Madagascar

Madagascar: an outright decline in dollar terms, 1980–2024

Madagascar's economy relies on agriculture (vanilla, cloves), mining (nickel, cobalt), and textiles, but recurring political crises, notably in 2009, and frequent cyclones have kept per-capita income among the lowest in the world. Between 1980 and 2024, Madagascar's GDP per capita grew from $578 to $545 (current US$), a compound annual growth rate of -0.1% — an outright decline in dollar terms. Annual GDP growth averaged 2.0% with a year-to-year standard deviation of 4.1 points, reflecting considerable volatility and periodic crises. Structurally, agriculture's share of the economy moved from 35.0% to 22.5% of GDP (a classic decline as the economy industrialized/modernized), while services rose from 43.6% to 47.7% of GDP, underscoring a shift toward a services-driven economy. On human development, life expectancy rose from 50.0 to 63.8 years, while tertiary school enrollment moved from 2.7% to 6.1%, while the urban population share grew from 18.5% to 32.4%.

What this growth cost: Growth was not without cost: per-capita CO2 emissions rose from 0.11 to 0.15 tonnes CO2e per person; income inequality (Gini index) narrowed from 46.8 to 36.8; the poverty headcount ratio increased from 61.7% to 69.2%.