Madagascar: Operating a Business

In this page: Setting Up a Company | The Active Population in Figures | Working Conditions | Cost of Labour | Social Partners

Setting Up a Company

Limited Liability Company (SARL): Number of partners: minimum one shareholder and one director (which may be of any nationality), maximum 100. It must have a resident representative.
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required.
Shareholders and liability: liability is limited to the shares
Limited Company (SA): Number of partners: minimum one shareholder and one director, which may be of any nationality. It must have a resident representative.
Capital (max/min): MGA 10 million (MGA 2 million in case of a singe shareholder)
Shareholders and liability: liability is limited to the extent of the shareholders contributions
Single Member Limited Company (SA Unipersonnelle): Number of partners: one natural person
Capital (max/min): No minimum capital required.
Shareholders and liability: liability is unlimited

The Competent Organisation: The creation of a company in Madagascar benefits of a unique office, the Guichet Unique, a service offered by the Economic Development Board of Madagascar (EDBM).

Setting Up a Company	Madagascar	Sub-Saharan Africa
Procedures (number)	5.0	7.5
Time (days)	8.0	21.3

Source: Doing Business.

Business Setup Procedures: Consult Doing Business Website, to know about procedures to start a Business in Madagascar.

The Active Population in Figures

	2018	2019	2020
Labour Force	13,408,239	13,818,212	13,850,442

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

	2017	2018	2019
Total activity rate	87.38%	87.26%	87.15%
Men activity rate	90.01%	89.81%	89.61%
Women activity rate	84.79%	84.75%	84.72%

Source: International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database

For Further Statistics: World Bank
For Further Information About the Labour Market: NationMaster

Working Conditions

Legal Weekly Duration: The legal employment’s duration is forty hours per week.
A rest day per week is mandatory (generally on Sunday), and it has to consist of at least 24 consecutive hours (art. 80 of the Labour Code).
Retirement Age: 60 years old.
Working Contracts: According to art. 7 of the Labour Code, working contracts must be in written and include the tasks, the professional category, the salary and the date of start of the contract. In case the contract is not in written, the working relationship can be proved by any means.
Working contracts are exempted from stamp duties.
Labour Laws: Consult the Labour Code, to obtain a summary of the labour regulations that apply in Madagascar

Cost of Labour

Minimum Wage

The minimum wage for the non-agricultural sector (tenure less than 3 years) is 262,680 MGA per month (approx. USD 59), as regulated by the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Public Service and Social Laws; last adjusted in March 2024.

Average Wage

The average gross monthly salary in Madagascar is approximately MGA 650,000–700,000 (about USD 140–150) as of early 2026.

Social Contributions

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employers:

18% of monthly salary of which:

13% for the National Pension Fund (capped to a monthly maximum of 13% of eight times the legal minimum salary)
5% for the statutory health organization

Social Security Contributions Paid By Employees: 2% of the monthly salary of which:

1% to the National Pension Fund
1% to the statutory health organization

Both capped at a monthly maximum of 1% of eight times the legal minimum wage.

Social Partners

Social Dialogue and Involvement of Social Partners: The law in Madagascar allows public and private sector workers to establish and join labour unions of their choice, without prior authorization or particular requirements (nevertheless, essential workers, including police, military, and firefighters, may not form unions; and civil servants have a different labour code). Formally, unions operate independently from government and political parties.
Workers in the private sector have the right to bargain collectively. However, more than 80% of workers are engaged in agriculture, fishing, and forestry at a subsistence level, and therefore have no access to unions.
In general, collective bargaining rights are more readily exercised and respected in larger international firms, whereas in smaller local companies employees tend to be more reluctant to make demands for fear of reprisals.
Labour Unions: Christian Confederation of Malagasy Trade Unions (SEKRIMA - Confédération chrétienne des syndicats malgaches)
United Autonomous Unions of Madagascar (USAM - Union des Syndicats Autonomes de Madagascar)
Confederation of Malagasy Workers (FMM - Fivondronamben'ny Mpiasa Malagasy)
Unionisation Rate: Less than 10%, although no official figures are available.
Labour Regulation Bodies: Ministry of Public Function and Labour (Ministère de la Fonction Publique, de la Réforme de l'Administration, du Travail et des Lois Sociales)

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