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Angola-HEALTH AND WELFARE

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Angola Index

Women washing clothes in an irrigation canal, a breeding ground for insects that spread parasitic diseases
Courtesy UNICEF (Maggie Murray-Lee)

In general, the civil war had degraded the quality and availability of health care since independence. Logistical problems with supply and distribution of equipment as well as the lack of physical security impeded the provision of health care throughout the country, and public health services existed only in areas under government control. The rest of the country depended on international and private relief organizations, although UNITA provided a fairly extensive health care system of its own in rebel- controlled areas. Poor even by African standards, health conditions in Angola were made even worse by the failure of government health programs to reach much of the population and by the movement of a significant part of the population out of war-ravaged regions. The country remained heavily dependent on foreign medical assistance because instruction in Angolan medical schools had progressed slowly.

Prior to independence, only urban inhabitants, many of whom were Portuguese, had access to health facilities. One of the MPLA's priorities when it came into power was to provide health care to the entire population through a network of health facilities overseen by the National Health Service, an organization subordinate to the Ministry of Health. In theory, basic health workers determined the level of care required by each patient. In rural areas, village dispensaries and health stations were staffed by a nurse, and district health centers provided outpatient services, a pharmacy, and up to twenty beds. District health centers referred patients to provincial hospitals when necessary. In reality, health care was limited and often unavailable in rural areas because of the lack of resources and the absence of government control throughout much of the country. The government claimed, however, to run 700 health posts and 140 health centers in rural areas in the late 1980s. UNITA, as part of its general goal of disrupting government services, impeded and often prevented the movement of health care personnel and medical equipment in many areas of the country, including regions outside its immediate control. Reports from various sources, mostly appearing in the Portuguese press, alleged that UNITA forces had attacked and destroyed rural medical facilities.

The OMA, the National Union of Angolan Workers (União Nacional dos Trabalhadores Angolanos--UNTA), and the Angolan Red Cross were also involved in promoting health care through the provision of health education, vaccination campaigns, and surveillance of health conditions. Particularly prominent was a primary health care program provided by the Angolan Red Cross in urban shantytowns. Most health-related programs, however, were administered by foreign and international organizations with the cooperation of the Angolan government. Most of these programs, primarily the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and various UN agencies, provided emergency relief aid to those affected by the UNITA insurgency. The ICRC operated mostly in the provinces of Huambo, Bié, and Benguela, administering projects for improving nutrition, sanitation, and public health, with a total staff of some 70 people, assisted by about 40 physicians, nurses, technicians, and administrators from foreign Red Cross societies and an estimated 800 Angolan relief workers.

Infectious and parasitic diseases were prevalent among most of the population. These diseases flourished in conditions of inadequate to nonexistent environmental sanitation, poor personal hygiene habits, substandard living conditions, and inadequate to nonexistent disease control programs. These conditions caused a cholera epidemic in 1987 and 1988 that killed almost 2,000 people in twelve provinces.

Conditions worsened in the 1980s, primarily because the UNITA insurgency had resulted in the creation of a massive internal refugee population living in tent camps or urban shantytowns. The most frequent causes of death included gastrointestinal diseases, malaria, respiratory infections, and sexually transmitted diseases, all of which were aggravated by endemic malnutrition. The most prevalent diseases included acute diarrhea, cholera, hepatitis, hymenolepiasis, influenza, leprosy, meningitis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, tuberculosis, typhoid, typhus, yaws, and yellow fever. In addition, in 1989 approximately 1.5 million Angolans were at risk of starvation because of the insurgency and economic mismanagement. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) estimated that Angola had the world's fourth highest mortality rate for children under the age of five, despite a program launched in 1987 by UNICEF to vaccinate children against diphtheria, measles, polio, tetanus, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. UNICEF claimed to have vaccinated 75 percent of all Angolan children under the age of one.

If statistics provided by the chief of the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Angola's Ministry of Health were accurate, the incidence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Angola was fairly low by African standards--0.4 percent of blood donors in Luanda and 2 percent to 4 percent of adults in Cabinda tested positive for the AIDS virus. The highest percentage of cases was in the northeast region bordering Zaire. There were indications, however, that the actual number of AIDS cases was significantly higher; the United States-based AIDS Policy Research Center claimed a high incidence of the disease among Cuban troops based in Angola and Angola-based African National Congress members. The biggest problems in determining the extent of the epidemic were inadequate communications systems and the lack of modern blood testing or computers to tabulate the death toll in rural areas. In cities controlled by the government, the World Health Organization helped initiate an information and testing campaign in 1988 that included the distribution of condoms.

Another prevalent health concern centered on the tens of thousands of people, many of them women and children, crippled by land mines planted by UNITA insurgents and, according to foreign relief organizations, by government forces. Estimates on the number of amputees ranged from 20,000 to 50,000. Foreign relief organizations operated orthopedic centers in both government- controlled and UNITA-occupied areas, providing artificial limbs and physical therapy. The largest facility was the Bomba Alta Orthopedic Center in Huambo, Angola's second largest city, which was operated by the ICRC. Designed essentially to manufacture orthopedic prostheses and braces for paralytics and to provide physical rehabilitation, in 1986 the center treated 822 patients, of whom 725 were adults and 97 were children. In 1987 the center was staffed with twenty-one Angolan and three foreign medical personnel, ten of whom specialized in orthopedic prostheses for the lower limbs. The center provided 1,260 patients with prostheses in 1988.

