The Republic o Madagascar (aulder name Malagasy Republic, French: République malgache, Malagasy: Repoblikan'i Madagasikara ) is an island naition in the Indian Ocean aff the sootheastren coast o Africae. The main island, an aa cawed Madagascar, is the fowert-lairgest island in the warld.
Most archaeologists believe Madagascar wis first inhabitit sometime atween 300 BC an 500 AD bi Austronesian peoples arrivin on outrigger canoes frae Borneo an Sulawesi in the Indonesian archipelago. Suin afterward, Bantu migrants crossed the Mozambique Channel, an the population o the island began tae mix. Later Arab an East Africann migrants war added tae the mix. Madagascar wis ruled bi the local Merina kingdom in the 19t century an wis pairt o the French colonial empire frae 1890 tae 1960, when the current Republic o Madagascar became independent.
Malagasy, the local leid spoken bi the majority o the population, is an Austronesian leid an ane o the offeecial leids. The ither offeecial leid is French (offeecial syne unthirldom).
The primary releegions are Malagasy meethology an Christianity, but adherents tae ither faiths, Islam in parteecular, are foond throughoot the kintra.
Madagascar is hame tae as mony as 12,000 o the warld's plant species. Approximately 80% o aw plant an animal species foond in Madagascar are endemic, includin the lemur infraorder o primates, the carnivorous fossa, three bird families an three o the island's sax baobab species.
