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Madagascar is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's fourth largest island (after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo), the second-largest island country (after Indonesia), and the 46th largest country overall. Its capital and largest city is Antananarivo.
As a result of the island's long isolation from neighbouring continents, Madagascar is home to various endemic plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth. Approximately 90% of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are endemic. This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Madagascar as the "eighth continent", and the island has been classified by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot.
