Poverty in Madagascar is structural and dynamic — reproduced by the interaction of institutional fragility, spatial inequality, gendered constraints, and increasingly frequent compound shocks. Amid intermittent growth spurts, the country has achieved little sustained poverty reduction since the early 2000s. More than three-quarters of the population live below the national poverty line, with rural poverty particularly entrenched and urban poverty rising under recent crises. Recurrent political instability, climate shocks, the COVID-19 pandemic, price volatility, and weak public systems have combined to produce a condition described by many participants in this research as “crisis without recovery”.

This report synthesises nationally representative quantitative analysis with in-depth qualitative research across four contrasting regions: Androy, Boeny, Analamanga, and Vakinankaratra, which are selected to represent the regional diversity of Madagascar in terms of ecology, livelihoods, governance capacity, and vulnerability to shocks. The quantitative evidence identifies the statistical correlates of poverty and the association between compound shocks and lower welfare. The qualitative research reveals how these pressures are lived, negotiated, and reproduced within households and communities over time. Together, the evidence shows that poverty in Madagascar functions as a system of recurrent loss under structural constraints.

Authored by Kate Bird, Vidya Diwakar, David Rajaon, Jackaroy Jonathan Randrianja, Sarah Tojo Mandaharisoa, Patricia Hajasoa, Princia Randrianarison, Marta Eichsteller