Diana Region

Diana Region
Region
Location in Madagascar
Country	Madagascar
Capital	Antsiranana
Area
• Total	19,266 km2 (7,439 sq mi)
Population (2014)
• Total	719,000
• Density	37/km2 (97/sq mi)
Time zone	EAT (UTC3)

Diana is a region in Madagascar at the most northerly part of the island. It borders the regions of Sava to the southeast and Sofia to the southwest. It covers an area of 19,266 km², and had an estimated population of 700,021 in 2013. The regional capital is Antsiranana (previously known as Diego Suarez).

Coat of Arms of Region Diana

Geography

Rivers

The main rivers of the Diana region are:

• Besokatra River
• Irodo River
• Loky River
• Mahavavy River
• Ramena River
• Saharenana River
• Sambirano River

Nature reserves and visitors' attractions

The following national parks, reserves and visitors' attractions are located in Diana:

• Amber Mountain National Park
• Analamerana Reserve
• Ankarana Reserve
• Lokobe Reserve
• Manongarivo Reserve
• Tsaratanana Reserve
• Tsingy Rouge

Administrative divisions

Diana region is divided into five districts, which are subdivided into 51 communes. The districts are listed below with their 2013 populations:

• Ambanja District (190,435)
• Ambilobe District (216,145)
• Antsiranana I District (the city of Antsiranana) (115,015)
• Antsiranana II District (the rural area surrounding the city) (105,416)
• Nosy Be District (the island of Nosy Be) (73,010)

Transport

• Seaports in Antsiranana and Nosy Be
• 2 regional airports, Arrachart Airport (Antsiranana) and Fascene Airport, in Nosy Be
• 2 local airports in Ambanja and Ambilobe
• The region is crossed by the paved Route Nationale 6 (Antsiranana - Ambilobe - Ambanja) and the unpaved Route Nationale 5a from Ambilobe to Vohemar.

Economy

Fishery

Antsiranana is an important tuna fishing port. There is also a tuna canning factory. Other important fishery products are shrimp (2.813.291 kg exported in 2002) and sea cucumber.

Agriculture

The main crops are:

• subsistence agriculture: 75.510 ha (67% of the cultivated area): rice, manioc, corn, beans, sweet potato and potato
• cash crops: 21.560 ha (19% of the cultivated area): coffee, pepper, cacao and vanilla
• industrial crops: 15.420 ha (13% of the cultivated area): sugar cane, peanuts and cotton

There are also important productions of essential oils (mainly ylang ylang but also palmarosa, vetyver and basil) on 2465 ha in the regions of Nosy Be and Ambanja.

• Cattle raising: in 2002 the region contained 308.530 bovines, 53.980 porcs, 2.840 sheep and 44.520 goats.

Mining

Pozzolana, lime, gold, sapphire, graphite, lead, zinc, corundum, amethyst, garnet, zircon, cordierite, quartz, beryl and ilmenite are extracted in the region.

References

(French) Monographie de la Région Diana

External links

• Official website of Diana Region