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Madagascar Ethnic groups form the integral part of Madagascar society and culture. The Malagasy group of people of Madagascar comprise of the intermingling of various immigrants from different parts of the world. The original immigrants are said to be the Afro-Malagasy race. Later on the immigrants from African, Arabs, China, Europe and India arrived and settled in Madagascar.
The main Madagascar ethnic groups, according to the 1998 survey, are the Malayo-Indonesian, Merina (formed about 25% of the population), Betsileo (about 12%) and the Cotiers. These African ethnic groups of Madagascar were initially demarcated on the basis of political groupings but later on the Europeans included them under the Madagascar ethnic groups.
The Austronesian people are the major group living in Madagascar and they constitute about 57% of the total population. The territories occupied by the Austronesian peoples were together known as Austronesia. The Malagasy ethnic group forms a good number of the population and they are sub divided into two racial and socio-economic groups namely the Betsileo and the Merina. Merina, the Madagascar natives, have been the descendant groups from the late 18th century but the colonialism in Madagascar strengthened them politically in Madagascar.
Betsileo are the third largest among the Madagascar ethnic groups and they are the highland tribe of Madagascar. The word Betsileo means “the invincible one”. The population of Betsileo is about one million. Other than Merina and Betsileo, other significant populations are of French, Indian, Comoran and the Creole origin.
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