Madagascar
Long Name: Republic of Madagascar
Location: Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Mozambique
Area: 226,656 sq. mi. (587,040 sq. km)
Climate: tropical along coast, temperate inland, arid in south
Terrain: narrow coastal plain, high plateau and mountains in center
Population: 20,042,552
Population Growth Rate: 3.005%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 38.38
Death Rate (per 1,000): 8.32
Life Expectancy: 62.52 years
Ethnic Groups: Malayo-Indonesian (Merina and related Betsileo), Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry - Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Antaisaka, Sakalava), French, Indian, Creole, Comoran
Religion: indigenous beliefs 52%, Christian 41%, Muslim 7%
Languages: English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official)
Literacy: 68.9%
Government Type: republic
Capital: Antananarivo
Independence: 26 June 1960 (from France)
GDP Per Capita: $900
Occupations: N/A Currency: ariary (MGA)
Malawi
Long Name: Republic of Malawi
Location: Southern Africa, east of Zambia
Area: 45,745 sq. mi. (118,480 sq. km)
Climate: sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)
Terrain: narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains
Population: 13,931,831
Population Growth Rate: 2.39%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 41.79
Death Rate (per 1,000): 17.89
Life Expectancy: 43.45 years
Ethnic Groups: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbu-ka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European
Religion: Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3%
Languages: Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6%
Literacy: 62.7%
Government Type: multiparty democracy
Capital: Lilongwe
Independence: 6 July 1964 (from United Kingdom)
GDP Per Capita: $800
Occupations: agriculture 90%, industry and services 10%
Currency: Malawian kwacha (MWK)
Malaysia
Long Name: Malaysia
Location: Southeastern Asia, peninsula bordering Thailand and northern one-third of the island of Borneo, bordering Indonesia, Brunei, and the South China Sea, south of Vietnam
Area: 127,317 sq. mi. (329,750 sq. km)
Climate: tropical; annual southwest (April to October) and northeast (October to February) monsoons
Terrain: coastal plains rising to hills and mountains
Population: 25,274,132
Population Growth Rate: 1.742%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 22.44
Death Rate (per 1,000): 5.02
Life Expectancy: 73.03 years
Ethnic Groups: Malay 50.4%, Chinese 23.7%, indigenous 11%, Indian 7.1%, others 7.8%
Religion: Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8%
Languages: Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai, in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Literacy: 88.7%
Government Type: constitutional monarchy
Capital: Kuala Lumpur
Independence: 31 August 1957 (from United Kingdom)
GDP Per Capita: $14,500
Occupations: agriculture 13%, industry 36%, services 51%
Currency: ringgit (MYR)
Maldives
Long Name: Republic of Maldives
Location: Southern Asia, group of atolls in the Indian Ocean, south-southwest of India
Area: 116 sq. mi. (300 sq. km)
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; dry, northeast monsoon (November to March); rainy, southwest monsoon (June to August)
Terrain: flat, with white sandy beaches
Population: 385,925
Population Growth Rate: 5.566%
Birth Rate (per 1,000): 14.84
Death Rate (per 1,000): 3.66
Life Expectancy: 73.72 years
Ethnic Groups: South Indians, Sinhalese, Arabs
Religion: Sunni Muslim
Languages: Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
Literacy: 96.3%
Government Type: republic Capital: Male
Independence: 26 July 1965 (from United Kingdom)
GDP Per Capita: $4,600
Occupations: agriculture 22%, industry 18%, services 60%
Currency: rufiyaa (MVR)
