Antananarivo

Antananarivo, which means the “village of the thousand” in Malagasy, is the economic and political capital of Madagascar with a population of 2.2 million habitants and an area of ​​87 sqkm. The town occupies the slopes of a rocky ridge of a type of red stone culminating at about 435 metres, dotted with lakes such as those of Mandroseza, Anosy, and Masay Lake. The city is about 350 km from the east coast of the island and 550 km from its west coast.

The city was first built as a fortress in the early seventeenth century by the Merina kings, who made it their main residence in the 1790s. The community grew very rapidly while the merina kings, including Radama I, had control of most of the island in the 19th century. The French captured the city in 1895. It later became the capital of the colony of Madagascar and dependencies under French rule. It retained its status as capital during the country’s independence in 1960. Antananarivo is the hub for the main economic, cultural and political activities.