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Angola

 
Dictionary: An·go·la   (ăng-gō'lə, ăn-) pronunciation
Angola
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Angola
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A country of southwest Africa bordering on the Atlantic Ocean. Previously settled by Bantu-speaking people, the region was colonized by the Portuguese beginning in the 16th century and became an overseas province in 1951. The country achieved independence in 1975, but factional fighting broke out, which elections in 1992 failed to end. Luanda is the capital and the largest city. Population: 12,300,000.

Angolan An·go'lan adj. & n.

 

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Country, southern Africa. Its northernmost section of coastland, the Cabinda exclave, is separated from Angola proper by a narrow corridor of Congo territory. Area: 481,354 sq mi (1,246,700 sq km). Population (2006 est.): 12,127,000. Capital: Luanda. The population is made up of mostly Bantu-speaking peoples; the main ethnic groups are the Ovimbundu and the Mbundu. Languages: Portuguese (official), indigenous languages. Religions: Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic; also Protestant); also traditional beliefs. Currency: kwanza. The country contains several plateau regions, which separate it into three distinct drainage systems. One in the northeast drains into the Congo River basin, and another, in the southeastern sector, drains into the Zambezi system; the remaining drainage, westward into the Atlantic, provides most of Angola's hydroelectric power. About half of the land area is forest; less than 10% is arable. With the exception of the development of the country's substantial petroleum reserves, Angola's economy has long been unable to take advantage of its natural resources because of the devastation caused by the protracted civil war. Angola is nominally a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. An influx of Bantu-speaking peoples in the 1st millennium AD led to their dominance in the area by c. 1500. The most important Bantu kingdom was Kongo; south of Kongo was the Ndongo kingdom of the Mbundu people. Portuguese explorers arrived in the early 1480s and over time gradually extended their rule. Angola's frontiers were largely determined by other European powers in the 19th century but not without strong resistance by the indigenous peoples. Resistance to colonial rule led to the outbreak of fighting in 1961, which led ultimately to independence in 1975. Rival factions continued fighting after independence. Although a peace accord was reached in 1994, forces led by Jonas M. Savimbi continued to resist government control until his death in 2002. A lasting peace accord was signed shortly thereafter, ending 27 years of civil war.

Angola made its Olympic debut at the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.

For more information on Angola, visit Britannica.com.

Former Portuguese colony in South-West Africa whose particularly unpleasant and intractable civil war has run since independence in 1975. The balance of forces has prevented either side from achieving outright military victory, yet despite a decade of UN involvement each has repeatedly turned to external actors—Cuban, Soviet, South African, Zairian, and freelance—to turn the tide. Characterized during the 1970s and 1980s by protracted high-intensity and guerrilla confrontations, the war has since 1992 seen the emphasis shift to more indirect strategies based on control of, and denial of access to, resources and inflicting huge casualties on the civilian population.

Three organizations which had fought the 1961-75 ‘Liberation War’ against the Portuguese and each other vied for control as independence neared. The theoretically Marxist MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertaçao de Angola), led by Augustinho Neto, drew its support from the Mbundu (approx. 26 per cent of the population) in the centre of the country; Holden Roberto's FNLA (Frente de Libertaçao de Angola) recruited from the Bakongo (17 per cent) in the north-west and had support from, and bases in, Zaire; while Jonas Savimbi's UNITA (Uniao Naçional para Independencia de Angola) was made up mostly of Ovimbundu (38 per cent) from the south and centre. The announcement of Portugal's imminent withdrawal in September 1975 saw FNLA-Zairian and UNITA-South African offensives against the militarily weak MPLA thwarted with Cuban support. At independence (20 November 1975) two governments (UNITA-FNLA in Ambriz and MPLA in Luanda) claimed sovereignty, but the MPLA's military successes quickly broke up the FNLA and drove UNITA into the bush where, despite Zambian bases and Moroccan matériel, a poorly conducted guerrilla campaign posed little threat to Luanda.

During the 1980s, the conflict's apparent reflection of an intensifying Cold War meant increasing external involvement. The USA's ‘Reagan Doctrine’ of unconditional support for anti-Soviet movements, and South Africa's fight to suppress SWAPO's (South West African People's Organization) Angolan bases, helped UNITA strengthen its hold over the north, centre, and south. But the battle of Cuito Canavale (August 1987-March 1988) showed increasing MPLA competence, the loss of Pretoria's military superiority, and the war's unpopularity with South Africa's white public and township-stretched soldiery alike. This led to the December 1988 Angola-Namibia Accord, with the linkage of Cuban-South African withdrawals from Angola to the independence of Namibia.

External actors were now pushing both parties to a negotiated conclusion. When UNITA swiftly broke a June 1989 ceasefire it was nearly destroyed in the MPLA's subsequent nine-month offensive, so offered a Lusophone Africa-brokered cessation of its own. This and the MPLA's renunciation of one-party rule paved the way for the Bicesse and Estoril Agreements (April-May 1991), specifying UN-conducted military integration and multi-party elections for September 1992. Despite breaches, the ceasefire generally held. But when MPLA leader Eduardo Dos Santos won the first round of the elections with 49.6 per cent, Savimbi refused to abide by the result, or conduct the obligatory run-off. Incomplete demobilization and reintegration facilitated the resumption of full-scale civil war. UNITA captured Soyo—producer of one-third of Angola's oil—and Huambo, the latter after a 55-day siege which killed 10, 000 and forced a 100, 000-strong exodus to the coast; but the failure of UN-sponsored Addis Ababa and Abidjan processes led to the MPLA's recognition by Washington, Security Council condemnation, and arms and petrol embargoes. These and substantial MPLA advances (helped by South African mercenaries) caused Savimbi to sign the Lusaka Accord in November 1994, ratified in May 1995, by which he accepted Dos Santos as president in return for a vice-president's post once UNITA had disbanded. A third UN operation was mounted. The ‘Third War’ had cost perhaps 300, 000 lives (3 per cent of Angola's population).

But low-level conflict persisted. Mutual distrust prevented Savimbi from disarming and assuming his post, while Dos Santos moved against UNITA strongholds, particularly in the diamond-producing north-east (which provide perhaps $600 m a year). Luanda's desire to shut down UNITA's bases in Zaire and so separate it from the outside world led to its substantial support for Laurent Kabila in the latter's May 1997 ousting of UNITA-supported President Mobutu. Despite Kabila's failure to act against UNITA, Luanda had to save him from rebellion in August 1998 to guarantee a regime which would not support them. Since autumn 1998 the FAA (Forças Armadas Angolanas) and UNITA have rearmed and reorganized, but the FAA has been hampered by its ongoing commitment to the Democratic Republic of Congo (renamed in 1997) ; UNITA has made substantial gains, having driven out UN observers. Full-scale hostilities resumed in 1999, but with neither side able to gain a decisive advantage, or to restrict the other's access to funds, no end appears in sight.

Bibliography

  • Alao, Abiodun, Brothers at War (London, 1994).
  • Brittain, Victoria, Death of Dignity (London, 1998).
  • Vines, A., ‘Angola and UNAVEM III’, Brassey's Defence Yearbook (London, 1997)

— Dominick Donald

 
Angola (ăng-gō'), officially Republic of Angola (2005 est. pop. 11,191,000), including the exclave of Cabinda, 481,351 sq mi (1,246,700 sq km), SW Africa. Angola is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Congo (Kinshasa) on the north and northeast, by Zambia on the east, and by Namibia on the south. Luanda is the capital, largest city, and chief port.

