Madagascar is located in the Indian Ocean south of the Equator, facing Africa from which it is separated by the 400 kilometers of the Mozambique Channel. Often called the “Great Island” it is 9000 kilometers away from Europe. It is the fourth biggest island in the world, 1500 kilometers kilometer long and 570 kilometer broad with a total surface of 594 000 km2 and a coast line of 5000 kilometers.

POPULATION : 20 000 000 inhabitants. CAPITAL : ANTANANARIVO CURRENCY : Malagasy Ariary (MGA) CHANGE RATE : 1 Euro = about 2 500 MGA RÉGIME : Democratic Republic LANGUAGE : The official Malagasy language, the “Merina” comes from the central part of the island and is spoken all over Madagascar as well as different regional dialects. French is widely used, especially for teaching, business and administrative uses. TIME ZONE : 1 hour ahead of schedule summer French and 2 hour on the winter time.