24 Facts About Antananarivo

Antananarivo, known by its colonial shorthand form Tana, is the capital and largest city of Madagascar.

Antananarivo was historically the capital of the Merina people, who continue to form the majority of the city's 1,275,207 inhabitants.

Antananarivo became the capital of the southern quadrant until 1794, when King Andrianampoinimerina of Ambohimanga captured the province and restored it as capital of a united Kingdom of Imerina, bringing neighboring ethnic groups under Merina control.

Antananarivo remained the island's capital after Madagascar was colonized by the French in 1897, and after independence in 1960.

Antananarivo was originally the site of a town called Analamanga, meaning "Blue Forest" in the Central Highlands dialect of the Malagasy language.

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Antananarivo moved the kingdom's political capital back to Antananarivo in 1794, and declared Ambohimanga the kingdom's spiritual capital, a role it still maintains.

The University of Antananarivo was constructed in the Ankatso neighborhood and the Museum of Ethnology and Paleontology was built.

Antananarivo is the see city of Madagascar's Roman Catholic Archdiocese.

Under the Koppen-Geiger climate classification system, Antananarivo has a subtropical highland climate with dry season defined characterized by mild, dry winters and warm, rainy summers.

Antananarivo encompasses three ridges that intersect at their highest point.

Since 1993, the Commune urbaine d'Antananarivo has increasingly sought to protect and restore the city's architectural and cultural heritage.

Antananarivo has been the largest city on the island since at least the late 18th century, when its population was estimated at 15,000.

Antananarivo increased the number of police officers on the streets, leading to a drop in crime.

Residents of urban areas—in particular Antananarivo—have been hardest hit by economic downturns and economic policy shifts.

The end of state subsidies, rapid inflation, higher taxes, widespread impoverishment and the decline of the middle class were especially evident in Antananarivo, as was the growing wealth of a tiny political and economic elite in the city.

In 2007, two-thirds of Antananarivo residents had access to electricity, while ten percent of households owned a scooter, car or other motor vehicle.

Antananarivo has two dedicated cinemas, the Rex and the Ritz, both of which were built in the colonial era.

Sports facilities of the University of Antananarivo were used to host the official 2011 African Basketball Championship.

Antananarivo is the capital of Madagascar, and the federal governance structures, including the Senate, National Assembly, the Supreme Court and the presidential office are housed there.

In 2019, the Mayor of the Commune Urbaine Antananarivo was inviting the City of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia to enter into a sister relationship with the City of Antananarivo.

Antananarivo is one of the two urban areas in Madagascar where bubonic plague is endemic.

In 2017, Antananarivo was ranked as the 7th worst city for particulate-matter air pollution in the world.

Antananarivo obtained funds from international donors to establish garbage collection and disposal systems, restore dilapidated infrastructure such as roads and marketplaces, and replanted public gardens.

Antananarivo was connected by train to Toamasina to the east and Manakara to the southeast via Antsirabe and Fianarantsoa, but since 2019 passenger trains have not been operated anymore.