The Malagasy (French: Malgache or Malagasy: Gasy) are a group of Austronesian-speaking ethnic groups indigenous to the island country of Madagascar, formed through generations of interaction between Austronesians originally from southern Borneo and Bantus from Southeast Africa. Traditionally, the population have been divided into sub-ethnic groups. Examples include "Highlander" (ethnically mixed ancestry but more Austronesian and slightly less Bantu) ethnic groups such as the Merina and Betsileo of the central highlands around Antananarivo, Alaotra (Ambatondrazaka) and Fianarantsoa, and the "coastal dwellers" (predominantly Bantu with less Austronesian traits sometimes like mulatto) such as the Sakalava, Bara, Vezo, Betsimisaraka, Mahafaly, etc.

The Merina are further divided into two subgroups. The “Merina A” are the Hova and Andriana, with ~20% African (Mostly Bantu and Yoruba-related), ~77% Asian (mostly Borneo/Austronesian with ~7% Han-related) , and ~3% other origins. The second subgroup is the “Merina B”, the Andevo, who have ~50% African, ~46% Asian (mostly Borneo/Austronesian with a trace of Han-related), and ~4% other ancestry. The latter make up 2/3 of Merina society.