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Angola Index
Religious affiliation in Angola was difficult to define
because
many who claimed membership in a specific Christian
denomination
also shared perceptions of the natural and supernatural
order
characteristic of indigenous religious systems. Sometimes
the
Christian sphere of the life of a community was
institutionally
separate from the indigenous sphere. In other cases, the
local
meaning and practice of Christianity were modified by
indigenous
patterns of belief and practice.
Although Roman Catholic missions were largely staffed
by nonPortuguese during the colonial era, the relevant statutes
and
accords provided that foreign missionaries could be
admitted only
with the approval of the Portuguese government and the
Vatican and
on condition that they be integrated with the Portuguese
missionary
organization. Foreign Roman Catholic missionaries were
required to
renounce the laws of their own country, submit to
Portuguese law,
and furnish proof of their ability to speak and write the
Portuguese language correctly. Missionary activity was
placed under
the authority of Portuguese priests. All of this was
consistent
with the Colonial Act of 1930, which advanced the view
that
Portuguese Catholic missions overseas were "instruments of
civilization and national influence." In 1940 the
education of
Africans was declared the exclusive responsibility of
missionary
personnel. All church activities, education included, were
to be
subsidized by the state. In reality, Protestant missions
were
permitted to engage in educational activity, but without
subsidy
and on condition that Portuguese be the language of
instruction
(see Education
, this ch.).
The important Protestant missions in place in the 1960s
(or
their predecessors) had arrived in Angola in the late
nineteenth
century and therefore had been at work before the
Portuguese
managed to establish control over the entire territory.
Their early
years, therefore, were little affected by Portuguese
policy and
practice. Before the establishment of the New State
(Estado Novo)
in Portugal in 1926, the authorities kept an eye on the
Protestant
missions but were not particularly hostile to them
(see Angola under the New State
, ch. 1). Settlers and local
administrators
often were hostile, however, because Protestant
missionaries tended
to be protective of what they considered their charges. In
those
early years and later, Protestant missionaries were not
only
evangelists but also teachers, healers, and
counselors--all perhaps
in a paternal fashion but in ways that involved contact
with
Africans in a more sustained fashion than was
characteristic of
Roman Catholic missionaries and local administrators.
Protestant missionaries worked at learning the local
languages,
in part to communicate better with those in their mission
field,
but above all in order to translate the Old Testament and
the New
Testament into African tongues. Protestant missionaries
were much
more likely than administrators and settlers to know a
local
language. Roman Catholic missionaries did not similarly
emphasize
the translation of the Bible and, with some exceptions,
did not
make a point of learning a Bantu language.
Because specific Protestant denominations were
associated with
particular ethnic communities, the structure of religious
organization was linked to the structure of these
communities. This
connection was brought about in part by the tendency of
entire
communities to turn to the variety of Protestantism
offered
locally. The conversion of isolated individuals was rare.
Those
individuals who did not become Christians remained to a
greater or
lesser extent adherents of the indigenous system; unless
they
migrated to one of the larger towns, persons of a specific
locality
did not have the option of another kind of Christianity.
Those
members of a community who had not yet become Christians
were tied
by kinship and propinquity to those individuals who had.
On the one
hand, indigenous patterns of social relations affected
church
organization; on the other hand, the presence of
Christians in the
community affected the local culture to varying degrees.
Christians
who could quote Scripture in the local tongue contributed
phrases
to it that others picked up, and the attributes of the
Christian
God as interpreted by the specific denomination sometimes
became
attached to the high god of the indigenous religious
system and
typically made that deity more prominent than previously.
The involvement of the Protestant churches in the
languages of
their mission areas, their medical and other welfare
activity, and
their ability to adapt to local structures or (in the case
of the
Methodists among the Mbundu) to be fortuitously consistent
with
them gave Protestants much more influence than their
numbers would
suggest. For example, the leaders of the three major
nationalist
movements in the 1970s--the MPLA, UNITA, and the FNLA--had
been
raised as Protestants, and many others in these movements
were also
Protestants, even if their commitment may have diminished
over
time.
