Crime risks differ between cities, rural areas, main roads and remote destinations. Theft, pickpocketing, mugging, home invasion, carjacking and assault can occur nationwide. Armed dahalo conflicts are especially relevant in parts of the south and west. Risk can increase after dark and on isolated routes, including sections of the RN7, RN10, RN13, RN27, RN34 and RN35, as well as remote beaches and areas around Nosy Be, Ankify, Ambanja and Toliara. Local advice and a recognised transport company or guide are particularly useful for remote travel. Avoid walking alone after dark, poorly lit urban areas and displaying phones or large amounts of cash. Keep vehicle doors and windows locked, use pre-booked taxis or hotel transport, and consider a convoy for particularly remote journeys. Taxi-brousse travel can involve robbery risk on some routes. During an armed attack, do not resist. If someone claiming to be a police officer approaches you, ask for identification and move to a safer public place if circumstances allow. For meetings connected with money, employment or business, use a secure location and tell a trusted person where you are. The Police Nationale and Gendarmerie Nationale receive reports and investigate offences. Police emergency numbers are 17 from a landline and 117 from a mobile phone; police stations can also be reached directly on 19 or 119 from a mobile phone. A report or complaint can be verbal or written. Record the date, time, place, consequences, witnesses, messages, photographs and other evidence. Reports may also be made through a police station, gendarmerie office, Brigade Féminine de Police (BFP), Fokontany, health facility, municipality, court or the public prosecutor's office. A Fokontany is a local administrative community structure that can help connect a person with local authorities, but it does not replace a formal police or judicial report. Gender-based violence, or GBV, includes violence directed at a person because of gender or gender-related power relations. Under Madagascar's Law 2019-008, any person who becomes aware of GBV must report it to a competent administrative or judicial authority. The authority must record the report and promptly transmit it to the judicial police or competent court. Confidentiality applies, and a judge may issue protection measures such as a no-contact order or concealment of the victim's address. Child maltreatment also triggers reporting duties for family members, neighbours, local authorities, teachers, religious leaders, social and medical staff, and police officers. The free national Ligne Verte 147 is available 24 hours a day from Orange Madagascar, Yas Madagascar and Airtel Madagascar for listening and rapid referral in child-protection cases. Centres Vonjy provide integrated support for child victims of sexual violence. Police, gendarmerie, social and medical services, the Juge des Enfants and child-protection networks may become involved. The BFP also offers an online channel for GBV and missing-person reports with a case-tracking code and confidentiality. Transport, medical treatment and legal assistance may create separate costs even when reporting and violence services are free. Digital offences include cyberbullying, grooming, sextortion, online sexual harassment, child sexual abuse material and online exploitation. The national cybercrime police unit handles criminal reports. CIRT-MG, Madagascar's computer incident response team, can be contacted at incident@cirt.mg; emergency availability is 24 hours a day, while regular service hours are 08:00 to 17:00 East Africa Time. The 147 service and Arozaza support child online-violence cases, and the IWF Madagascar portal accepts anonymous reports for child sexual abuse material and removal requests. Preserve messages, account names, URLs and screenshots, and do not pay or send further images in response to sextortion.
Crime in Madagascar
Crime in Madagascar includes theft, assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, cattle-rustling gangs known as dahalo, gender-based violence, child abuse, trafficking and digital offences. Risks are generally higher after dark, on isolated roads, in poorly lit urban areas and in remote parts of the south and west. Safer travel depends on local advice, secure transport, limited valuables and prompt contact with the police or gendarmerie after an incident.
Tip
Treat personal safety in Madagascar as a planning issue that changes with time, place and transport choice. Give highest priority to avoiding predictable exposure after dark and on isolated roads, keeping a reliable way to contact police or support services, and preserving evidence after an incident. If violence involves a child or gender-based violence, use 147 or a competent authority promptly instead of trying to manage the case privately.