8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Africa / Eastern Africa

Born in Madagascar

About 1 in 132 people born in 2023 started life in Madagascar. A boy can expect to live 62 years and a girl 65, up from 39 and 41 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 55% have basic drinking water.

1 in 132
odds of being born here
1.0 million births · Ranked 29th of 230
62 / 65
years of life, boys / girls
Was 39 / 41 in 1950
$1,098
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 196th of 203 · extrapolated
32%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 24 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 238 in every 1,000 births to 66.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth61.9 years for boys, 65.4 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 565.6 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year235,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles51%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.4%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year220 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year200 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.4 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.0.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.97UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth27.9 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 45 and the poorest fifth 7.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2021
7%Poorest fifth
11%Second
15%Middle
21%Fourth
45%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,098 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth45% / 7% (2021)World Bank PIP
Unemployment3.0% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises9.9% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person1.7% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming70% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed88% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment34% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Antananarivo, with 1.3 million people.

32%
live in cities
39%
have electricity at home
55%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Antananarivo1.3 million
Toamasina345,107
Antsirabe260,907
Mahajanga260,556
Fianarantsoa203,105
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Malagasy90%
French27%
English18%
Malagasy, French, English is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Analamanga1.6 million
Vakinankaratra487,658
Atsinanana474,382
Boeny373,773
Atsimo-Andrefana368,474
Diana368,285
Analanjirofo265,002
Upper Matsiatra264,490
Sava245,910
Alaotra Mangoro233,747

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 23 regions
  • Analamanga1.6 million
  • Vakinankaratra487,658
  • Atsinanana474,382
  • Boeny373,773
  • Atsimo-Andrefana368,474
  • Diana368,285
  • Analanjirofo265,002
  • Upper Matsiatra264,490
  • Sava245,910
  • Alaotra Mangoro233,747
  • Sofia179,656
  • Androy165,026
  • Itasy146,492
  • Anosy138,313
  • Atsimo-Atsinanana124,486
  • Fitovinany Region118,323
  • Amoron'i Mania114,080
  • Vatovavy Region108,471
  • Menabe102,198
  • Melaky81,889
  • Bongolava66,692
  • Ihorombe64,182
  • Betsiboka53,905

People on the move

About 0.7% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are France, Réunion, Mayotte.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
France162,751
Réunion17,859
Mayotte10,316
Residents born abroad0.1% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 0.7% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostFrance (162,751), Réunion (17,859), Mayotte (10,316)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $616.4 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

19% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

19%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20241,428Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19501NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 198046NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence192 between 2002 and 2009UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Madagascar, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Madagascar

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences