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Madagascar · Economy

Madagascar economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances

How large the Madagascar economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.

GDP
US$19.6 billion
current US$, 2025
Real GDP growth
3.0%
2025
GDP per person
US$599
current US$, 2025
Exports of goods
US$2.5 billion
2025
Remittances received
US$616 million
2025, 3.1% of GDP
Foreign direct investment, net inflows
US$889 million
2025, 4.5% of GDP

Madagascar economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person

Madagascar's GDP was US$19.6 billion in 2025, after real growth of 3.0%.

GDP

Current US dollars.

05.0bn10bn15bn20bn201520172019202120232025GDP 2015: US$11.3 billionGDP 2016: US$11.8 billionGDP 2017: US$13.2 billionGDP 2018: US$13.8 billionGDP 2019: US$14.1 billionGDP 2020: US$13.1 billionGDP 2021: US$14.4 billionGDP 2022: US$15.3 billionGDP 2023: US$16.0 billionGDP 2024: US$17.6 billionGDP 2025: US$19.6 billion

Real GDP growth

Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.

-10%-5%0%5%201520172019202120232025Real GDP growth 2015: 3.1%Real GDP growth 2016: 4.0%Real GDP growth 2017: 3.9%Real GDP growth 2018: 3.2%Real GDP growth 2019: 4.4%Real GDP growth 2020: -7.1%Real GDP growth 2021: 4.7%Real GDP growth 2022: 4.1%Real GDP growth 2023: 4.2%Real GDP growth 2024: 4.3%Real GDP growth 2025: 3.0%

GDP per person

Current US dollars.

0200400600201520172019202120232025GDP per person 2015: US$445GDP per person 2016: US$454GDP per person 2017: US$492GDP per person 2018: US$500GDP per person 2019: US$500GDP per person 2020: US$451GDP per person 2021: US$483GDP per person 2022: US$504GDP per person 2023: US$514GDP per person 2024: US$550GDP per person 2025: US$599

Source: World Bank, 2025. Method

Who invests in Madagascar and in what

Direct investment by investing country

Mauritius was the largest investing country in Madagascar, at 36% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.

Inward direct investment positions in Madagascar at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 10 largest investing countries.

The IMF data holds no positions reported by Madagascar itself. The figures are derived by the IMF from what the investing countries report, so they are shown as reported by investing countries.

MauritiusUS$1.2 billion36.0%
NetherlandsUS$964 million27.9%
South KoreaUS$483 million14.0%
FranceUS$327 million9.5%
ChinaUS$218 million6.3%
ItalyUS$116 million3.4%
CanadaUS$61 million1.8%
MoroccoUS$46 million1.3%
United StatesUS$31 million0.9%
SerbiaUS$6.8 million0.2%

Source: IMF, 2024. Method

What Madagascar sells and buys

Nickel and articles thereof was 18% of exports in 2025.

Madagascar sold the most to France, 18% of exports in 2025.

Exports by product, 2025

Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.

Nickel and articles thereof: US$442 million, 17.8%Nickel and articles the…18%Coffee, tea, mate and spices: US$335 million, 13.5%Coffee, tea and spices14%Apparel and clothing accessories: US$295 million, 11.9%Clothing, not k…12%Apparel and clothing accessories: US$234 million, 9.4%Clothing, knitt…9%Ores, slag and ash: US$175 million, 7.0%Ores, slag and…7%Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates: US$100 million, 4.0%Essential oils and resinoids: US$99 million, 4.0%Metals: US$96 million, 3.9%Other bas…4%Cocoa and cocoa preparations: US$91 million, 3.7%Cocoa and…4%Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation: US$66 million, 2.7%Mineral f…3%Salt: US$63 million, 2.5%Salt, sulph…3%Natural, cultured pearls: US$59 million, 2.4%Pearls, pr…2%All other chapters: US$426 million, 17.2%All other chapters17%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Top buyers, 2025

Share of Madagascar's exports.

