Madagascar: The Exotic Island

Madagascar: The Exotic Island Looking at a map of the southern hemisphere, one wouldn’t expect such a seemingly "small" island to be so exotic and bountiful, but the island of Madagascar is just that. A 226,658 square mile (587,041 square kilometers) piece of land, with a a coastline of about 2,480 miles (3,990 kilometers), it’s a beautiful and different view of its large neighbor, Africa. The island itself is made up of ridges, rivers, valleys, and tropical …

…very understaffed for the numerous varieties of tropical diseases that are abundant in the area, most commonly malaria. The life expectency for natives is 51 years of age, approximately 20 years less than our own in the U.S. As you could probably guess, Madagascar’s land is a valuable asset for farming. Agriculture is a large part of the economy. 86% of all adults in Madagascar are employed in an industry pertaining to farming, including farming itself.