The unrest began on Sept. 25, when citizens, many of them young people, took to the streets over chronic water and electricity shortages. What started as frustration over daily hardships soon grew into a wider movement against corruption, poor governance and inequality.
At least 22 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters since the unrest began, according to the United Nations. Thousands of demonstrators gathered in the capital on Oct. 13, chanting, “The president must quit now.”
Three-quarters of Madagascar’s 30 million people live in poverty, and the country’s median age is under 20, according to the World Bank. GDP per capita has fallen by 45% since independence in 1960.
The protests in Madagascar echo similar youth-led demonstrations elsewhere, such as in Nepal and Morocco, where anger over governance failures has boiled over onto the streets.