FranceUS$446 million18.0%
United StatesUS$395 million15.9%
ChinaUS$203 million8.2%
JapanUS$171 million6.9%
NetherlandsUS$153 million6.1%
IndiaUS$138 million5.6%
South KoreaUS$129 million5.2%
South AfricaUS$95 million3.8%
GermanyUS$85 million3.4%
IndonesiaUS$76 million3.1%

Top suppliers, 2025

Share of Madagascar's imports.

ChinaUS$1.3 billion25.5%
OmanUS$646 million12.4%
IndiaUS$357 million6.8%
FranceUS$288 million5.5%
PakistanUS$265 million5.1%
United Arab EmiratesUS$256 million4.9%
MalaysiaUS$210 million4.0%
South AfricaUS$204 million3.9%
MauritiusUS$143 million2.7%
EgyptUS$131 million2.5%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

What Madagascar buys, 2025

The 8 largest product chapters in imports.

Mineral fuels and oilsUS$911 million17.5%
CerealsUS$415 million8.0%
Machinery and mechanical appliancesUS$324 million6.2%
VehiclesUS$306 million5.9%
Fats and oilsUS$302 million5.8%
Electrical machinery and equipmentUS$301 million5.8%
Salt, sulphur, earth and stoneUS$245 million4.7%
Pharmaceutical productsUS$191 million3.7%

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Trade balance of goods

Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.

-3.0bn-2.0bn-1.0bn0201520172019202120232025Trade balance 2015: -US$796 million (exports US$2.1 billion, imports US$2.9 billion)Trade balance 2016: -US$707 million (exports US$2.3 billion, imports US$3.0 billion)Trade balance 2017: -US$769 million (exports US$2.9 billion, imports US$3.7 billion)Trade balance 2018: -US$938 million (exports US$3.1 billion, imports US$4.1 billion)Trade balance 2019: -US$1.3 billion (exports US$2.7 billion, imports US$3.9 billion)Trade balance 2020: -US$1.2 billion (exports US$2.0 billion, imports US$3.2 billion)Trade balance 2021: -US$1.6 billion (exports US$2.8 billion, imports US$4.4 billion)Trade balance 2022: -US$1.9 billion (exports US$3.7 billion, imports US$5.6 billion)Trade balance 2023: -US$1.5 billion (exports US$3.3 billion, imports US$4.8 billion)Trade balance 2024: -US$2.2 billion (exports US$2.6 billion, imports US$4.8 billion)Trade balance 2025: -US$2.7 billion (exports US$2.5 billion, imports US$5.2 billion)

Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method

Remittances against foreign direct investment in Madagascar

Foreign direct investment in Madagascar was 1.4 times remittances in 2025.

Remittances receivedForeign direct investment, net inflows
0250m500m750m1.0bn201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: US$327 millionRemittances 2016: US$299 millionRemittances 2017: US$343 millionRemittances 2018: US$426 millionRemittances 2019: US$408 millionRemittances 2020: US$495 millionRemittances 2021: US$440 millionRemittances 2022: US$385 millionRemittances 2023: US$311 millionRemittances 2024: US$406 millionRemittances 2025: US$616 millionForeign direct investment 2015: US$328 millionForeign direct investment 2016: US$541 millionForeign direct investment 2017: US$465 millionForeign direct investment 2018: US$612 millionForeign direct investment 2019: US$474 millionForeign direct investment 2020: US$358 millionForeign direct investment 2021: US$358 millionForeign direct investment 2022: US$468 millionForeign direct investment 2023: US$520 millionForeign direct investment 2024: US$606 millionForeign direct investment 2025: US$889 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Remittances and investment as a share of GDP

The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.

Remittances, share of GDPForeign direct investment, share of GDP
0%2%4%6%201520172019202120232025Remittances 2015: 2.9%Remittances 2016: 2.5%Remittances 2017: 2.6%Remittances 2018: 3.1%Remittances 2019: 2.9%Remittances 2020: 3.8%Remittances 2021: 3.1%Remittances 2022: 2.5%Remittances 2023: 1.9%Remittances 2024: 2.3%Remittances 2025: 3.1%Foreign direct investment 2015: 2.9%Foreign direct investment 2016: 4.6%Foreign direct investment 2017: 3.5%Foreign direct investment 2018: 4.4%Foreign direct investment 2019: 3.4%Foreign direct investment 2020: 2.7%Foreign direct investment 2021: 2.5%Foreign direct investment 2022: 3.0%Foreign direct investment 2023: 3.2%Foreign direct investment 2024: 3.4%Foreign direct investment 2025: 4.5%

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Who Madagascar owes

External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.