Land and People

The Bié Plateau, which forms the central region of the territory, has an average altitude of 6,000 ft (1,830 m). Rising abruptly from the coastal lowland, the plateau slopes gently eastward toward the Congo and Zambezi basins and forms one of Africa's major watersheds. The uneven topography of the plateau has resulted in the formation of numerous rapids and waterfalls, which are used for the production of hydroelectric power. The territory's principal rivers are the Cuanza and the Cunene. Rainfall in the south and along the coast north to Luanda is generally low. In northern Angola it is usually dry and cool from May to October and wet and hot from November to April. The characteristic landscape is savanna woodlands and grasslands. The northeast, however, has densely forested valleys that yield hardwoods, and palm trees are cultivated along a narrow coastal strip.

In addition to Luanda, other important cities are Huambo, Lobito, Benguela, and Namibe. The overwhelming majority of Angola's population is of African descent, and most of the people speak Bantu and other African languages; the official language, however, is Portuguese. The Ovimbundu, Kimbundu, and Bakongo are the largest ethnic groups. After Angola secured its independence from Portugal, many Europeans left the country. Traditional indigenous religions prevail, but there is a large Roman Catholic minority and a smaller Protestant minority.

Economy

Angola's rich agricultural sector was formerly the mainstay of the economy and currently provides employment for the majority of the people. Food must be imported in large quantities, however, because of the disruption caused by the country's protracted civil war. All areas of production suffered during the fighting that began in 1975. Coffee and sugarcane are the most important cash crops. Sisal, corn, cotton, manioc, tobacco, and bananas are raised, and fishing is also important. Livestock, notably cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs, is raised in much of the savanna region.

Angola has substantial mineral resources and hydroelectric power. Most large-scale industries are nationalized. Oil, chiefly from reserves offshore, is the most lucrative product, providing about 50% of the country's GDP and 90% of its exports. Oil revenues have not done much to improve the economy at large or the everyday lives of Angolans, especially in the interior, because huge sums have been spent on the armed forces and lost due to government corruption. Diamond mining is also a principal industry; for many years in the late 20th cent. revenue from the mines supported UNITA rebels (see under Postcolonial History). Natural gas is produced, and Angola has deposits of iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, and uranium. Industries include metals processing, meat and fish processing, brewing, and the manufacture of cement, tobacco products, and textiles.

The Benguela railroad, which carries metals from the mines of Congo (Kinshasa) and the Zambian Copperbelt, was an important source of revenue, but much of the line fell into disrepair during the civil war. Angola's road network and communications system have also been affected by civil strife. In 2005, the government began using a $2 billion line of credit from China to help rebuild the country's infrastructure. Luanda and Lobito are Angola's main shipping ports. The country's main trading partners are the United States, China, South Korea, Portugal, and France. Angola is a member of the Southern African Development Community.

Government

Angola is governed under the constitution of 1975 as amended. After many years of one-party Marxist rule, Angola is now a struggling multiparty democracy. Its executive branch is headed by the president, popularly elected for a five-year term, who serves as both chief of state and head of government. The prime minister and council of ministers are appointed by the president. Angola has a unicameral 220-seat National Assembly, whose members are elected by proportional vote for four-year terms, and a judicial branch with a supreme court. Adminstratively, the country is divided into 18 provinces.

History

History until Independence

The first inhabitants of the area that is now Angola are thought to have been members of the hunter-gatherer Khoisan group. Bantu-speaking peoples from West Africa arrived in the region in the 13th cent., partially displacing the Khoisan and establishing a number of powerful kingdoms. The Portuguese first explored coastal Angola in the late 15th cent., and except for a short occupation (1641-48) by the Dutch, it was under Portugal's control until they left the country late in the 20th cent.

Although they failed to discover the gold and other precious metals they were seeking, the Portuguese found in Angola an excellent source of slaves for their colony in Brazil. Portuguese colonization of Angola began in 1575, when a permanent base was established at Luanda. By this time the Mbundu kingdom had established itself in central Angola. After several attempts at subjugation, Portuguese troops finally broke the back of the kingdom in 1902, when the Bié Plateau was captured. Construction of the Benguela railroad followed, and white settlers arrived in the Angolan highlands.

The modern development of Angola began only after World War II. In 1951 the colony was designated an overseas province, and Portugal initiated plans to develop industries and hydroelectric power. Although the Portuguese professed the aim of a multiracial society of equals in Angola, most Africans still suffered repression. Inspired by nationalist movements elsewhere, the native Angolans rose in revolt in 1961. When the uprising was quelled by the Portuguese army, many fled to Congo (Kinshasa) and other neighboring countries.

In 1962 a group of refugees in the Congo, led by Holden Roberto, organized the Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). It maintained supply and training bases in the Congo, waged guerrilla warfare in Angola, and, while developing contacts with both Western and Communist nations, obtained its chief support from the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Angola's liberation movement comprised two other guerrilla groups as well. The Marxist-influenced Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA), founded in 1956, had its headquarters in Zambia and was most active among educated Angolan Africans and mestiços living abroad. The MPLA led the struggle for Angolan independence. The third rival group was the União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA), which was established in 1966 under the leadership of Jonas Savimbi. As a result of the guerrilla warfare, Portugal was forced to keep more than 50,000 troops in Angola by the early 1970s.

In 1972 the heads of the FNLA and MPLA assumed joint leadership of a newly formed Supreme Council for the Liberation of Angola, but their military forces did not merge. That same year the Portuguese national assembly changed Angola's status from an overseas province to an "autonomous state" with authority over internal affairs; Portugal was to retain responsibility for defense and foreign relations. Elections were held for a legislative assembly in 1973.

In Apr., 1974, the Portuguese government was overthrown in a military uprising. In May of that year the new government proclaimed a truce with the guerrillas in an effort to promote peace talks. Later in the year Portugal seemed intent on granting Angola independence; however, the situation was complicated by the large number of Portuguese and other Europeans (estimated at 500,000) resident there, by continued conflict among the African liberation movements, and by the desire of some Cabindans for their oil-rich region to become independent as a separate.

Postcolonial History

Portugal granted Angola independence in 1975 and the MPLA assumed control of the government in Luanda; Agostinho Neto became president. The FNLA and UNITA, however, proclaimed a coaliton government in Nova Lisboa (now Huambo), but by early 1976 the MPLA had gained control of the whole country. Most of the European population fled the political and economic upheaval that followed independence, taking their investments and technical expertise with them. When Neto died in 1979, José Eduardo dos Santos succeeded him as president. In the 1970s and 80s the MPLA government received large amounts of aid from Cuba and the Soviet Union, while the United States supported first the FNLA and then UNITA. In Cabinda, independence forces that had fought against the Portuguese now fought against the Angolan government. Although the FNLA faded in importance, UNITA obtained the support of South Africa, which was mounting its own campaigns against the Southwest Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), a Namibian liberation group based in Angola.

In the late 1980s the United States provided military aid to UNITA and demanded the withdrawal of Cuban troops and an end to Soviet assistance. As a result of negotiations among Angola, South Africa, Cuba, and the United States, the withdrawal of Cuban troops began in 1989. Also in the late 1980s, Marxist Angola implemented programs of privatization under President dos Santos. A cease-fire between the ruling MPLA and UNITA was reached in 1991, and the government agreed to make Angola a multiparty state. However, when dos Santos won UN-supervised elections held in Sept., 1992, UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi charged fraud and refused to accept the results. In Nov., 1992, bitter fighting broke out between rebel UNITA troops and government forces, destroying many cities and much of the country's infrastructure. Despite initial victories that gave UNITA control of some two thirds of Angola, the MPLA eventually gained the upper hand in the renewed warfare.

