The famous movie franchise of Madagascar has led to a massive increase in the global exposure of the quiet nation of Madagascar, an island country in East Africa with a population of 22.9 million. This franchise has led to a larger global knowledge of the island and massive increases in tourism, leading to the economy now being valued at 45.95 billion USD.

Why is the Madagascar franchise important for Madagascar?

Madagascar itself finds the global exposure significant, especially as of its release, Madagascar was one of the world’s poorest countries with most of its people earning less than a dollar a day (below the poverty line^[i]) and nearly half of the country’s children under five years of age are sadly malnourished. The boost that the Madagascar franchise gave to the country was very important to the economic growth of the island country. As most Malagasy never had many job opportunities in their local area, the tourism that came around allows local people to earn a better income and improve their material living standards as well as help lower the unemployment rate of the nation.

Before 2005, many of the Malagasy day to day survival was dependent upon natural resource use such as timber for fuel as they were unable to afford proper electricity. High demand for firewood put pressure on habitats becoming a major threat to the island’s endemic biodiversity. The exposure from the Madagascar franchise and the tourism it brought played a crucial role in saving Madagascar’s wildlife and environment. The government employed many methods from environmental schemes which was funded by some of the revenue brought by tourism to investment back into the island’s economy in order to combat its socio-economic problems to decrease reliance on firewood.

What affect did the franchise have on the economy?

The film itself was a success, grossing $172 million since its launch over Memorial Day weekend, allowing DreamWorks to have the confidence to release not one but two sequels along with other successful spin offs and short films. This success followed the footsteps of the famous ‘Out of Africa’ (1985) and its economic prosperity it brought to its setting of Kenya. For instance, Madagascar can be seen to experience a large growth in their GDP, gaining a 4.76% increase in 2005, a 6.71% increase in 2008 (year of second films release) and finally a 3.01% increase in 2012 (year of third films release). In addition, these years also experienced increases in GDP per capita^[ii] for the most part (2012 stayed rather stagnant).

Source: Madagascar GDP 1960-2023 | MacroTrends

This graph visualises the films’ effect on the economy, as peaks like in 2008 can be seen, which can be indirectly credited to the second film, and the exposure, tourism and relevance it brought to the nation. This exposure has clearly also led to economic growth, allowing for Madagascar’s economy to expand and adventure out towards more economic opportunities, such as trade. International trade grew as seen in their expansion with trade to partners other than France, such as China and the USA. The Madagascan government also has better political relations on the world stage as a result of welcoming in a lot of tourists and more exposure. This can potentially help the nation forge stronger trade ties and deals with other nations.

What effect did this have on the people?

The economy may have boomed as more money and exposure came to the island, but growth in social development indicator were not as proportionate. Indicators such as the Human Development Index saw little to no change, for instance between 2005 and 2015 the HDI went from 0.25 to 0.27, showing this new exposure to the country was economic based for its benefits. Economic growth may have also primarily benefitted the richer Malagasy people which actually widens inequalities. High levels of inequality can lead to social problems such as crime and deprivation. The tourism would’ve also contributed to negative environmental factors, such as congestion, pollution and littering, which hurt people’s living standards.

On the other hand, the income gained from increased tourism and exports allowed for more advanced infrastructure and public services to be developed, which not only improves living standards but also productivity. This may attract more FDI (Foreign Direct Investment^[iii]) into the nation and create a positive multiplier effect with the creation of more and more jobs improving average income and economic growth.

Footnotes:

[i] Poverty line - minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country.

[ii] GDP per capita - GDP divided by total population.

[iii] Foreign Direct Investment - an ownership stake in a foreign company or project made by an investor, company, or government from another country.

Bibliography:

Human Development Index (HDI) - Our World in Data

Madagascar GDP 1960-2023 | MacroTrends

Madagascar hopes movie will boost tourism and economy (mongabay.com)