Ring-tailed Lemur
Ring-tailed lemurs are found nowhere else on Earth and use their boldly striped tails to signal to their group during long walks through the forest.
Flag of Madagascar
Field Report
Madagascar is a large island nation sitting in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa, separated from the mainland long enough that it developed its own remarkable collection of wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. Most of its people, called the Malagasy, live in villages and small cities, growing rice in terraced fields and speaking a language brought by their seafaring ancestors from Southeast Asia over a thousand years ago. Millions of people in Madagascar have heard the name of Jesus, but many others — especially in rural areas and smaller ethnic groups — still need someone to bring them the gospel.
From the Field Notebook
Ring-tailed Lemur
Ring-tailed lemurs are found nowhere else on Earth and use their boldly striped tails to signal to their group during long walks through the forest.
Panther Chameleon
Panther chameleons can shift through bright blues, greens, and reds not just to hide, but to communicate with other chameleons nearby.
Fossa
The fossa looks like a cross between a cat and a mongoose, and it is Madagascar's largest predator, moving through trees with surprising speed and agility.
Romazava
Romazava is Madagascar's national stew, made with beef or pork and leafy greens, and it is eaten with heaping portions of white rice at almost every meal.
Mofo Gasy
Mofo gasy are small, slightly sweet rice cakes cooked in cast-iron pans and sold by street vendors in the early morning as a simple, warm breakfast.
Ravitoto
Ravitoto is a rich dish of crushed cassava leaves cooked with pork fat, carrying a deep, earthy flavor that Malagasy families have enjoyed for generations.
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, roughly twice the size of the state of Arizona.
About 90 percent of the plants and animals found in Madagascar live nowhere else on the planet.
The Malagasy people did not originally come from Africa — their ancestors sailed from what is now Indonesia and Borneo more than a thousand years ago.
Madagascar grows about 80 percent of the world's vanilla, which flavors ice cream and baked goods eaten by people all over the globe.
There are more than 18 distinct ethnic groups in Madagascar, and the country has two official languages: Malagasy and French.
Daily Life
64
Years life expectancy
75%
Can read and write
96%
Kids go to school
Missions Field Report
Madagascar is home to 40 distinct people groups — 11 of them haven’t yet heard about Jesus.
About half of Madagascar's people follow Christianity (49.4%). Evangelical Christians make up about 6.1% of the population.
What People Believe
Unreached People Groups
These are communities of people who haven’t had the chance to hear about Jesus yet. They need missionaries — and they need kids like you to pray for them.
Antankarana
233,000 people
Deaf
135,000 people
Gujarati, Karana
105,000 people
Arab, Yemeni
66,000 people
Malay
39,000 people
Prayer Journal
Tick each one as you pray. God hears every word.