Located off the southeast coast of Africa, Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world (about twice the size of Arizona). Colonized approximately 2000 years ago, the island now has nearly 15 million people, over half of them children, of predominantly mixed Asian and African origin. The World Bank has designated Madagascar as one of the very poorest countries in the world. The island is home to lemurs, tenrecs, baobabs, and an extraordinary number of other unique plant and animal species, many of which are considered endangered owing to rampant deforestation.