Free Newsletter Get travel news, alerts, tips, deals, and trivia delivered free to your email in-box. Formerly an independent kingdom, Madagascar became a French colony in 1886, but regained its independence in 1960.
Industry features textile manufacturing and the processing of agricultural products.
Growth in output in 1992-97 averaged less than the growth rate of the population. Growth has been held back by antigovernment strikes and demonstrations, a decline in world coffee demand, and the erratic commitment of the government to economic reform. All rights reserved.