In Nov., 1994, with UNITA on the verge of defeat, dos Santos and Savimbi signed the Lusaka protocol, a new agreement on ending the conflict. The two sides committed to the integration of several thousand UNITA troops into the government armed forces as well as the demobilization of thousands more from both sides. UN peacekeeping troops began arriving in June, 1995, to supervise the process. Troop integration, however, was suspended in 1996, and UNITA's demobilization efforts lagged. A new government of national unity was formed in 1997, including several UNITA deputies; Savimbi had declined a vice presidency in 1996.

With renewed fighting in 1998, Angola's ruling MPLA put the country's coalition government on hold, saying that UNITA had failed to meet its peace-treaty obligations. It suspended all UNITA representatives from parliament and declared that it would no longer deal with Savimbi, instead recognizing a splinter group, UNITA Renovada. In 1999 the United Nations voted to pull out all remaining troops stationed in the country, while continuing humanitarian relief work with over a million refugees.

UNITA was able to finance its activities, including an estimated 30,000 troops stationed in neighboring Zambia and Congo (Kinshasa), with some $500 million a year in diamond revenues from mines it controlled in the country's northeast. Fighting continued, with Angola's army inflicting several defeats on UNITA beginning in late 1999, weakening UNITA's still sizable forces. International restrictions (2001) on sales of diamonds not certfied as coming from legitimate sources also hurt UNITA, and the death of Savimbi in battle in 2002 was a severe blow to the rebels, who subsequently signed a cease-fire agreement and demobilized. UNITA subsequently reconstituted itself as a political party. Also in 2002 Angolan government forces gained the upper hand against Cabindan separatists; a peace agreement for the province was signed in 2006. As many as one million people died in the Angolan civil war, and the country's infrastructure was slow to recover from the effects of the fighting.

Parliamentary elections scheduled for 2007 were postponed late in 2006 until mid-2008, and the presidential election was then set for 2009. In Mar., 2007, there was an apparent attack on the leader of UNITA, Isaias Samakuva; UNITA accused the government of trying to assassinate him. When the parliamentary elections were finally held in Sept., 2008, they were marred by procedural irregulaties and difficulties but were otherwise generally transparent, and the MPLA won a landslide victory, with more than 80% of the vote.

Bibliography

See B. Davidson, In the Eye of the Storm (1972); G. J. Bender, Angola Under the Portuguese (1978); P. M. Martin, Historical Dictionary of Angola (1980); K. Akpau et al., Alvor and Beyond: Political Trends and Legal Issues in Angola (1988); J. C. Miller, Angola: A Way of Death (1988).


Geography: Angola
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(ang-goh-luh)

Republic in southwestern Africa on the Atlantic, bordered to the north and northeast by Democratic Republic of Congo, to the east by Zambia, and to the south by Namibia. Its capital and largest city is Luanda.

  • After achieving independence from Portugal in 1976, Angola was the scene of a civil war between its Marxist government, supported by the Soviet Union and Cuban troops, and a rebel organization known as UNITA, which was aided by the United States and South Africa. In 1988, the United States engineered a settlement that led to the withdrawal of Cuban troops and to South African acceptance of black majority rule in neighboring Namibia.

Dialing Code: Angola
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The international dialing code for Angola is:   244


Local Time: Angola
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It is 4:07 AM, January 7, in Angola.

Currency: Angola
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Angolan New Kwanza



