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People of Madagascar:
Madagascar
is home to an estimated population of 18,595, 469 people. The Country
was first settled by African and Indonesian migrants who began
to arrive here in the 5th Century A.D. The Arabs arrived here between
the 7th and 9th Centuries and the Portuguese were the first Europeans
to visit the Island in the early 16th Century. Madagascar is a
former French colony and thus maintains strong ties to its former
colonizer.
The Present day people of Madagascar are a mixture resulting
from inter-marriage over the centuries. The main ethnic groups
in the country are; Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo),
Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian and Arab ancestry-
Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava) French, Indian,
Creole and Comoran.
Different dialects exist though French and
Malagasy are widely spoken and are the official languages in
Madagascar.
More than half of the country’s people practice indigenous
religious beliefs. Other religions in the country are; Christianity
and Islam.
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