Multilateral creditors held 57% of Madagascar's external debt stock in 2024.

Public external debt owed to China was US$317 million in 2024, 5% of the external debt stock.

MultilateralBilateralCommercial banksRest of the totalPublic debt owed to China
02.0bn4.0bn6.0bn8.0bn20152017201920212023Multilateral 2015: US$2.0 billionBilateral 2015: US$450 millionCommercial banks 2015: US$86 millionRest of the total 2015: US$499 millionMultilateral 2016: US$2.0 billionBilateral 2016: US$372 millionCommercial banks 2016: US$77 millionRest of the total 2016: US$511 millionMultilateral 2017: US$2.3 billionBilateral 2017: US$355 millionCommercial banks 2017: US$126 millionRest of the total 2017: US$647 millionMultilateral 2018: US$2.3 billionBilateral 2018: US$390 millionCommercial banks 2018: US$163 millionRest of the total 2018: US$820 millionMultilateral 2019: US$2.5 billionBilateral 2019: US$475 millionCommercial banks 2019: US$153 millionRest of the total 2019: US$929 millionMultilateral 2020: US$2.8 billionBilateral 2020: US$553 millionCommercial banks 2020: US$145 millionRest of the total 2020: US$1.3 billionMultilateral 2021: US$3.0 billionBilateral 2021: US$612 millionCommercial banks 2021: US$117 millionRest of the total 2021: US$1.6 billionMultilateral 2022: US$3.1 billionBilateral 2022: US$774 millionCommercial banks 2022: US$98 millionRest of the total 2022: US$2.0 billionMultilateral 2023: US$3.5 billionBilateral 2023: US$869 millionCommercial banks 2023: US$115 millionRest of the total 2023: US$2.0 billionMultilateral 2024: US$3.8 billionBilateral 2024: US$868 millionCommercial banks 2024: US$133 millionRest of the total 2024: US$1.9 billionPublic debt owed to China 2015: US$55 millionPublic debt owed to China 2016: US$47 millionPublic debt owed to China 2017: US$46 millionPublic debt owed to China 2018: US$78 millionPublic debt owed to China 2019: US$135 millionPublic debt owed to China 2020: US$155 millionPublic debt owed to China 2021: US$184 millionPublic debt owed to China 2022: US$312 millionPublic debt owed to China 2023: US$329 millionPublic debt owed to China 2024: US$317 million

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Reserves and months of import cover

Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.

Reserves, US$Months of imports
01.0bn2.0bn3.0bn024620152017201920212023Reserves 2015: US$832 millionReserves 2016: US$1.2 billionReserves 2017: US$1.6 billionReserves 2018: US$1.7 billionReserves 2019: US$1.7 billionReserves 2020: US$2.0 billionReserves 2021: US$2.3 billionReserves 2022: US$2.2 billionReserves 2023: US$2.6 billionReserves 2024: US$2.8 billionMonths of imports 2015: 2.5 monthsMonths of imports 2016: 3.5 monthsMonths of imports 2017: 3.9 monthsMonths of imports 2018: 3.9 monthsMonths of imports 2019: 3.9 monthsMonths of imports 2020: 5.7 monthsMonths of imports 2021: 5.5 monthsMonths of imports 2022: 4.0 monthsMonths of imports 2023: 5.5 monthsMonths of imports 2024: 5.5 months

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method

Aid received by Madagascar

Net official development assistance and official aid received.

0500m1.0bn1.5bn20152017201920212023Aid received 2015: US$678 millionAid received 2016: US$622 millionAid received 2017: US$779 millionAid received 2018: US$755 millionAid received 2019: US$733 millionAid received 2020: US$1.3 billionAid received 2021: US$1.1 billionAid received 2022: US$1.0 billionAid received 2023: US$1.3 billion

Source: World Bank, 2026. Method