Statistics: Angola
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Click to enlarge flag of Angola
Introduction
Background:Angola is rebuilding its country after the end of a 27-year civil war in 2002. Fighting between the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), led by Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, followed independence from Portugal in 1975. Peace seemed imminent in 1992 when Angola held national elections, but fighting picked up again by 1996. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost - and 4 million people displaced - in the quarter century of fighting. SAVIMBI's death in 2002 ended UNITA's insurgency and strengthened the MPLA's hold on power. President DOS SANTOS held legislative elections in September 2008, and announced plans to hold presidential elections in 2009.
Geography
Map of Angola
Location:Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo
Geographic coordinates:12 30 S, 18 30 E
Map references:Africa
Area:total: 1,246,700 sq km
land: 1,246,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative:slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia 1,110 km
Coastline:1,600 km
Maritime claims:territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate:semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)
Terrain:narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau
Elevation extremes:lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morro de Moco 2,620 m
Natural resources:petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium
Land use:arable land: 2.65%
permanent crops: 0.23%
other: 97.12% (2005)
Irrigated land:800 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:184 cu km (1987)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):total: 0.35 cu km/yr (23%/17%/60%)
per capita: 22 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau
Environment - current issues:overuse of pastures and subsequent soil erosion attributable to population pressures; desertification; deforestation of tropical rain forest, in response to both international demand for tropical timber and to domestic use as fuel, resulting in loss of biodiversity; soil erosion contributing to water pollution and siltation of rivers and dams; inadequate supplies of potable water
Environment - international agreements:party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note:the province of Cabinda is an exclave, separated from the rest of the country by the Democratic Republic of the Congo
People
Population:12,799,293 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 43.5% (male 2,812,359/female 2,759,047)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 3,496,726/female 3,382,440)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 153,678/female 195,043) (2009 est.)
Median age:total: 18 years
male: 18 years
female: 18 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate:2.095% (2009 est.)
Birth rate:43.69 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate:24.44 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:1.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization:urban population: 57% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 4.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 180.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 192.24 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 167.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 38.2 years
male: 37.24 years
female: 39.22 years (2009 est.)
Total fertility rate:6.12 children born/woman (2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:2.1% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:190,000 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:11,000 (2007 est.)
Major infectious diseases:degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria, African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2009)
Nationality:noun: Angolan(s)
adjective: Angolan
Ethnic groups:Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestico (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, other 22%
Religions:indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (1998 est.)
Languages:Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.4%
male: 82.9%
female: 54.2% (2001 est.)
Education expenditures:2.4% of GDP (2005)
Government
Country name:conventional long form: Republic of Angola
conventional short form: Angola
local long form: Republica de Angola
local short form: Angola
former: People's Republic of Angola
Government type:republic; multiparty presidential regime
Capital:name: Luanda
geographic coordinates: 8 50 S, 13 14 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Bengo, Benguela, Bie, Cabinda, Cuando Cubango, Cuanza Norte, Cuanza Sul, Cunene, Huambo, Huila, Luanda, Lunda Norte, Lunda Sul, Malanje, Moxico, Namibe, Uige, Zaire
Independence:11 November 1975 (from Portugal)
National holiday:Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
Constitution:adopted by People's Assembly 25 August 1992
Legal system:based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:chief of state: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS (since 21 September 1979); Antonio Paulo KASSOMA was named prime minister by MPLA on 26 September 2008
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: president elected by universal ballot for a five-year term (eligible for a second consecutive or discontinuous term) under the 1992 constitution; President DOS SANTOS was selected by the party to take over after the death of former President Augustino NETO(1979) under a one-party system and stood for reelection in Angola's first multiparty elections 29-30 September 1992 (next to be held in September 2009)
election results: Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS 49.6%, Jonas SAVIMBI 40.1%, making a run-off election necessary; the run-off was never held leaving DOS SANTOS in his current position as the president
Legislative branch:unicameral National Assembly or Assembleia Nacional (220 seats; members elected by proportional vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 5-6 September 2008 (next to be held in September 2012)
election results: percent of vote by party - MPLA 81.6%, UNITA 10.4%, PRS 3.2%, ND 1.2%, FNLA 1.1%, other 2.5%; seats by party - MPLA 191, UNITA 16, PRS 8, FNLA 3, ND 2
Judicial branch:Supreme Court and separate provincial courts (judges are appointed by the president)
Political parties and leaders:National Front for the Liberation of Angola or FNLA [Ngola KABANGU]; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola or UNITA (largest opposition party) [Isaias SAMAKUVA]; Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola or MPLA (ruling party in power since 1975) [Jose Eduardo DOS SANTOS]; Social Renewal Party or PRS [Eduardo KUANGANA]
note: nine other parties participated in the legislative election in September but won no seats
Political pressure groups and leaders:Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or FLEC [N'zita Henriques TIAGO, Antonio Bento BEMBE]
note: FLEC's small-scale armed struggle for the independence of Cabinda Province persists despite the signing of a peace accord with the government in August 2006
International organization participation:ACP, AfDB, AU, CPLP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OPEC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:chief of mission: Ambassador Josefina Perpetua Pitra DIAKITE
chancery: 2108 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 785-1156
FAX: [1] (202) 785-1258
consulate(s) general: Houston, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:chief of mission: Ambassador Dan MOZENA
embassy: number 32 Rua Houari Boumedienne (in the Miramar area of Luanda), Luanda
mailing address: international mail: Caixa Postal 6468, Luanda; pouch: US Embassy Luanda, US Department of State, 2550 Luanda Place, Washington, DC 20521-2550
telephone: [244] (222) 64-1000
FAX: [244] (222) 64-1232
Flag description:two equal horizontal bands of red (top) and black with a centered yellow emblem consisting of a five-pointed star within half a cogwheel crossed by a machete (in the style of a hammer and sickle)
Economy
Economy - overview:Angola's high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, which has taken advantage of high international oil prices. Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 85% of GDP. Increased oil production supported growth averaging more than 15% per year from 2004 to 2007. A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well. Much of the country's infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped from the 27-year-long civil war. Remnants of the conflict such as widespread land mines still mar the countryside even though an apparently durable peace was established after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI in February 2002. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for most of the people, but half of the country's food must still be imported. In 2005, the government started using a $2 billion line of credit, since increased to $7 billion, from China to rebuild Angola's public infrastructure, and several large-scale projects were completed in 2006. Angola also has large credit lines from Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Spain, and the EU. The central bank in 2003 implemented an exchange rate stabilization program using foreign exchange reserves to buy kwanzas out of circulation. This policy became more sustainable in 2005 because of strong oil export earnings; it has significantly reduced inflation. Although consumer inflation declined from 325% in 2000 to under 13% in 2008, the stabilization policy has put pressure on international net liquidity. Angola became a member of OPEC in late 2006 and in late 2007 was assigned a production quota of 1.9 million barrels a day, somewhat less than the 2-2.5 million bbl Angola's government had wanted. To fully take advantage of its rich national resources - gold, diamonds, extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola will need to implement government reforms, increase transparency, and reduce corruption. The government has rejected a formal IMF monitored program, although it continues Article IV consultations and ad hoc cooperation. Corruption, especially in the extractive sectors, and the negative effects of large inflows of foreign exchange, are major challenges facing Angola.
GDP (purchasing power parity):$110.3 billion (2008 est.)
$97.43 billion (2007)
$83.49 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):$95.95 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:13.2% (2008 est.)
16.7% (2007 est.)
19.6% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):$8,800 (2008 est.)
$7,900 (2007 est.)
$7,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:agriculture: 9.2%
industry: 65.8%
services: 24.6% (2008 est.)
Labor force:7.288 million (2008 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:agriculture: 85%
industry and services: 15% (2003 est.)
Unemployment rate:extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half the population (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:70% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Investment (gross fixed):9% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budget:revenues: $27.18 billion
expenditures: $20.6 billion (2008 est.)
Fiscal year:calendar year
Public debt:8.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):12.5% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:19.57% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:17.7% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:$4.153 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:$7.216 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:$1.385 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco, vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish
Industries:petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium, and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing, brewing, tobacco products, sugar; textiles; ship repair
Industrial production growth rate:12% (2008 est.)
Electricity - production:3.513 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:3.084 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:0 kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:fossil fuel: 36.4%
hydro: 63.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:1.91 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption:55,640 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:1.23 million bbl/day (2005)
Oil - imports:19,550 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:9.035 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:680 million cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:680 million cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - exports:0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:0 cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:269.8 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:$21.01 billion (2008 est.)
Exports:$72.58 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Exports - commodities:crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton
Exports - partners:US 32.1%, China 32%, France 5.9%, Taiwan 5.3%, South Africa 4.5% (2007)
Imports:$15.25 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods
Imports - partners:Portugal 19.7%, US 10.9%, China 10.5%, Brazil 10.3%, South Africa 6.6%, France 6.3%, UK 4.6%, Germany 4.3% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:$24.64 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:$7.907 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:$19.49 billion (2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:$227 million (2006 est.)
Currency (code):kwanza (AOA)
Currency code:AOA
Exchange rates:kwanza (AOA) per US dollar - 75.023 (2008 est.), 76.6 (2007), 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004)
Communications
Telephones - main lines in use:98,200 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:3.307 million (2007)
Telephone system:general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density exceeded 25 telephones per 100 persons in 2007
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until 2005; demand outstripped capacity, prices were high, and services poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network; Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993 and the network has been extended to larger towns; a privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations in 2001
international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:AM 21, FM 6, shortwave 7 (2001)
Radios:815,000 (2000)
Television broadcast stations:6 (2000)
Televisions:196,000 (2000)
Internet country code:.ao
Internet hosts:3,562 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):1 (2000)
Internet users:100,000 (2007)
Transportation
Airports:211 (2008)
Airports - with paved runways:total: 30
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2008)
Airports - with unpaved runways:total: 181
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
914 to 1,523 m: 100
under 914 m: 42 (2008)
Pipelines:gas 2 km; oil 87 km (2008)
Railways:total: 2,761 km
narrow gauge: 2,638 km 1.067-m gauge; 123 km 0.600-m gauge (2006)
Roadways:total: 51,429 km
paved: 5,349 km
unpaved: 46,080 km (2001)
Waterways:1,300 km (2008)
Merchant marine:total: 6
by type: cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 1 (Spain 1)
registered in other countries: 6 (Bahamas 6) (2008)
Ports and terminals:Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Namibe
Military
Military branches:Angolan Armed Forces (FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra Angola, MGA), Angolan National Air Force (Forca Aerea Nacional Angolana, FANA) (2009)
Military service age and obligation:22-24 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years; Angolan citizenship required (2009)
Manpower available for military service:males age 16-49: 2,856,492
females age 16-49: 2,755,864 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:males age 16-49: 1,467,833
females age 16-49: 1,411,468 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:male: 146,738
female: 143,478 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:5.7% of GDP (2006)
Transnational Issues
Disputes - international:Cabindan separatists continue to return to the Angolan exclave from exile in neighboring states and Europe since the 2006 ceasefire and peace agreement
Refugees and internally displaced persons:refugees (country of origin): 12,615 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
IDPs: 61,700 (27-year civil war ending in 2002; 4 million IDPs already have returned) (2007)
Illicit drugs:used as a transshipment point for cocaine destined for Western Europe and other African states, particularly South Africa


National Anthem: National Anthem of: Angola
Top

Original Portugese Words

O Pátria, nunca mais esqueceremos
Os heróis do quatro de Fevereio.
O Pátria, nós saudamos os teus filhos
Tombados pela nossa Independência.
Honramos o passado e a nossa História,
Construindo no Trabalho o Homem novo,
(repeat previous two lines)

