noun
Madagascar
Refers to the island country in the Indian Ocean. The katakana form is standard in modern Japanese.
マダガスカルはアフリカの南東に位置する島国です。
Madagascar is an island country located southeast of Africa.
Standard katakana spelling for the country name; usually written in kana.
Ateji (phonetic kanji) spelling; rarely used and mainly of historical or stylistic interest.
From English 'Madagascar', via Portuguese or French, ultimately from the name of the island. The ateji spelling 馬達加斯加 is a phonetic rendering.