Madagascar

Madagascar’s land governance brings together ancestral and family claims, local recognition, state registration and decentralized land certification. Farming households depend on irrigated rice fields, uplands, grazing areas and forests, while coastal communities also depend on fishing grounds and mangroves. Land may be socially recognized and used for generations without a formal title.

The 2005 land reform created a path for recognizing eligible untitled private property through communal land offices. Law No. 2022-013 revised the rules for that category. Certification can improve evidence of rights, but access, cost, local capacity, competing claims and the inclusion of women and tenants affect its practical benefits.

Land relations reflect precolonial kingdoms and local authorities, colonial registration and state land administration, and post-independence reforms. Formal titling historically reached only a minority of holdings, while many families continued to rely on inheritance, cultivation and community recognition. Administrative records and local understandings did not always match.

The 2005 reform challenged the assumption that all untitled land was automatically state land and promoted decentralized recognition of eligible private rights. Large-scale land proposals, including the controversial Daewoo project in 2008, brought public attention to the risks of allocating land without adequate consultation and protection of existing users. Political change has repeatedly affected reform and investment.

The 2005 land framework distinguishes titled private property, eligible untitled private property and different categories of state and public land. Law No. 2022-013 of August 2022 revised the rules for untitled private property after controversy over the 2021 law. The Ministry responsible for land lists Decree No. 2022-1250 and Decree No. 2023-28 among implementing measures, including for mass certification.

The 2022 law’s explanatory text describes a five-year occupation requirement at the date of application and a limit of ten hectares in one holding for certification, subject to the law’s definitions and exclusions. The earlier 2021 law’s fifteen-year formulation should not be treated as the current rule. Communes, local land offices, state land services, surveyors and courts have different roles.

Registered title and communal land certificates are distinct legal instruments. A certificate recognizes eligible untitled private property through a local procedure; the 2022 law provides for transactions including inheritance and lease, subject to its rules. A title is recorded through the state registration system. The type of document, the parcel’s legal status and any overlapping rights matter for a particular transaction.

Much land is managed through family inheritance, local agreements, rental and sharecropping. Some resources are used collectively or seasonally and may not fit easily into a procedure designed around an individual parcel. State land, protected areas, forest land and areas under special legal status require separate consideration.

Tanindrazana, often understood as ancestral land or homeland, connects land to family history, burial places and community identity. Its meaning and rules differ across regions. Local authorities and elders can help establish boundaries and resolve disputes, while migration, inheritance and changing land use create new claims and pressures.

Community-recognized rights can include individual fields alongside shared grazing, forests and paths. An individual certificate can strengthen evidence of a holder’s rights but may overlook co-users if the recognition process does not identify them. Public notice, field verification and opportunities to object are essential, especially for absent heirs, women and tenants.

Women acquire land through inheritance, marriage, purchase and other arrangements, but family norms and documentation practices influence whether they control it or appear on certificates. Practices differ by community. A household document naming only one person can conceal the interests of a spouse or other co-owner, and women may have limited influence over sales or compensation.

The World Bank reports that the CASEF project supported issuance of 570,000 certificates between 2016 and May 2023, with 28 percent delivered to women or jointly. This project figure is not a national measure of all women’s land rights. Independent outreach, joint documentation where appropriate and attention to inheritance improve inclusion.

Communal land offices receive applications and organize local recognition; state services maintain registered titles and topographic records. The 2022 law provides for public procedures, local recognition and challenges. Mass certification can lower costs and broaden coverage, but its reliability depends on fieldwork, notices, accurate maps and the ability to maintain records after sales and inheritance.

The CASEF results cover a project and period, not all communes. Local offices require sustainable funding, trained staff and links with state records. Data systems should allow corrections and protect personal information while helping communities understand land allocations and overlapping interests.

Disputes involve boundaries, inheritance, overlapping certificates and titles, public land, conservation areas and investment. A family may see a parcel as ancestral land while an administration records it under another category. When a project or protected area limits access, households can lose fields, forest products or grazing even without moving their homes.

Local mediation can resolve many cases, but power differences can disadvantage women, migrants, tenants and absent family members. Public information, impartial appeal and access to courts are important. Compensation and livelihood restoration should account for actual users and shared resources, not only the name on a title.

Antananarivo and other cities face rapid growth, informal settlement, limited services and pressure on flood-prone land. Households may occupy land under rental, family or informal arrangements without secure documentation. Urban expansion can also convert irrigated fields and wetlands that help sustain food production and drainage.

Planning needs to link tenure, housing, transport, drainage and municipal services. Regularization should include notice and protection against forced displacement, while respecting competing claims. Secure rental arrangements and affordable infrastructure are important for residents who cannot obtain ownership.

Rice is central to food and land use, with irrigated lowlands, rain-fed fields and shifting upland cultivation varying across the island. Smallholders also grow cassava, maize, vanilla, cloves, cocoa and other crops. Access to water, labor, roads and markets shapes the returns from land; tenants and sharecroppers may face insecure or unequal agreements.