CHORUS

Angola, avante!
Revolução, pelo Poder Popular!
Pátria Unida, Liberdade,
Um só povo, uma só Nação!
(repeat chorus)

Levantemos nossas vozes libertadas
Para glóriados povos africanos.
Marchemos, combatentes angolanos,
Solidários com os poroso primidos.
Orgulhosos lutaremos Pela Paz
Com as forças progressistas do mundo.
(repeat previous two lines)

CHORUS

English Translation

O Fatherland, we shall never forget
The heroes of the Fourth of February.
O Fatherland, we salute your sons
Who died for our Independence.
We honour the past and our history
As by our work we build the New Man.
(repeat previous two lines)

CHORUS

Forward, Angola!
Revolution through the power of the People!
A United Country, Freedom,
One People, one Nation!
(repeat chorus)

Let us raise our liberated voices
To the glory of the peoples of Africa.
We shall march, Angolan fighters,
In solidarity with oppressed peoples.
We shall fight proudly for Peace
Along with the progressive forces of the world.
(repeat previous two lines)

CHORUS

Lyrics: Manuel Rui Alves Monteiro

Wikipedia: Angola
Top
Republic of Angola
República de Angola
Flag Coat of arms
AnthemAngola Avante!  (Portuguese)
Forward Angola!

Capital
(and largest city)
Luanda
8°50′S 13°20′E / 8.833°S 13.333°E / -8.833; 13.333
Official languages Portuguese
Recognised regional languages Kongo, Chokwe, South Mbundu (Umbundu), North Mbundu (Kimbundu)
Demonym Angolan
Government Presidential republic
 -  President José Eduardo dos Santos
 -  Prime Minister Paulo Kassoma
Independence from Portugal 
 -  Date November 11, 1975 
Area
 -  Total 1,246,700 km2 (23rd)
481,354 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) negligible
Population
 -  2009 estimate 18,498,000[1] 
 -   census 5,646,177 
 -  Density 14.8/km2 (199th)
38.4/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $105.078 billion[2] (62nd)
 -  Per capita $6,251[2] (98th)
GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $84.945 billion[2] (62nd)
 -  Per capita $5,054[2] (82nd)
HDI (2007) 0.564 (medium) (143rd)
Currency Kwanza (AOA)
Time zone WAT (UTC+1)
 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+1)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .ao
Calling code +244

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola (Portuguese: República de Angola, pronounced [ʁɛˈpublikɐ dɨ ɐ̃ˈɡɔlɐ]; Kongo: Repubilika ya Ngola), is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Angola was a Portuguese overseas territory from the 16th century to 1975. After independence, Angola was the scene of an intense civil war from 1975 to 2002. The country is the second-largest petroleum and diamond producer in sub-Saharan Africa; however, its life expectancy and infant mortality rates are both among the worst ranked in the world. In August 2006, a peace treaty was signed with a faction of the FLEC, a separatist guerrilla group from the Cabinda exclave in the North, which is still active.[3] About 65% of Angola's oil comes from that region.

Contents

History

Early migrations

Khoisan hunter-gatherers are some of the earliest known modern human inhabitants of the area. They were largely replaced by Bantu tribes during the Bantu migrations, though small numbers of Khoisans remain in parts of southern Angola to the present day. The Bantu came from the north, probably from somewhere near the present-day Republic of Cameroon. When they reached what is now Angola, they encountered the Khoisans, Bushmen and other groups considerably less advanced than themselves, whom they easily dominated with their superior knowledge of metal-working, ceramics and agriculture. The establishment of the Bantus took many centuries and gave rise to various groups who took on different ethnic characteristics.

The BaKongo kingdoms of Angola established trade routes with other trading cities and civilizations up and down the coast of southwestern and West Africa but engaged in little or no transoceanic trade. This contrasts with the Great Zimbabwe Mutapa civilization which traded with India, the Persian Gulf civilizations and China.[4] The BaKongo engaged in limited trading with Great Zimbabwe, exchanging copper and iron for salt, food and raffia textiles across the Kongo River.[4]

Portuguese rule

The geographical areas now designated as Angola first became subject to incursions by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. In 1483, when Portugal established relations with the Kongo State, Ndongo and Lunda existed. The Kongo State stretched from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south. Angola became a link in European trade with India and Southeast Asia. The Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founded Luanda in 1575 as "São Paulo de Loanda", with a hundred families of settlers and four hundred soldiers.

Benguela, a Portuguese fort from 1587 which became a town in 1617, was another important early settlement they founded and ruled. The Portuguese would establish several settlements, forts and trading posts along the coastal strip of current-day Angola, which relied on slave trade, commerce in raw materials, and exchange of goods for survival. The African slave trade provided a large number of black slaves to Europeans and their African agents. For example, in what is now Angola, the Imbangala economy was heavily focused on the slave trade.[5][6]

European traders would export manufactured goods to the coast of Africa where they would be exchanged for slaves. Within the Portuguese Empire, most black African slaves were traded to Portuguese merchants who bought them to sell as cheap labour for use on Brazilian agricultural plantations. This trade would last until the first half of the 1800s.

Queen Nzinga in peace negotiations with the Portuguese governor in Luanda, 1657.

The Portuguese gradually took control of the coastal strip during the sixteenth century by a series of treaties and wars forming the Portuguese colony of Angola. Taking advantage of the Portuguese Restoration War, the Dutch occupied Luanda from 1641 to 1648, where they allied with local peoples, consolidating their colonial rule against the remaining Portuguese resistance.

In 1648 a fleet under the command of Salvador de Sá retook Luanda for Portugal and initiated a conquest of the lost territories, which restored Portugal to its former possessions by 1650. Treaties regulated relations with Congo in 1649 and Njinga's Kingdom of Matamba and Ndongo in 1656. The conquest of Pungo Andongo in 1671 was the last great Portuguese expansion, as attempts to invade Congo in 1670 and Matamba in 1681 failed. Portugal expanded its territory behind the colony of Benguela in the eighteenth century, and began the attempt to occupy other regions in the mid-nineteenth century.

The process resulted in few gains until the 1880s. Development of the hinterland began after the Berlin Conference in 1885 fixed the colony's borders, and British and Portuguese investment fostered mining, railways, and agriculture. Full Portuguese administrative control of the hinterland did not occur until the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1951, the colony was designated as an overseas province, called Overseas Province of Angola. Portugal had a presence in Angola for nearly five hundred years, and the population's initial reaction to calls for independence was mixed. More overtly political organisations first appeared in the 1950s, and began to make organised demands for their rights, especially in international forums such as the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Portuguese regime, meanwhile, refused to accede to the nationalist's demands of separatism, provoking an armed conflict that started in 1961 when black guerrillas attacked both white and black civilians in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola. The war came to be known as the Colonial War. In this struggle, the principal protagonists were the MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), founded in 1956, the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), which appeared in 1961, and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict, Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the 1974 coup d'état in the metropole's capital city of Lisbon which overthrew the Portuguese regime headed by Marcelo Caetano.

Portugal's new revolutionary leaders began a process of democratic change at home and acceptance of its former colonies' independence abroad. These events prompted a mass exodus of Portuguese citizens from Portugal's African territories (mostly from Portuguese Angola and Mozambique), creating over a million destitute Portuguese refugees — the retornados.[7]

Independence and civil war

After independence in November 1975, Angola faced a devastating civil war which lasted several decades and claimed millions of lives and refugees.[8] Following negotiations held in Portugal, itself under severe social and political turmoil and uncertainty due to the April 1974 revolution, Angola's three main guerrilla groups agreed to establish a transitional government in January 1975.

