Distillers Madagascar
A one-page guide to Madagascar for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Antananarivo
- Official languages
- Malagasy, French
- Currency
- Malagasy ariary (MGA)
- Time zone
- UTC+3 (EAT)
- Area
- 587,295 km²
People
- Population
- 32.7 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 2.4% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 32.9%
- Aged under 15
- 38.9%
- Aged 65 and over
- 3.5%
- Life expectancy
- 63.8 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$19.6 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$599 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 3.0% (2025)
- Inflation
- 8.1% (2025)
Climate
Tropical to subtropical maritime. Hot, rainy season from November to April, often with damaging cyclones; cooler dry season May to October. The central highlands are cooler and drier, the south and south-west semi-arid. Cyclones and humidity matter for warehouse and port logistics.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 1.0 litres of pure alcohol (2019)
- What people drink
- Beer 68.6%, wine 9.5%, spirits 21.8% (2019)
- Traditional drinks
- Toaka gasy (artisanal sugarcane rum, still illegal pending a law), Betsabetsa (fermented sugarcane drink), Rhum arrangé (rum macerated with fruit and spices)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); L'Express de Madagascar - beer production; AllAfrica - toaka gasy bill; L'Express - excise on alcohol 2024; Three Horses Beer; AllAfrica - arranged rum maker; World Bank country data; WHO Global status report on alcohol and health 2024 (via Wikipedia table); UN Comtrade public API, HS 2208. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.