Democratic Republic of Madagascar

République Démocratique de Madagascar;

Repoblika Demokratika n'i Madagaskar

CAPITAL: Antananarivo

FLAG: The flag consists of a white vertical stripe at the hoist flanked at the right by two horizontal stripes, the upper in red, the lower in green.

ANTHEM: Ry Tanindrazanay Malala O (Our Beloved Country).

MONETARY UNIT: The Malagasy franc (FMG) is a paper currency. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, and 250 Malagasy francs and notes of 50, 100, 500, 1,000, 2,500 5,000, 10,000, and 25,000 Malagasy francs. FMG1 = $0.0001584 (or $1 = FMG6,313) as of May 2003.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is generally used.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Commemoration of 1947 Rebellion, 29 March; Labor Day, 1 May; Independence and National Day, 26 June; All Saints' Day, 1 November; Christmas, 25 December; Anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Madagascar, 30 December. Movable religious holidays include Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension, and Pentecost Monday.

TIME: 3 PM = noon GMT.

Location, Size, and Extent

Situated off the southeast coast of Africa...