The Toliara Province (formerly Toliary or Tuléar) is a former

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

with an area of . It had a population of 2,229,550 (July, 2001). Its capital was

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name was adopted ...

. Near Toliara was the " spiny forest". Toliara Province bordered the following provinces – Mahajanga Province in the north, Antananarivo Province in the northeast and

Fianarantsoa Province Fianarantsoa Province is a former province of Madagascar. It has an area of 103,272 km2 and population of 3,366,291 (July 2001 estimate). Its capital was Fianarantsoa. The province along with the 5 other was abolished in 2007 in favour of cre ...

in the east. Masikoro Malagasy and Tandroy Malagasy were the chief languages. Sea cucumbers were exported from the province and were an important factor in its economy. The deciduous Andronovory forest was located in the province. The province was the poorest one in Madagascar. In 1993, 8 in every 10 person of the province was living below the poverty line. Despite the production of export crops the province recorded the highest rural poverty. The average fertility rate per woman was above 5. With 77 percent of its population being illiterate, Tolaira was the most illiterate province of Madagascar. Only 22 percent of the province's population had received primary level education. The commercially valuable softwood tree ''

Givotia madagascariensis ''Givotia madagascariensis'', locally known as ''farafatsy'', is a commercially valuable softwood tree endemic to the southwestern Madagascar province formally known as Toliara Province. It is in the genus ''Givotia'' of the family ''Euphorbiace ...

'', found in Antananarivo and Toliara provinces was endemic to Madagascar. The oil producing plant ''

moringa drouhardii ''Moringa drouhardii'', the bottle tree, is an endemic species of southwest Madagascar. It occurs in the Madagascar spiny thickets ecoregion, especially at the limestone cliffs to the east of Lake Tsimanampetsotsa, on the Mahafaly Plateau. The sp ...

'' was endemic to Toliara province.

Deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

was a major issue for the province. In April 1971, a peasant rebellion was organised by MONIMA leader Monja Joana. The peasants refused to pay taxes and the government retaliated by dissolving MONIMA and deporting Joana. Toliara province offered poor transport and security facilities. Potable water was accessible to only 24.9% of the province's households. It was rich in terms of minerals. Toliara province was in the news in July 2005 for its mining activity.

Abolition

The provinces were abolished following the results of Malagasy constitutional referendum, 2007 which led to the formation of 22 smaller areas (''faritra'' or regions) to facilitate regional development.

Administrative divisions

Toliara Province was divided into four regions of Madagascar -

Androy Androy is the most southerly Regions of Madagascar, region of Madagascar. It covers an area of 19,540 km2, and had a population of 903,376 inhabitants in 2018. The administrative capital is Ambovombe-Androy, and the chief administrator is Mic ...

Anosy Anosy is one of the 22 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name ''Anosy'' means "island(s)" in Malagasy language, Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea ...

Atsimo Andrefana Atsimo-Andrefana is a region of Madagascar. It borders Menabe in north, Amoron'i Mania and Haute Matsiatra in northeast, Ihorombe and Anosy in east and Androy in southeast. The capital is Toliara and the population was 1,799,088 in 2018. Atsimo A ...

and

Menabe Menabe is a region in western Madagascar, with its capital at Morondava. It covers an area of , and its population was 700,577 in 2018. The population mostly belongs to the Sakalava ethnic group. The region is named after the 18th-century Sakalav ...

. These four regions became the first-level administrative divisions when the provinces were abolished in 2009. They are sub-divided into 21 districts: *

region: ** 2. Ambovombe-Androy ** 5.

Bekily Bekily is a town in the region of Androy and in the former Toliara Province, Madagascar. It is situated at the Menarandra River in the South of Madagascar. An airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for c ...

** 6. Beloha ** 21. Tsiombe *

region: ** 1. Amboasary Sud ** 11. Betroka ** 18. Taolanaro * Atsimo-Andrefana region: ** 3. Ampanihy Ouest ** 4. Ankazoabo ** 8.

Benenitra Benenitra is a town in Atsimo-Andrefana Region, Madagascar. It is situated in the district with the same name: Benenitra (district). On 27 July 2018 a meteriote of an age of 4.56 billion years crushed at Benenitra. Mining There are coal deposits ...

** 9. Beroroha ** 10. Betioky-Atsimo ** 15. Morombe ** 17.

Sakaraha Sakaraha is a town and municipality in Atsimo-Andrefana Region, south-western Madagascar. It has a population of 31,183 in 2018. Geography Sakaraha is situated along route nationale No. 7 ( Tuléar- Fianarantsoa) at 134 km from Tuléar, 6 ...

** 19. Toliara II ** 20.

region: ** 7.

Belon'i Tsiribihina Belon'i Tsiribihina (also known as Belo sur Tsiribihina or Belo - Tsiribihina) is a town and commune ( mg, kaominina) in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Belo sur Tsiribihina, which is a part of Menabe Region. It is situated at the mouth ...

** 12. Mahabo ** 13. Manja ** 14. Miandrivazo ** 16.

Morondava Morondava (, from mg, morona lava "long coast") is a city located in Menabe Region, of which it is the capital, in Madagascar. It is located in the delta of the Morandava River at . Its population as of the 2018 census, was 53,510. Population ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control Provinces of Madagascar