Madagascar has no uniform national everyday standard for the quality of the residential environment. More than 60% of the urban population lives in informal or unplanned settlements, and fewer than 20% of people in medium-sized and small cities have direct drinking-water connections. Communes, national ministries, JIRAMA, private providers, water-point committees and NGOs may each cover different parts of the same locality. Electricity access can come from JIRAMA, a small local power system, an off-grid system or solar equipment; connection, tariff and reliability depend on the place and provider. Water and sanitation use several local arrangements, including communal water points, boreholes, piped supply, tankers, emergency aid and household or shared latrines. The Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, known as MEAH, works with communes, JIRAMA, committees and NGOs. MICS 2025 reports 42% access to an improved water source, 17% use of an improved sanitation facility and 40% open defecation. Other monitoring systems report different figures, such as 40.2% improved water access, 58.8% improved latrines and 24.4% open-defecation-free communes, because their indicators and coverage differ. These figures should not be treated as interchangeable measures of household service quality. In the Atsimo-Andrefana inventory from 2024, only 47.5% of examined water points were functioning and about 63% showed faecal bacterial contamination, making maintenance, testing and local management decisive. Indoor air pollution mainly comes from wood, charcoal and crop residues burned with poor ventilation. Outdoor air information and measurement systems remain limited, although traffic, fires, industry and household smoke are recognised sources around Antananarivo. Madagascar has no well-established nationwide everyday noise-monitoring system, uniform limit system or general complaint pathway documented for this subject. Green-space access also depends on local planning; no nationwide urban green-space access system or minimum standard is established in the available evidence. Protected areas and forests primarily concern nature protection rather than the ordinary residential environment. Formal waste collection and treatment do not cover all communities. A World Bank review reports that more than half of urban solid waste enters drainage canals, increasing blockage, flooding and health risks. Drainage, waste removal and sanitation therefore affect one another directly. For disasters, the Bureau National de Gestion des Risques et des Catastrophes, or BNGRC, coordinates prevention, preparedness, response and recovery with regions, communes and local warning structures. Cyclones, floods, droughts and landslides are recurring hazards. Recent events including Fytia and Gezani in early 2026 affected more than 478,000 people and damaged more than 102,000 houses, 761 schools and 30 health centres, while disrupting electricity and water services. Spatial change is addressed through recovery planning, early-warning systems, disaster assessments and reconstruction. Drought monitoring continues in the Grand Sud, and land degradation affects 12 regions, with about 70,000 square kilometres identified as urgently affected in 2024. People can participate in project-related changes through environmental and social impact assessment procedures, known as EIES, public inquiries, public hearings, direct consultation or concertation. Decree 2025-080 provides for stakeholder consultation from the scoping stage, and traditional authorities should be included. Access, timing and the responsible body remain specific to the project and location; Madagascar has no general permanent neighbourhood participation body established for all surroundings issues.
Surroundings in Madagascar
Everyday surroundings in Madagascar vary sharply between urban and rural areas, regions and city sizes. Electricity, drinking water, sanitation, waste collection, drainage and public safety rely on a fragmented mix of public services, commune structures, private providers, community groups and NGOs. Access remains limited: recent data report regular electricity for 37% of the population, improved water sources for 42% and improved sanitation facilities for 17%, while 40% practise open defecation.
Tip
Treat the surroundings as a location-specific service and risk decision, not as a national average. Before choosing a home, project site or relocation area, verify actual electricity, water, sanitation, waste, drainage and warning arrangements locally, and plan for interruptions. Water safety, disaster exposure and the reliability of local management deserve priority over nominal availability.