Estimates of the number of Roman Catholics in Angola
varied.
One source claimed that about 55 percent of the population
in 1985
was Roman Catholic; another put the proportion in 1987 at
68
percent. Most Roman Catholics lived in western Angola, not
only
because that part of the country was the most densely
populated but
also because Portuguese penetration into the far interior
was
comparatively recent and Roman Catholic missionaries
tended to
follow the flag. The most heavily Roman Catholic area
before
independence was Cabinda Province, where most of the
people were
Bakongo. Bakongo in Angola proper were not quite so
heavily Roman
Catholic, and Protestantism was very influential there.
There was
a substantial proportion of Roman Catholics among the
Mbundu in
Luanda and Cuanza Norte provinces. Less heavily Catholic
were the
Ovimbundu-populated provinces of Benguela and Huambo,
although the
city of Huambo had been estimated to be two-thirds
Catholic. In the
southern and eastern districts, the proportion of Roman
Catholics
dropped considerably.
The proportion of Protestants in the Angolan population
was
estimated at 10 percent to 20 percent in the late 1980s.
The
majority of them presumably were Africans, although some
mestiços may have been affiliated with one or
another
Protestant church.
The government recognized eleven Protestant
denominations: the
Assembly of God, the Baptist Convention of Angola, the
Baptist
Evangelical Church of Angola, the Congregational
Evangelical Church
of Angola, the Evangelical Church of Angola, the
Evangelical Church
of South-West Angola, the Our Lord Jesus Christ Church in
the World
(Kimbanguist), the Reformed Evangelical Church of Angola,
the
Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the Union of Evangelical
Churches of
Angola, and the United Methodist Church.
In the late 1980s, statistics on Christian preferences
among
ethnic groups were unavailable, but proportions calculated
from the
1960 census probably had not changed significantly.
According to
the 1960 census, about 21 percent of the Ovimbundu were
Protestants, but later estimates suggest a smaller
percentage. The
sole Protestant group active among the Mbundu was the
Methodist
Mission, largely sponsored by the Methodist Episcopal
Church of the
United States. Portuguese data for 1960 indicated that
only 8
percent of the Mbundu considered themselves Protestants,
but
Protestant missions had considerable success among the
Dembos. As
many as 35 percent of the Bakongo were considered
Protestants by
the official religious census of 1960, with Baptists being
the most
numerous.
In addition to the Protestant churches directly
generated by
the missions and continuing in a more or less orthodox
pattern,
there were other groups, which stemmed at least in part
from the
Protestant experience but expressed a peculiarly local
tendency and
which were dominated entirely by Africans. The number of
Angolans
identifying with such African churches is not known, but
it is
reasonable to assume that many Angolans were attached to
them.