Within two months, however, the FNLA, MPLA and UNITA were fighting each other and the country was well on its way to being divided into zones controlled by rival armed political groups. The superpowers were quickly drawn into the conflict, which became a flash point for the Cold War. The United States, Portugal, Brazil and South Africa supported the FNLA and UNITA[9][10]. The Soviet Union and Cuba supported the MPLA.

Ceasefire with UNITA

On February 22, 2002, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA, was killed in combat with government troops, and a cease-fire was reached by the two factions. UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of major opposition party. Although the political situation of the country began to stabilize, President dos Santos has so far refused to institute regular democratic processes. Among Angola's major problems are a serious humanitarian crisis (a result of the prolonged war), the abundance of minefields, and the actions of guerrilla movements fighting for the independence of the northern exclave of Cabinda (Frente para a Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda). While most of the internally displaced have now returned home, the general situation for most Angolans remains desperate, and the development facing the government challenging as a consequence.[11]

Politics

Embassy of Angola in Washington, D.C.

Angola's motto is Virtus Unita Fortior, a Latin phrase meaning "Virtue is stronger when united." The executive branch of the government is composed of the President, the Prime Minister (currently Paulo Kassoma) and the Council of Ministers. For decades, political power has been concentrated in the Presidency. The Council of Ministers, composed of all government ministers and vice ministers, meets regularly to discuss policy issues.

Governors of the 18 provinces are appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the president. The Constitutional Law of 1992 establishes the broad outlines of government structure and delineates the rights and duties of citizens. The legal system is based on Portuguese and customary law but is weak and fragmented, and courts operate in only twelve of more than 140 municipalities. A Supreme Court serves as the appellate tribunal; a Constitutional Court with powers of judicial review has never been constituted despite statutory authorization.

Parliamentary elections held on 5 September 2008, announced MPLA as the winning party with 81% of votes. The closest opposition party was UNITA with 10%. These elections were the first since 1992 and were described as only partly free but certainly not as fair.[12] A White Book on the elections in 2008 lists up all irregularities surrounding the Parliamentary elections of 2008.[13]

Angola scored poorly on the 2008 Ibrahim Index of African Governance - it was ranked 44 from 48 sub-Saharan African countries, scoring particularly badly in the areas of Participation and Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity and Human Development. The Ibrahim Index uses a number of different variables to compile its list which reflects the state of governance in Africa.[14]

Administrative divisions

Map of Angola with the provinces numbered

Angola is divided into eighteen provinces (províncias) and 163 municipalities.[15] The provinces are:

  1. Bengo
  2. Benguela
  3. Bié
  4. Cabinda
  5. Cuando Cubango
  6. Cuanza Norte
  7. Cuanza Sul
  8. Cunene
  9. Huambo
  1. Huila
  2. Luanda
  3. Lunda Norte
  4. Lunda Sul
  5. Malanje
  6. Moxico
  7. Namibe
  8. Uíge
  9. Zaire

Exclave of Cabinda

With an area of approximately 7,283 square kilometres (2,812 sq mi), the Northern Angolan province of Cabinda is unique in being separated from the rest of the country by a strip, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) wide, of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) along the lower Congo river. Cabinda borders the Congo Republic to the north and north-northeast and the DRC to the east and south. The town of Cabinda is the chief population center.

According to a 1995 census, Cabinda had an estimated population of 600,000, approximately 400,000 of whom live in neighboring countries. Population estimates are, however, highly unreliable. Consisting largely of tropical forest, Cabinda produces hardwoods, coffee, cocoa, crude rubber and palm oil. The product for which it is best known, however, is its oil, which has given it the nickname, "the Kuwait of Africa". Cabinda's petroleum production from its considerable offshore reserves now accounts for more than half of Angola's output. Most of the oil along its coast was discovered under Portuguese rule by the Cabinda Gulf Oil Company (CABGOC) from 1968 onwards.

Since Portugal handed over sovereignty of its former overseas province of Angola to the local independentist groups (MPLA, UNITA, and FNLA), the territory of Cabinda has been a focus of separatist guerrilla actions opposing the Government of Angola (which has employed its military forces, the FAA – Forças Armadas Angolanas) and Cabindan separatists. The Cabindan separatists, FLEC-FAC, announced a virtual Federal Republic of Cabinda under the Presidency of N'Zita Henriques Tiago. One of the characteristics of the Cabindan independence movement is its constant fragmentation, into smaller and smaller factions, in a process which although not totally fomented by the Angolan government, is undoubtedly encouraged and duly exploited by it.

Military

The Angolan Armed Forces (AAF) is headed by a Chief of Staff who reports to the Minister of Defense. There are three divisions—the Army (Exército), Navy (Marinha de Guerra, MGA), and National Air Force (Força Aérea Nacional, FAN). Total manpower is about 110,000. The army is by far the largest of the services with about 100,000 men and women. The Navy numbers about 3,000 and operates several small patrol craft and barges.

Air force personnel total about 7,000; its equipment includes Russian-manufactured fighters, bombers, and transport planes. There are also Brazilian-made EMB-312 Tucano for Training role, Czech-made L-39 for training and bombing role, Czech Zlin for training role and a variety of western made aircraft such as C-212\Aviocar, Sud Aviation Alouette III, etc. A small number of FAA personnel are stationed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville).

Police

The National Police departments are: Public Order, Criminal Investigation, Traffic and Transport, Investigation and Inspection of Economic Activities, Taxation and Frontier Supervision, Riot Police and the Rapid Intervention Police. The National Police are in the process of standing up an air wing, which will provide helicopter support for police operations. The National Police are also developing their criminal investigation and forensic capabilities. The National Police has an estimated 6,000 patrol officers, 2,500 Taxation and Frontier Supervision officers, 182 criminal investigators and 100 financial crimes detectives and around 90 Economic Activity Inspectors.

The National Police have implemented a modernization and development plan to increase the capabilities and efficiency of the total force. In addition to administrative reorganization; modernization projects include procurement of new vehicles, aircraft and equipment, construction of new police stations and forensic laboratories, restructured training programs and the replacement of AKM rifles with 9 mm UZIs for police officers in urban areas.

Geography

View of the mountains of Lubango

At 481,321 square miles (1,246,620 km2),[16] Angola is the world's twenty-third largest country (after Niger). It is comparable in size to Mali and is nearly twice the size of the US state of Texas, or five times the area of the United Kingdom.

Angola is bordered by Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north-east, and the South Atlantic Ocean to the west. The exclave of Cabinda also borders the Republic of the Congo to the north. Angola's capital, Luanda, lies on the Atlantic coast in the north-west of the country. Angola's average temperature on the coast is
60 °F (15.6 °C) in the winter and 70 °F (21.1 °C) in the summer.

Economy

Luanda is Angola's capital city and economic and commercial hub.

Angola's economy has undergone a period of transformation in recent years, moving from the disarray caused by a quarter century of civil war to being the fastest growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world. In 2004, China's Eximbank approved a $2 billion line of credit to Angola. The loan is being used to rebuild Angola's infrastructure, and has also limited the influence of the International Monetary Fund in the country.[17]

Growth is almost entirely driven by rising oil production which surpassed 1.4 million barrels per day (220,000 m3/d) in late-2005 and was expected to grow to 2 million barrels per day (320,000 m3/d) by 2007. Control of the oil industry is consolidated in Sonangol Group, a conglomerate which is owned by the Angolan government. In December 2006, Angola was admitted as a member of OPEC.[18] The economy grew 18% in 2005, 26% in 2006 and 17.6% in 2007 and it's expected to stay above 10% for the rest of the decade. The security brought about by the 2002 peace settlement has led to the resettlement of 4 million displaced persons, thus resulting in large-scale increases in agriculture production.