Most of Angola's estimated forty-five hospitals, all government operated, were located in urban areas (see table 3, Appendix A). Conditions in the hospitals, however, were often deplorable. Poor sanitation, a lack of basic equipment, and disruptions in water and electrical services were common. Trained medical personnel were in chronic short supply; in the late 1980s, Angola had only 230 native-born doctors, and only 30 percent of the population had access to health services. Most physicians, nurses, technicians, and national health advisers were foreigners--principally Cubans, East and West Europeans, and South Americans. In 1986 there were about 800 physicians in Angola (1 per 10,250 people--a very low ratio even by African standards) and somewhat more than 10,500 nurses. A Western source reported in February 1989 that 323 physicians, or 41 percent of the total number of doctors in government-controlled areas, were Cubans.

The government had placed a high priority on health and medical training programs, requiring that all foreign medical personnel teach classes in medicine, in addition to performing their clinical duties. There were two physician training programs in the country (in Luanda and Huambo) and more than twenty nursing schools, staffed primarily by Angolan, Cuban, and Soviet teachers. Most of the instructors in all medical training programs were foreign (primarily Cuban, Yugoslav, Soviet, and East German), and Angolan students attended medical training programs in Cuba, East Germany, and Poland.

According to a Portuguese source, health care in UNITA- controlled Angola was well organized and effective. The rebels operated a hospital in Jamba, which was staffed by Portuguese- trained medical personnel assisted by several French personnel from the volunteer organization Doctors Without Borders. Jamba's hospital was highly specialized, with the capability to meet most of the needs of the surrounding population; the only unavailable treatments were neurosurgery and cardiothoracic surgery. The hospital was apparently well equipped (probably by South Africa) with both instruments and medicines. Although tropical diseases were prevalent, war casualties were often the reason for hospitalization, with most of the wounded having first been treated at field hospitals established along the military fronts.

                      *         *         *

Sections of this chapter dealing with preindependence subjects and general discussions of the structure of society are based on parts of larger studies. Such studies include Hermann Pössinger's "Interrelations Between Economic and Social Change in Rural Africa," Lawrence W. Henderson's "Ethnolinguistic Worlds," Douglas L. Wheeler and René Pélissier's Angola, and Joseph C. Miller's Kings and Kinsmen, which includes a discussion of the complex character of Mbundu matrilineages.

Much of the more recent information has been culled from books, studies, and translations of foreign publications provided by the United States Joint Publications Research Service. Keith Somerville's Angola: Politics, Economics, and Society provides an excellent overview of the government's policies on education and religion; Linda M. Heywood's "The Dynamics of Ethnic Nationalism in Angola" contains a detailed analysis of UNITA's aspirations among the Ovimbundu as well as Ovimbundu life in present-day Angola; and Angola's official press agency, Angop, has provided detailed items pertaining to issues of health and education. Also of great value are articles in the Washington Post and New York Times by foreign correspondents such as Blaine Harden and James Brooke dealing with the effects of the UNITA insurgency on the rural and urban populations.

Two valuable sources on the grave conditions in which most Angolans live are the U.S. Committee for Refugees' Uprooted Angolans and the final report of the United States Private Voluntary Agency and the United States Government Assessment Team to Angola. (For further information and full citations, see Bibliography.)

Data as of February 1989

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)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold		$18.36 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $11.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external		$14.09 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $8.357 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home		$16.36 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $14.51 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad		$2.477 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates		kwanza (AOA) per US dollar - 75.023 (2008 est.), 76.6 (2007), 80.4 (2006), 88.6 (2005), 83.541 (2004)
Currency (code)		kwanza (AOA)
Telephones - main lines in use		114,300 (2008)
Telephones - mobile cellular		6.773 million (2008)
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)
Internet country code		.ao
Internet users		550,000 (2008)
Airports		192 (2009)
Pipelines(km)		gas 2 km; oil 87 km (2008)
Roadways(km)		total: 51,429 km paved: 5,349 km unpaved: 46,080 km (2001)
Ports and terminals		Cabinda, Lobito, Luanda, Namibe
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(years of age)		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(% of GDP)		5.7% of GDP (2006)
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)
Electricity - production(kWh)		3.722 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source(%)		fossil fuel: 36.4% hydro: 63.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption(kWh)		3.173 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - exports(kWh)		0 kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports(kWh)		0 kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production(bbl/day)		2.015 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption(bbl/day)		64,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports(bbl/day)		1.407 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - imports(bbl/day)		28,090 bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - proved reserves(bbl)		9.04 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
Natural gas - production(cu m)		680 million cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption(cu m)		680 million cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports(cu m)		0 cu m (2008)
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m)		269.8 billion cu m (1 January 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)
Literacy(%)		definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 67.4% male: 82.9% female: 54.2% (2001 est.)
Education expenditures(% of GDP)		2.4% of GDP (2005)