Discover the amazing island of Madagascar

Get to know the amazing island of Madagascar - Are you looking for a new travel destination? Then Madagascar might just be the one for you. This amazing island features incredible landscapes with extremely diverse fauna and flora and a tropical climate. Take a look at the pictures to see the beauty and nature of Madagascar.

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Species - It is estimated that around 90% of the species that live on the island cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

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Population - There are around 24.8 million people living in Madagascar, more people than Australia, the Netherlands, Romania or Greece.

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Chameleons - Over half of all the world's chameleons live in Madagascar.

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It's not like the movies - Contrary to what you see in the 'Madagascar' movies, you won't find tigers, giraffes or hippos there.

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Birds - For bird lovers and photographers, Madagascar is a paradise, with a huge variety of bird species.

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Strange - There are also some really bizarre animals, such as the aye-aye lemur or the Malagasy giant rat.

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World Heritage - Some places in the island are World Heritage Sites, such as the Ambohimanga Royal Hill, the rain forests of the Atsinanana and the Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve.

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Marijuana - According to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report, one in every 10 Madagascar residents smokes weed.

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Death penalty - The island only abolished the death sentence in 2012.

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Unhappiness - According to the World Happiness Report, Madagascar is one of the unhappiest places in the world (it ranked 10 on the list). This is due to the country's poverty levels and a very low life expectancy of 65 years old.

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Tourism - Even though it is a poor country, Madagascar is one of the most expensive destinations for tourists - a double room in a luxury hotel can cost around $3220 per night.

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Railways - Despite its vast size, Madagascar only has 854 kilometers of railroad.

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Pirate paradise - Lack of government and European influence turned the island into a safe haven for many pirates. In the 17th century, Madagascar was even declared as an anarchist colony by captain James Misson.

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Fashion - Men and women both wear the same traditional clothing called 'lamba.' There are different lambas for different occasions, such as weddings, work, among others.

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National sport - Moraingy is the traditional sport in Madagascar and it is very popular around the island.

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Two seasons - The island's tropical climate only allows for two seasons: a colder, drier one that starts in May and ends in October and then a warmer, rainy one that starts in November and goes until April.

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Capital - The capital is Antananarivo, which is also the most populated city on the island.

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Religion - 52% of the population are of indigenous religious beliefs, 41% are Christians and 7% are Muslims.

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Forest - The island lost around 80% of the original forest since the first humans arrived approximately two thousand years ago.

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Health care - The quality of the health care there is very low. Reports from 2011 showed that there was an average of three hospital beds for every 10 thousand people.

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Poverty - Around 90% of the Malagasy people live on a salary of under two dollars a day.

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President - The President of Madagascar has the longest surname of all the world leaders: Hery Rajaonarimampianina.

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Lemurs - There are around 100 different species and subspecies of lemurs in Madagascar.

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Beliefs - For many people in Madagascar, the lemurs are sacred beings that carry the souls of their dead ancestors.

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Vanilla - Around 80% of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar.

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Music - Music in the island is seen as a bridge that connects the people with their ancestors' souls. Often at parties they will pour rum over the instruments as a sign of respect for the dead.

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Nickname - Because of its biodiversity, Madagascar is often called the 'eighth continent' of the world.

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Unique - Madagascar's people are truly unique: they are descendants of people that migrated from Africa and Indonesia (Java, Borneo and Sumatra).

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