The country's economy has grown since achieving political stability in 2002. However, it faces huge social and economic problems as a result of the almost continual state of conflict from 1961 onwards, although the highest level of destruction and socio-economic damage took place after the 1975 independence, during the long years of civil war. The oil sector, with its fast-rising earnings has been the main driving force behind improvements in overall economic activity – nevertheless, poverty remains widespread. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International rated Angola one of the 10 most corrupt countries in the world in 2005. The capital city is the most developed and the only large economic centre worth mentioning in the country, however, slums called musseques, stretch for miles beyond Luanda's former city limits.

According to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative American think tank, oil production from Angola has increased so significantly that Angola now is China's biggest supplier of oil.[19]

Transport

Transport in Angola consists of:

  • Three separate railway systems totalling 2,761 km
  • 76,626 km of highway of which 19,156 km is paved
  • 1,295 navigable inland waterways
  • Eight major sea ports
  • 243 airports, of which 32 are paved.

Demographics

Ethnic groups of Angola

Angola is composed of Ovimbundu 37%, Mbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, mestiços (mixed European and native African) 2%, European 1%, and 22% 'other' ethnic groups.[20] The two Mbundu and Ovimbundu nations combined form a majority of the population, at 62%.

It is estimated that Angola was host to 12,100 refugees and 2,900 asylum seekers by the end of 2007. 11,400 of those refugees were originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) who arrived in the 1970s.[21] As of 2008 there were an estimated 400,000 DRC migrant workers,[22] at least 30,000 Portuguese,[23] and 100,000+ Chinese living in Angola.[24] Prior to independence in 1975, Angola had a community of approximately 500,000 Portuguese.[25]

Languages

Portuguese is spoken as a first language by 80% of the population, and as a second language by another 20%.[citation needed] The dominance of Portuguese over the native Kimbundu and other African languages is due to a strong influence from Portugal, as opposed to in Mozambique, which being more remote from the Lusosphere, retained a majority of Bantu language speakers.

Religion

Religion in Angola
religion percent[26]
Christian
  
53%
Indigenous
  
47%

Christianity is the major religion in Angola. The World Christian Database states that the Angolan population is 93.5% Christian, 4.7% ethnoreligionist (indigenous), 0.6% Muslim, 0.9% Agnostic and 0.2% non-religious.[27] However, other sources put the percent of Christians at 53% with the remaining population adhering to indigenous beliefs.[26] According to these sources, of Christians in Angola, 72% are Roman Catholic, and 28% are Baptist, Presbyterian, Reformed Evangelical, Pentecostal, Methodists and a few small Christian cults[28][29][30][31].

In a study assessing nations' levels of religious regulation and persecution with scores ranging from 0-10 where 0 represented low levels of regulation or persecution, Angola was scored 0.8 on Government Regulation of Religion, 4.0 on Social Regulation of Religion, 0 on Government Favoritism of Religion and 0 on Religious Persecution.[32]

The largest Protestant denominations include the Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists (United Church of Christ), and Assemblies of God.[citation needed] The largest syncretic religious group is the Kimbanguist Church, whose followers believe that a mid-20th century Congolese pastor named Joseph Kimbangu was a prophet.[citation needed] A small portion of the country's rural population practices animism or traditional indigenous religions. There is a small Islamic community based around migrants from West Africa.

In colonial times, the country's coastal populations primarily were Catholic while the Protestant mission groups were active inland. With the massive social displacement caused by 26 years of civil war, this rough division is no longer valid.

Foreign missionaries were very active prior to independence in 1975, although the Portuguese colonial authorities expelled many Protestant missionaries and closed mission stations based on the belief that the missionaries were inciting pro-independence sentiments. Missionaries have been able to return to the country since the early 1990s, although security conditions due to the civil war have prevented them from restoring many of their former inland mission stations.[33]

The Roman Catholic denomination mostly keeps to itself in contrast to the major Protestant denominations which are much more active in trying to win new members. The major Protestant denominations provide help for the poor in the form of crop seeds, farm animals, medical care and education in the English language, math, history and religion.[28][34][35].

Health

A 2007 survey concluded that low and deficient niacin status was common in Angola.[36] Epidemics of cholera, malaria, rabies and African hemorrhagic fevers like Marburg hemorrhagic fever, are common diseases in several parts of the country. Many regions in this country have high incidence rates of tuberculosis and high HIV prevalence rates. Dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis (river blindness) are other diseases carried by insects that also occur in the region. Angola has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world and one of the world's lowest life expectancies.

Education

Children in an outdoor classroom in Bié, Angola

Although by law, education in Angola is compulsory and free for 8 years, the government reports that a certain percentage of students are not attending school due to a lack of school buildings and teachers.[37] Students are often responsible for paying additional school-related expenses, including fees for books and supplies.[37]

In 1999, the gross primary enrollment rate was 74 percent and in 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, the net primary enrollment rate was 61 percent.[37] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance.[37] There continue to be significant disparities in enrollment between rural and urban areas. In 1995, 71.2 percent of children ages 7 to 14 years were attending school.[37] It is reported that higher percentages of boys attend school than girls.[37] During the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002), nearly half of all schools were reportedly looted and destroyed, leading to current problems with overcrowding.[37]

The Ministry of Education hired 20,000 new teachers in 2005, and continued to implement teacher trainings.[37] Teachers tend to be underpaid, inadequately trained, and overworked (sometimes teaching two or three shifts a day).[37] Teachers also reportedly demand payment or bribes directly from their students.[37] Other factors, such as the presence of landmines, lack of resources and identity papers, and poor health also prevent children from regularly attending school.[37] Although budgetary allocations for education were increased in 2004, the education system in Angola continues to be extremely under-funded.[37]

Literacy is quite low, with 67.4% of the population over the age of 15 able to read and write in Portuguese.[citation needed] 82.9% of males and 54.2% of women are literate as of 2001.[citation needed] Since independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of Angolan students continued to be admitted every year at Portuguese high schools, polytechnical institutes, and universities, through bilateral agreements between the Portuguese Government and the Angolan Government; in general these students belong to the Angolan elites.

Culture

Portugal ruled over Angola for 400 years and both countries share cultural aspects: language (Portuguese) and main religion (Roman Catholic Christianity). The Angolan culture is mostly native Bantu which was mixed with Portuguese culture. In the Moxico province more than 10,000 persons are Spanish-speaking (ca. 4.34% of the population of this province) due to the presence of Cuban troops during the Angolan Civil War (1975–2002).[citation needed]