Data as of February 1989
- Angola-Roots of Discontent
- Angola-Mestiços
- Angola-LABOR FORCE
- Angola-Food Crops and Livestock
- Angola-War and the Military in National Perspective
- Angola-Interest Groups
- Angola-NATIONAL SECURITY
- Angola-Foreign Trade
- Angola-Relations with Other African States
- Angola-Policies Affecting Rural Society
- Angola-The National Front for the Liberation of Angola
- Angola-Conditions after Independence
- Angola-FOREIGN TRADE AND ASSISTANCE
- Angola-Troop Strength, Recruitment, and Conscription
- Angola-Beginning of Revolution
- Angola-Military Campaigns
- Angola-BACKGROUND
- Angola-Mbundu Social Structure
- Angola-Conditions Before Independence EDUCATION
- Angola-The Development of FAPLA
- Angola-INDEPENDENCE AND THE RISE OF THE MPLA GOVERNMENT
- Angola-Ethnolinguistic Categories
- Angola-Portuguese Economic Interests and Resistance to Angolan Independence
- Angola-EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
- Angola-Postindependence Exploration and Production
- Angola-Internal Security Forces and Organization
- Angola-Indigenous Religious Systems
- Angola-Incidence and Trends in Crime
- Angola-Timber
- Angola-AGRICULTURE
- Angola-Central Committee
- Angola-Air and Air Defense Force
- Angola-Administration and Development
- Angola-Kongo Kingdom
- Angola-THE DOS SANTOS REGIME
- Angola-Marketing
- Angola-Matamba and Kasanje Kingdoms
- Angola-Traditional Elites
- Angola-Role of Women and Children
- Angola-ANGOLA
- Angola-The Early Nineteenth Century THE 1800s: TURMOIL IN PORTUGAL, REFORM AND EXPANSION IN ANGOLA
- Angola-Political Bureau
- Angola-Military Organization and Capability
- Angola-Drainage
- Angola-POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
- Angola-Shaba Invasion and the Nitista Plot
- Angola-Armed Forces Organization and Mission
- Angola-The Costs of Endemic Conflict WAR AND THE ROLE OF THE ARMED FORCES IN SOCIETY
- Angola-Heavy Industry
- Angola-Civic Action and Veterans' Groups
- Angola -COUNTRY PROFILE
- Angola
- Angola-The Demographic Situation SETTLEMENT, CONQUEST, AND DEVELOPMENT
- Angola-South African Intervention
- Angola-Defense and Security Council
- Angola-Slave Trading in the 1700s ANGOLA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
- Angola-GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
- Angola-Training
- Angola-STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY
- Angola-RISE OF AFRICAN NATIONALISM
- Angola-Chapter 5 - National Security
- Angola-The Defeat of Kongo and Ndongo
- Angola-Operations
- Angola-Policy Making FOREIGN RELATIONS
- Angola-ANGOLAN INSURGENCY
- Angola-Ascendancy of the MPLA
- Angola-National Union of Angolan Workers
- Angola-The Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
- Angola-Ovambo, Nyaneka-Humbe, Herero, and Others
- Angola-Organizational Weaknesses
- Angola-Foreign Auxiliary Forces
- Angola-Railroads
- Angola-Regional Politics
- Angola-Transformation into a Marxist-Leninist Party and Internal Dissent
- Angola-External Support
- Angola-Constitutional and Political Context ARMED FORCES
- Angola-Antigovernment Opposition
- Angola-Strengthening Ties with the Soviet Union and Its Allies
- Angola-ECONOMY
- Angola-TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Angola-Council of Ministers
- Angola-Christianity
- Angola-Religious Communities
- Angola-Social Structure in Rural Communities
- Angola-Chapter - 1 - Historical Setting
- Angola-Background EVOLUTION OF THE ARMED FORCES
- Angola-PREFACE
- Angola-Steps Toward a Stronger Party and Political Discord
- Angola-Effects of the Insurgency
- Angola-Other Minerals
- Angola-Prison System
- Angola-FAPLA's Combat Performance
- Angola-Collapse of the Transitional Government
- Angola-Foreign Assistance
- Angola-Human Rights
- Angola-POPULATION STRUCTURE AND DYNAMICS
- Angola-The Constitution STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT
- Angola-INTERNAL SECURITY
- Angola-Emergence of UNITA
- Angola-Salazar's Racial Politics
- Angola-Criminal Justice System CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Angola-Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment
- Angola-Diamonds
- Angola-Communist Nations
- Angola-Independence Struggle, Civil War, and Intervention
- Angola-SOCIETY
- Angola-Angola as a Refuge
- Angola-Ground Forces
- Angola-Electric Power
- Angola-Ports
- Angola-Party Congress
