For administrative purposes, Madagascar is divided into a system of decentralized territorial collectivities: provinces, regions, and communes. The provinces, the largest units, are further divided into regions, which are subdivided into communes. Each province is administered by a directly elected head of the province and an elected provincial council. Regional administrations follow a similar structure, with a directly elected head of the region and an elected regional council. Communes, which are classified as either urban or rural, have directly elected administrations.

Justice

The former Merina state that ruled the island throughout the 19th century had an elaborate system of laws, courts, and justice. The present legal system, however, is based upon French codes and practices. There is a High Constitutional Court, a High Court of Justice, a Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, and tribunals.

Security

The army played no direct political role in Madagascar until 1972, although the presence of French army units had bolstered the former government. The French troops were withdrawn in 1973, and the French naval base at Antsiranana was handed over to Madagascar in 1975. The Malagasy armed forces consist of an army, a navy, and an air force. There is also a large paramilitary force, as well as a secret police. Detachments of local police are stationed at the headquarters of each administrative division, as well as in Antananarivo. The whole force is under unified command and falls within the responsibility of the ministry of the interior.

Health and welfare

The majority of Malagasy citizens live in rural areas. Conditions of life vary greatly from region to region; some regions, especially those where cash crops are grown, are relatively prosperous and well-linked with the cities, while others—particularly those in the south—are isolated and subject to periodic famine. All regions are dependent on agriculture, and the eastern regions suffer frequently from the devastating cyclones that are a feature of the Malagasy climate. Rural areas generally lack many of the amenities that are available to even the urban poor, including access to electricity, running water, and safe drinking water.

Although infant mortality remains significantly higher than the world average, infant deaths from malaria, which is endemic all over the island, have been much reduced. Debilitating parasitic diseases, such as schistosomiasis, an infection of the bladder or intestines, remain serious and are hard to control, since the parasites’ breeding grounds are the irrigated rice fields and the streams that feed them. Sexually transmitted diseases are also widespread, although Madagascar has one of the lowest rates of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Malagasy doctors began to practice Western medicine in the late 19th century, and a medical school was established in Antananarivo in 1897. The health system includes principal and secondary hospitals, dispensaries, and medical centres. Medical personnel include doctors as well as pharmacists, dentists, midwives, social assistants, visiting nurses, and health assistants. However, there is a significantly imbalanced patient-to-doctor ratio, in part because many of those graduating with health care-related degrees from Malagasy institutions have been drawn to other sectors or to more lucrative positions abroad. Furthermore, hospitals and specialists are located mainly in the towns, with the exception of some rural hospitals run by Christian missions, and it is difficult for many Malagasy citizens to access health care facilities. Health insurance and other social benefits are available mainly to better-paid workers and professionals among the employed population.

Housing

Houses are typically rectangular and crowned with steeply angled roofs. In the rural areas, most houses are made of either mud and wattle or woven matting supported by poles. In the eastern forest, they are built of interlaced split bamboo and are thatched with palm. In the south, overlapping upright wooden planks are used for walls. On the plateau, rural housing is constructed of earth blocks and thatched roofing, while upper-income and most urban housing consists of two- or three-story homes—typically with the kitchen at the top, living quarters in the middle, and storage below—all surrounded by wide balconies supported by brick columns and crowned with steep tiled roofs. This is the lofty Indonesian style of architecture, transformed by new techniques contributed by the missionaries. The original style survives in the house of King Andrianampoinimerina (reigned 1787–1810) at Ambohimanga and reached its pinnacle in the Queen’s Palace built by Jean Laborde in the 19th century; the palace was destroyed by fire in 1995.

The government-sponsored housing authority conducts research into design, materials, and production methods and is seeking to promote inexpensive urban housing, but the problem of overcrowding is expected to increase with continued urban growth.

Education

The educational system consists of primary and secondary schools, technical institutes, teacher-training colleges, and a university system. Education is compulsory between ages 6 and 13. Primary education, which is free, begins at age six and consists of five years of study. Secondary education consists of a four-year cycle of study, followed by a three-year cycle. Universities in Madagascar include the University of Antananarivo (1961), the University of Mahajanga (1977), and the University of Fianarantsoa (1988). There has been an increased use of the Malagasy language in teaching, although some coastal peoples have objected because of the written language’s close relationship to the Merina people.

The level of school attendance and educational attainment is higher on the plateau than in the coastal areas. Protestant and Roman Catholic missions have been providing education since the 19th century, and the missions continue to educate a large proportion of the schoolchildren, although the government maintains official schools at all levels and is attempting to phase out private education. In the main towns there are other privately run schools, which serve those unable to enter either government or mission schools. About two-thirds of women and about three-fourths of men in Madagascar are literate, a trend that indicates a remarkable increase in the country’s overall rate of literacy since the mid-1960s, when less than two-fifths of the population was literate.

Cultural milieu

Malagasy culture is largely composed of Indonesian elements, with other influences evident. Arabic and Islamic contributions include sikidy, an intricate system of divination, and calendrical features, such as the Arabic-derived names of the days of the week, which also apply to the markets held on those days. The coastal areas of the west, north, and south might be expected to show African cultural elements, but, apart from some Bantu words, these are often difficult to identify conclusively.