People (Madagascar)
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     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