- Angola-Light Industry
- Angola-Regional Organization
- Angola-Judicial System
- Angola-Navy
- Angola-Terrain
- Angola-STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY
- Angola-ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT
- Angola
- Angola-Telecommunications
- Angola-Second Party Congress
- Angola-The Enduring Rival: UNITA
- Angola-Construction Materials
- Angola-Noncommunist Nations
- Angola-The Dutch Interregnum, 1641-48
- Angola-The Namibia Issue and Security Threats in the 1980s
- Angola-Roads TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS
- Angola-Fishing
- Angola-Food Processing
- Angola-Nganguela
- Angola-Abolition of the Slave Trade
- Angola-United States and Western Europe
- Angola
- Angola
- Angola-Liberation Movements in Cabinda
- Angola-Local Administration
- Angola-INDUSTRY
- Angola-Ovimbundu
- Angola
- Angola-ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- Angola-Regional Accord
- Angola-Angola under the New State ANGOLA UNDER THE SALAZAR REGIME
- Angola-Hunters, Gatherers, Herders, and Others
- Angola-Conditions of Service, Ranks, and Military Justice
- Angola-Effects of Socialist Policies
- Angola-Social Structure in Urban Areas
- Angola-Finances
- Angola-GEOGRAPHY
- Angola-Ovimbundu Social Structure
- Angola-Balance of Trade and Payments BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, FINANCES, AND FOREIGN DEBT
- Angola-Education in UNITA-Claimed Territory
- Angola-Foreword
- Angola-Mbundu
- Angola-Foreign Debt
- Angola-Mass Organizations MASS ORGANIZATIONS AND INTEREST GROUPS
- Angola-Ndongo Kingdom
- Angola-Oil
- Angola-ETHNIC GROUPS AND LANGUAGES
- Angola-Executive Branch
- Angola-MASS MEDIA
- Angola-Foreign Intervention
- Angola-Legislative Branch
- Angola-RELIGIOUS LIFE
- Angola-PRECOLONIAL ANGOLA AND THE ARRIVAL OF THE PORTUGUESE
- Angola-Climate
- Angola-Lunda-Chokwe
- Angola-Air Transport
- Angola-Policies Affecting Urban Society
- Angola-Erstwhile Opposition: FLEC and the FNLA
- Angola-The Definition of Ethnicity
- Angola-Structure
- Angola
- Angola-Iron Ore
- Angola-Chapter 3 - The Economy
- Angola-HEALTH AND WELFARE
- Angola-Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola-Youth Movement
- Angola-NATIONAL SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
- Angola-Portuguese Settlers in Angola
- Angola-Organization of Angolan Women
- Angola-Coffee
- Angola-Lunda and Chokwe Kingdoms
- Angola-Economic Problems and the Implementation of Socialist Policies
- Angola-BACKGROUND TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- Angola-The Final Days of the Neto Regime
- Angola
- Angola-INTRODUCTION
- Angola
- Angola-Background POPULAR MOVEMENT FOR THE LIBERATION OF ANGOLA-WORKERS' PARTY
- Angola-PHYSICAL SETTING
- Angola-Ovimbundu and Kwanhama Kingdoms
- Angola-COALITION, THE TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT, AND CIVIL WAR
- Angola-Chapter 4 - Government and Politics
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, despite promising to hold presidential elections in 2009, has since made a presidential poll contingent on the drafting of a new constitution.
|
Location | | Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia and Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 1,246,700 sq km land: 1,246,700 sq km water: 0 sq km
|
Geographic coordinates | | 12 30 S, 18 30 E
|
Land boundaries(km) | | 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(km) | | 1,600 km
|
Climate | | semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | 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(sq km) | | 800 sq km (2003)
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 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
|
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(years) | | total: 18 years male: 18 years female: 18 years (2009 est.)
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 2.095% (2009 est.)
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 43.69 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 24.08 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | 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(male(s)/female) | | 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(deaths/1,000 live births) | | 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(years) | | total population: 38.2 years male: 37.24 years female: 39.22 years (2009 est.)
