Export revenue is derived chiefly from clothing and textiles, vanilla, cloves, fish and shellfish, and various food products. Some agricultural exports, particularly cloves and vanilla, have been threatened by world overproduction or by the manufacture of synthetic substitutes.

Imports include crude petroleum, chemical and metal products, machinery and equipment, vehicles, cotton textiles and other basic manufactures, and essential foods and live animals. Although trade with France fell sharply after 1972, France remains an important trading partner. Others include China and the United States.

Madagascar’s unique biodiversity and rich cultural heritage have the potential to form the foundation of a thriving tourism industry. In the late 1980s the Malagasy government introduced a program designed to encourage tourism to the country, and progress has been made, with tourist arrivals to Madagascar—though interrupted by the political conflict of the 2001 election—on the increase.

Labour and taxation

Most union members hold office jobs or work in industry. Popular and extensive trade unions include the Fédération des Syndicats des Travailleurs de Madagascar, the Sendika Kristianina Malagasy (Christian Confederation of Malagasy Trade Unions), and the Union des Syndicats Autonomes de Madagascar.

Tax revenue is derived mainly from trade taxes, taxes on domestic goods and services, and tax applied to corporate income and profit; income derived from property tax is the least significant. Tax collection and revenue are generally quite centralized, and tax evasion remains a significant problem in Madagascar. At the beginning of the 21st century, the proportion of Madagascar’s income derived from tax revenue was quite low, and increasing revenue in order to reduce Madagascar’s ongoing dependence on aid remained an important goal.

Transportation and telecommunications

Transport facilities serve primarily the plateau and the east coast. Facilities are less developed on the western half of the island, although the country’s best natural harbours are located there.

The majority of roads are unpaved. Roads down the eastern escarpment and across the western coastal strip, as well as minor roads everywhere, become impassable during the wet season. The main paved road runs south from Antananarivo to Fianarantsoa, where branches include those that head southwest to Toliara, southeast to Tôlan̈aro via Ihosy, and east to Mananjary and Manakara. There are also paved roads that run east from Antananarivo toward Toamasina, west to Analavory, and north to Mahajanga and Antsiranana.

Railways include those connecting the plateau with the east coast, which run from Antananarivo to Toamasina and from Fianarantsoa to Manakara; plateau routes include those that run from Antananarivo south to Antsirabe, to Fianarantsoa, and north to Ambatondrazaka.

Two main ports are located at Toamasina, which has a fine deepwater harbour equipped with quay berths and directly linked to Antananarivo by rail, air service, and road, and at Mahajanga, which is second in importance. The port at Toamasina has been badly damaged on several occasions by the cyclones that intermittently strike the island.

Although remote from the main centres of economic activity, the harbour at Antsiranana is one of the finest natural harbours in the world; it contains the former French naval base, arsenal, and dry dock and also has a small commercial port. The coastal lagoons and swamps of the Pangalanes Canal on the east coast, which are linked by artificial channels where necessary, provide a waterway that is more than 370 miles (600 km) long.

Numerous airfields are found throughout the island, aiding domestic travel across the sizable and difficult landscape. The main international airport is at Ivato, near Antananarivo, and some international flights make secondary landings at Toamasina, Nosy Be, and Mahajanga. Air Madagascar provides domestic and international service, as do other airlines.

Although Madagascar’s telephone service is considered to be better than the regional average, overall only a small proportion of Malagasy have access to landline or mobile telephone service. Internet access is mainly limited to urban areas.

Constitutional framework

The Malagasy Republic became independent in 1960, after a brief period as an autonomous republic in the French Community from 1958. Between 1972 and 1975 Madagascar was under military rule. Socialist political and economic reorganization was instituted in 1975, and a new constitution was implemented later that year for the renamed Democratic Republic of Madagascar. The public grew increasingly dissatisfied with the political and economic conditions of the country, and by the early 1990s the demand for change led to a gradual transition to democracy and a free market economy. In 1992 the country adopted a new name, the Republic of Madagascar, along with a new constitution that underwent subsequent revision. In 2009, following months of political unrest, a transitional regime came to power. A new constitution was passed by referendum in November 2010 and promulgated on December 11, 2010. The first democratically elected president under the 2010 constitution was inaugurated in January 2014.

Madagascar’s current constitution provides for a unitary republic with a president as the head of state and a prime minister as the head of government. The president is elected by popular vote to no more than two five-year terms. The president appoints the prime minister, who is presented by the majority party or coalition in the National Assembly. The legislative branch is bicameral and consists of the aforementioned National Assembly and the Senate. The members of the National Assembly are directly elected to five-year terms. The members of the Senate—one-third are presidential appointments, two-thirds are indirectly elected—also have five-year terms.