See also

Further reading

  • ANGOLA LIVRO BRANCO SOBRE AS ELEIÇÕES DE 2008. http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/8/2/year-2009/dokument_id-17396/index.html
  • Le Billon, P. (2005). "Aid in the Midst of Plenty: Oil Wealth, Misery and Advocacy in Angola." Disasters 29(1): 1-25.
  • Bösl, Anton (2008). Angola´s Parliamentary Elections in 2008. A Country on its Way to One-Party-Democracy, KAS Auslandsinformationen 10/2008. http://www.kas.de/wf/de/33.15186/
  • Cilliers, Jackie and Christian Dietrich, Eds. (2000). Angola's War Economy: The Role of Oil and Diamonds. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies.
  • Global Witness (1999). A Crude Awakening, The Role of Oil and Banking Industries in Angola's Civil War and the Plundering of State Assets. London, UK, Global Witness. http://www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/93/en/a_crude_awakening
  • Hodges, T. (2004). Angola: The Anatomy of an Oil State. Oxford, UK and Indianapolis, US, The Fridtjol Nansen Institute & The International African Institute in association with James Currey and Indiana University Press.
  • Human Rights Watch (2004). Some Transparency, No Accountability: The Use of Oil Revenues in Angola and Its Impact on Human Rights. New York, Human Rights Watch. http://www.hrw.org/reports/2004/angola0104/
  • Human Rights Watch (2005). Coming Home, Return and Reintegration in Angola. New York, Human Rights Watch. http://hrw.org/reports/2005/angola0305/
  • Kapuściński, Ryszard. Another Day of Life, Penguin, 1975. ISBN 014118678X. A Polish journalist's account of Portuguese withdrawal from Angola and the beginning of the civil war. Ryszard Kapuściński
  • Kevlihan, R. (2003). "Sanctions and humanitarian concerns: Ireland and Angola, 2001-2." Irish Studies in International Affairs 14: 95-106.
  • Lari, A. (2004). Returning home to a normal life? The plight of displaced Angolans. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/papers/85/Paper85.pdf
  • Lari, A. and R. Kevlihan (2004). "International Human Rights Protection in Situations of Conflict and Post-Conflict, A Case Study of Angola." African Security Review 13(4): 29-41. http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/ASR/13No4/FLari.pdf
  • Le Billon, P. (2001). "Angola’s Political Economy of War: The Role of Oil and Diamonds." African Affairs(100): 55-80.
  • Médecins Sans Frontières (2002). Angola: Sacrifice of a People. Luanda, Angola, MSF. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/2002/angola1_10-2002.pdf
  • Pinto Escoval (2004): "Staatszerfall im südlichen Afrika. Das Beispiel Angola". Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin
  • Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.
  • Le Billon, P. (March 2006). Fuelling War: Natural Resources and Armed Conflicts. Routledge. ISBN 0415379709. 
  • Pearce, J. (2004). "War, Peace and Diamonds in Angola: Popular perceptions of the diamond industry in the Lundas." 2005.African Security Review 13 (2), 2004, pp 51–64. http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/ASR/13No2/AW.pdf
  • Porto, J. G. (2003). Cabinda: Notes on a soon to be forgotten war. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/papers/77/Paper77.html
  • Tvedten, I. (1997). Angola, Struggle for Peace and Reconstruction. Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press.
  • Vines, A. (1999). Angola Unravels: The Rise and Fall of the Lusaka Peace Process. New York and London, UK, Human Rights Watch.
  • Godfrey Mwakikagile, Nyerere and Africa: End of an Era, Third Edition, Pretoria, South Africa, 2006, on Angola in Chapter Eleven, "American Involvement in Angola and Southern Africa: Nyerere's Response," pp. 324 – 346, ISBN 978-0980253412.

References

  1. ^ Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division (2009) (.PDF). World Population Prospects, Table A.1. 2008 revision. United Nations. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2008/wpp2008_text_tables.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-12. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Angola". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=614&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=51&pr.y=14. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 
  3. ^ (Portuguese) Angola mantém presença militar reforçada em Cabinda, UOL.com.br (4 June 2008)
  4. ^ a b The Story of Africa
  5. ^ Boahen, Adu Boahen. Topics In West African History. p. 110. 
  6. ^ Kwaku Person-Lynn. "Afrikan Involvement In Atlantic Slave Trade". http://www.africawithin.com/kwaku/afrikan_involvement.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-25. 
  7. ^ Dismantling the Portuguese Empire, Time Magazine (Monday, July 07, 1975)
  8. ^ The Decolonization of Portuguese Africa: Metropolitan Revolution and the Dissolution of Empire by Norrie MacQueen - Mozambique since Independence: Confronting Leviathan by Margaret Hall, Tom Young - Author of Review: Stuart A. Notholt African Affairs, Vol. 97, No. 387 (Apr., 1998), pp. 276-278, JSTOR
  9. ^ http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4068.htm
  10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c35COXObeo8
  11. ^ Lari (2004), Human Rights Watch (2005)
  12. ^ http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/8/2/year-2008/dokument_id-15323/index.html
  13. ^ http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/8/2/year-2009/dokument_id-17396/index.html
  14. ^ http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/
  15. ^ "Virtual Angola Facts and Statistics". http://www.angola.org.uk/facts_government.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-30. 
  16. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html
  17. ^ "The Increasing Importance of African Oil". Power and Interest Report. March 20, 2006. http://www.pinr.com/report.php?ac=view_report&report_id=460&language_id=1. 
  18. ^ "Angola: Country Admitted As Opec Member". Angola Press Agency. 2006-12-14. http://allafrica.com/stories/200612140990.html. 
  19. ^ Into Africa: China's Grab for Influence and Oil
  20. ^ CIA - The World Factbook - Angola
  21. ^ [U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. "World Refugee Survey 2008." Available Online at: http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?id=2117. pp.37 ]
  22. ^ World Refugee Survey 2008 - Angola, UNHCR
  23. ^ Angola, U.S. Department of State
  24. ^ ANGOLA and reconstructing the country: Prevention made in China, PlusNews, November 12, 2008
  25. ^ Flight from Angola, The Economist , August 16, 1975
  26. ^ a b CIA World Factbook
  27. ^ Angola: Adherents Profile at the Association of Religion Data Archives World Christian Database
  28. ^ a b http://books.google.com/books?id=DeVqVy21g9sC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=presbyterian+church+in+angola&source=bl&ots=3KbFI1zxSt&sig=vzJ0gD-4N2h0KgEIN9E8SebEh34&hl=en&ei=UnqKSsi_GoWwswPK_4XTDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1
  29. ^ warc.ch/update/up132/09.html
  30. ^ wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/regional/african-mchs.pdf
  31. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=C5V7oyy69zgC&pg=PA539&lpg=PA539&dq=presbyterian+church+in+angola&source=bl&ots=KP8Anxs5Mb&sig=sEo9W7xjWU3x0o-ancv2pi1UWIo&hl=en&ei=UnqKSsi_GoWwswPK_4XTDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5#v=onepage&q=&f=false
  32. ^ Angola: Religious Freedom Profile at the Association of Religion Data Archives Brian J Grim and Roger Finke. "International Religion Indexes: Government Regulation, Government Favoritism, and Social Regulation of Religion." Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. 2 (2006) Article 1: www.religjournal.com.
  33. ^ U.S. Department of State
  34. ^ foodsresourcebank.org/uploadedfiles/Designations%2520Public%2520View%252009-07-07lo.pdf
  35. ^ http://www.pcusa.org/hunger/downloads/2005intgrants.pdf
  36. ^ Seal AJ, Creeke PI, Dibari F, et al. (January 2007). "Low and deficient niacin status and pellagra are endemic in postwar Angola". Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 85 (1): 218–24. PMID 17209199. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=17209199. 
  37. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Botswana". 2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Bureau of International Labor Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor (2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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Translations: Angola
Top

Dansk (Danish)
n. - Angola

Français (French)
n. - Angola

Deutsch (German)
n. - Angola

Português (Portuguese)
n. - Angola

Español (Spanish)
n. - Angola

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
安哥拉

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 安哥拉

한국어 (Korean)
앙골라 (아프리카 남서부의 공화국; 1975년 독립; 수도 Luanda), 앙고라 모직물

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אנגולה‬


 
 
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