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 6.12 children born/woman (2009 est.)
|
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
|
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
|
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 were to be held in September 2009 but have been postponed) 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 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
|
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); red represents liberty, black the African continent, the symbols characterize workers and peasants
|
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) | | $112.8 billion (2008 est.) $100.5 billion (2007 est.) $82.94 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $84.95 billion (2008 est.)
|
GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 12.3% (2008 est.) 21.1% (2007 est.) 18.6% (2006 est.)
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $9,000 (2008 est.) $8,200 (2007 est.) $6,900 (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 | | 7.569 million (2008 est.)
|
Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture: 85% industry and services: 15% (2003 est.)
|
Unemployment rate(%) | | NA
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | 40.5% (2006 est.)
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 9% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
Budget | | revenues: $28.99 billion expenditures: $21.44 billion (2008 est.)
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 12.5% (2008 est.) 12.2% (2007 est.)
|
Stock of money | | $8.446 billion (31 December 2008) $4.153 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of quasi money | | $10.41 billion (31 December 2008) $7.216 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Stock of domestic credit | | $7.893 billion (31 December 2008) $1.166 billion (31 December 2007)
|
Economic aid - recipient | | $441.8 million (2005)
|
Public debt(% of GDP) | | 15.5% of GDP (2008 est.) 12% of GDP (2007 est.)
|
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(%) | | 14.3% (2008 est.)
|
Current account balance | | $17.11 billion (2008 est.) $9.402 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports | | $66.3 billion (2008 est.) $44.4 billion (2007 est.)
|
Exports - commodities(%) | | crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, coffee, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, cotton
|
Exports - partners(%) | | China 33%, US 28.7%, France 6%, South Africa 4.6%, Canada 4.1% (2008)
|
Imports | | $17.08 billion (2008 est.) $13.66 billion (2007 est.)
|
Imports - commodities(%) | | machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines, food, textiles, military goods
|
Imports - partners(%) | | Portugal 17.6%, China 15.7%, US 11.3%, Brazil 7.6%, South Korea 6.8%, South Africa 4.8% (2008)
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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $18.36 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $11.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Debt - external | | $14.09 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $8.357 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $16.36 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $14.51 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
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Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $2.477 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
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Exchange rates | | kwanza (AOA) per US dollar - 75.023 (2008 est.), 76.6 (2007), 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004)
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Currency (code) | | kwanza (AOA)
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Telephones - main lines in use | | 114,300 (2008)
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Telephones - mobile cellular | | 6.773 million (2008)
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Telephone system | | general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density exceeded 50 telephones per 100 persons in 2008 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 (2008)
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Internet country code | | .ao
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Internet users | | 550,000 (2008)
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Airports | | 192 (2009)
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Pipelines(km) | | gas 2 km; oil 87 km (2008)
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Roadways(km) | | total: 51,429 km paved: 5,349 km unpaved: 46,080 km (2001)
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Ports and terminals | | Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Namibe
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Military branches | | Angolan Armed Forces (FAA): Army, Navy (Marinha de Guerra Angola, MGA), Angolan National Air Force (Forca Aerea Nacional Angolana, FANA) (2009)
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Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 22-24 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 2 years; Angolan citizenship required (2009)
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Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 2,856,492 females age 16-49: 2,755,864 (2008 est.)
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Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,467,833 females age 16-49: 1,411,468 (2009 est.)
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Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 146,738 female: 143,478 (2009 est.)
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Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 5.7% of GDP (2006)
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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
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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)
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Electricity - production(kWh) | | 3.722 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 36.4% hydro: 63.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 3.173 billion kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 0 kWh (2008 est.)
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Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 2.015 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 64,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
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Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 1.407 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 28,090 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 9.04 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
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Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 680 million cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 680 million cu m (2008 est.)
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Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
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Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 269.8 billion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | 2.1% (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 190,000 (2007 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - deaths | | 11,000 (2007 est.)
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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)
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Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.4% male: 82.9% female: 54.2% (2001 est.)
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Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2.4% of GDP (2005)
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