Madagascar
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
587,713km²
Area
5,237km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
2,876m
Highest point
Maromokotro
26,000,000
People
29°C
Warmest sea
February
293km
To the mainland
When to go to Madagascar
Best for the beach in September.
The sea is warmest in February (29 °C) and coolest in August (24 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the Indian Ocean, part of the country Madagascar
Madagascar is an island in Madagascar. It covers 587,713 km², with 5,237 km of coastline. Its highest point, Maromokotro, rises to 2,876 m. About 26,000,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 293 km away.
Getting there
- Ivato International Airport (TNR)main airport (11 on the island with scheduled flights)Car hire at TNR airport (Antananarivo)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 293 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Madagascar.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Madagascar in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Madagascar, each with its own numbers.
2beaches and covesCoastya
48lakesLakeyas
9waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
300m
Riandahy Falls
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
173km²
Lake Alaotra
2 m deep · according to Lakeyas
Deepest lake
4m
Lake Ihotry
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
33.1°C
Lake Ampanomboha
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.6°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
2 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Plage d’ Amborovy29.6°C
- Anse Ampanolahanacove28.5°C
48 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Alaotra2 m deep173km²
- Lake Ihotry4 m deep167km²
- Lake Kinkony155km²
- Lake Nosive43.8km²
- Lake Itasy30.8km²
- Lake Tsimanampetsotsa2 m deep16.1km²
- Lake Mantasoa11.0km²
- Lake Anosy0.15km²
40 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
9 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Riandahy Falls300m
- Rianbavy Falls250m
- Sakaleona Falls200m
- Antomboka River62m
- Mahamanina Falls60m
- Mandraka Falls
- Andriamamovoka Falls
- Humbert Falls
1 more on CascadyasCascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
1,000 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Antananarivo1,349,501 people
- Toamasina345,107 people
- Antsirabe260,907 people
- Fianarantsoa203,105 people
- Toliara178,725 people
- Antsiranana136,959 people
- Sambava89,003 people
- Imerintsiatosika74,085 people
- Antalaha71,898 people
- Tôlanaro71,258 people
- Antanifotsy70,626 people
- Ambovombe69,265 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 23 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 25 | 24 |
| Night low (°C) | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 483 | 358 | 263 | 124 | 37 | 25 | 30 | 17 | 20 | 76 | 209 | 349 |
| Wet days | 28 | 25 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 26 |
| Sun h/day | 7.7 | 7.9 | 8.6 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.6 | 10.2 | 10.5 | 10.2 | 9.8 | 9.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.3 | −0.1 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 |
| 2021 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.4 | −0.2 | −0.1 | +0.1 | −0.2 | −0.3 | −0.3 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | ±0.0 |
| 2023 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.7 |
| 2025 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q7463928) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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