

This is excerped from the Country Studies--Area Handbook program of the U.S. Department of the Army. The original version of this text is available at the Library of Congress.
Full index of Country Studies-Madagascar