Q 01/05

Madagascar lies in which body of water?

A) The Atlantic

B) The Indian Ocean

C) The Pacific

D) The Red Sea

Answer · why

B) The Indian Ocean

It sits off the southeastern coast of Africa across the Mozambique Channel.

Q 02/05

By area, Madagascar ranks where among the world's islands?

A) Second-largest

B) Third-largest

C) Fourth-largest

D) Sixth-largest

Answer · why

C) Fourth-largest

Only Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo are bigger, and it is the second-largest island country after Indonesia.

Q 03/05

What is the capital and largest city of Madagascar?

A) Toamasina

B) Antananarivo

C) Mahajanga

D) Fianarantsoa

Answer · why

B) Antananarivo

Its colonial French name was Tananarive, and locals still shorten it to Tana.

Q 04/05

Roughly what share of Madagascar's wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth?

A) Over 90%

B) About 75%

C) About 50%

D) About 25%

Answer · why

A) Over 90%

The island split from Africa around 180 million years ago and from India about 90 million years ago, so its species evolved in isolation.

Q 05/05

Which two languages are official in Madagascar?

A) Malagasy and English

B) Malagasy and Portuguese

C) Swahili and French

D) Malagasy and French

Answer · why

D) Malagasy and French

Malagasy is an Austronesian language, closer to the languages of Borneo than to anything spoken in mainland Africa.