Cattle herding and seasonal access to pasture remain important in many regions, particularly the south and west. Drought, insecurity, cultivation and enclosure can disrupt movement and grazing. The FAO September 2026 brief provisionally estimated paddy output above the reduced 2025 level but below the five-year average; maize remained below average and southern food insecurity was projected to remain severe.

Rainfall and water availability vary sharply by region. Irrigation supports rice and other crops, while households depend on rivers, wells and springs for drinking water. Deforestation, erosion, pollution and weak infrastructure can reduce water quality and make flows less reliable. Drought is especially consequential in the south; cyclones and floods can damage canals and fields elsewhere.

Water allocation and maintenance affect who can use land productively. Farmers at the end of irrigation systems, women responsible for domestic water and communities downstream of mines or plantations can face different risks. Local participation and transparent management help align infrastructure with actual needs.

Small-scale fishing, mangrove use and coastal agriculture support livelihoods along Madagascar’s extensive coastline. Access is shaped by local rules, migration, conservation measures, industrial fishing and changing ecosystems. Fishing grounds, landing sites and mangroves may be used collectively and do not necessarily correspond to land parcels.

Locally managed marine areas and temporary closures can support stewardship when communities participate in setting rules and sharing benefits. Restrictions can also impose costs on households that depend on daily catches. Effective governance should include women engaged in processing and marketing, mobile fishers and neighboring communities.

Madagascar’s forests contain globally important biodiversity and provide timber, fuel, food, medicines and watershed services. Deforestation and degradation have multiple causes, including agricultural expansion, fire, logging, infrastructure and market pressures. The relative importance of each varies by place; attributing forest loss to a single group of users obscures these differences.

Protected areas and community forest management can conserve ecosystems, but boundaries and restrictions may affect established use. Transparent rules, local participation, livelihood alternatives and fair benefit sharing are needed. Effective forest governance must address commercial extraction and enforcement as well as the needs of nearby households.

Cyclones, floods and drought affect homes, fields, water infrastructure and food security. Cyclones Fytia and Gezani struck in early 2026; the FAO reports continuing regional differences in crop conditions and acute food insecurity. Adaptation includes resilient infrastructure, diversified livelihoods and secure access to land and water.

Madagascar submitted its third nationally determined contribution in September 2026. The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility lists a revised benefit-sharing plan and monitoring documents for the country’s emissions-reduction program. Targets, monitoring reports and verified reductions are different stages; benefit-sharing plans should be assessed by who receives benefits and how restrictions affect customary users.

Madagascar produces nickel, cobalt, ilmenite, chromium, gold and gemstones. Large projects such as Ambatovy and mineral sands operations interact with farmland, water, biodiversity and settlements, while artisanal mining supports livelihoods and can create environmental and labor challenges.

Mining Code Law No. 2023-007 is enacted and addresses relations between permit holders and surface owners. The World Bank reported implementation of the new code in 2025. A mining permit does not make other land interests disappear; consultation, compensation, environmental monitoring and remedy remain essential.

Land is sought for agriculture, mining, tourism, infrastructure and conservation. Large projects can bring employment and revenue but may also displace existing users or restrict access to water and common resources. The distribution of benefits depends on contracts, public oversight and local bargaining power.

Madagascar entered a political transition after the 2025 upheaval, adding uncertainty to institutions and investment decisions. Transparent land inventories, disclosure of agreements, meaningful consultation and independent avenues for complaints can help protect communities and investors. Due diligence should examine customary and documented interests, not only whether land appears vacant in a register.

Priorities include sustaining communal land offices, updating records after transactions, protecting women’s and co-users’ rights and resolving disputes fairly. Certification should be accessible to poorer households and should not obscure tenants, shared resources or overlapping claims.

Coordination among land, water, forest, marine and mining institutions is essential. Climate resilience and responsible investment require participation, transparent decisions and remedies that address lost livelihoods as well as land. Local capacity and the maintenance of records are as important as the initial issuance of documents.

Land law and administration

• Law No. 2022-013 on untitled private land, official legal text.
• Land laws and implementing decrees, Ministry responsible for land.
• Land reform and agriculture results, World Bank, 2023.

Food, climate and forests

• Madagascar country brief, FAO, September 2026.
• Madagascar’s third nationally determined contribution, UNFCCC, 2026.
• Madagascar emissions-reduction program documents, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility.

Mining and investment

• Mining Code Law No. 2023-007, Bureau du Cadastre Minier de Madagascar.
• Economic reforms and mining, World Bank, 2025.

October 2026: Profile revised to reflect the 2022 untitled-land law and implementing measures, the 2023 Mining Code, land certification, coastal resources, climate and recent political developments.

Confidence: High for the cited land and mining legislation and the 2026 climate submission; moderate for local implementation and the extent of undocumented rights, which vary across communes and communities.

• Global Project Responsible Land Governance (GP Land) — GIZ project supporting community land, agroecology and forests in Madagascar.
• Women’s Empowerment for Resilient Rural Areas (WE4R) — GIZ project supporting rural women’s rights, resources and representation.