Itasy is a region in central Madagascar. It borders Analamanga region in northeast, Vakinankaratra in south and Bongolava in northwest. The capital of the region is Miarinarivo, and the population was 897,962 in 2018. It is the smallest of all the 22 regions in area with 6993 km2, and is the most densely populated region after Analamanga.

Administrative divisions

Itasy Region is divided into three districts, which are sub-divided into 51 communes.

Infrastructure

Airport

Roads

The National road 1, National road 1bis and National road 43 cross this region.

Bodies of water

There are 58 rivers in Itasy. 21 rivers flow in Miarinarivo District, 17 rivers in Arivonimamo District and 20 in Soavinandriana District. 3,500 ha are covered by lakes: there are 40 lakes in Miarinarivo, 9 in Soavinandriana and 2 in Arivonimamo.

Lake Itasy

The region of Itasy is named after Lake Itasy, the fourth largest lake in Madagascar. The lake is in Ampefy, 120 km from the capital city of Antananarivo.

Tourism

According to the ONTM (Office National de Tourism de Madagascar), more 60% of domestic tourists from the capital city use this as their short-stay holiday destination each year. However, this still amounts to less than 200 tourists per day, or up to 1200 tourists per day on national holidays. Ampefy, by lake Itasy, is the main tourist town.

Tourist sights

The region is famous for several features:

Agriculture

Base of the economy is agriculture. Main crops and their size of cultivation (ha) are: There is also cattle breeding. Itasy produces 2.7% of the zebu bread in Madagascar and 4,9 % of the porc that is raised in Madagascar.