Note: defense is the responsibility of France and Spain
:Angola Geography
Total area:
1,246,700 km2
Land area:
1,246,700 km2
Comparative area:
slightly less than twice the size of Texas
Land boundaries:
5,198 km total; Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zaire 2,511 km, Zambia 1,110
km
Coastline:
1,600 km
Maritime claims:
Exclusive fishing zone:
200 nm
Territorial sea:
20 nm
Disputes:
civil war since independence on 11 November 1975; on 31 May 1991 Angolan
President Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS and Jonas SAVIMBI, leader of the National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), signed a peace treaty
that calls for multiparty elections in late September 1992, an
internationally monitored cease-fire, and termination of outside military
assistance
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
Natural resources:
petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite,
uranium
Land use:
arable land 2%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 23%; forest and
woodland 43%; other 32%
Environment:
locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on plateau; desertification
Note:
Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire
:Angola People
Population:
8,902,076 (July 1992), growth rate 2.7% (1992)
Birth rate:
46 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
19 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
NEGL migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
152 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
43 years male, 47 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
6.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Angolan(s); adjective - Angolan
Ethnic divisions:
Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, Bakongo 13%, Mestico 2%,European 1%, other 22%
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 47%, Roman Catholic 38%, Protestant 15% (est.)
Languages:
Portuguese (official); various Bantu dialects
Literacy:
42% (male 56%, female 28%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
2,783,000 economically active; agriculture 85%, industry 15% (1985 est.)
Organized labor:
about 450,695 (1980)
:Angola Government
Long-form name:
People's Republic of Angola
Type:
in transition from a one-party Marxist state to a multiparty democracy with
a strong presidential system
Capital:
Luanda
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)
Constitution:
11 November 1975; revised 7 January 1978, 11 August 1980, and 6 March 1991
Legal system:
based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; recently modified to
accommodate multipartyism and increased use of free markets
National holiday:
Independence Day, 11 November (1975)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, chairman of the Council of Ministers, Council of
Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
unicameral People's Assembly (Assembleia do Povo)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (Tribunal da Relacaao)
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS (since 21 September 1979)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Fernando Jose Franca VAN DUNEM (since 21 July 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labor Party (MPLA), led
by Jose Eduardo dos SANTOS, is the ruling party that has been in power in
Angola's one-party system since 1975. The National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas SAVIMBI, has been in insurgency
since 1975, but as a result of the peace accords is now a legally recognized
political party. Some 30 other political parties now exist in Angola, but
few of them are viable and only a couple have met the requirements to become
legally recognized.
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
first nationwide, multiparty elections to be held between September and
November 1992
Member of:
ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC (observer), ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IFAD,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
none; note - US Liaison Office (USLO) established after Peace Accords in May
1991 as a precursor to establishing an embassy after election in 1992;
address - Luanda (USLO), BPA Building, llth floor, telephone [244] (2)
39-02-42; FAX [244] (2) 39-05-15
Flag:
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)
:Angola Economy
Overview:
Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood for 80-90% of the
population, but accounts for less than 15% of GDP. Oil production is vital
to the economy, contributing about 60% to GDP. In recent years, a bitter
internal war has severely affected the nonoil economy, and food has to be
imported. For the long run, Angola has the advantage of rich natural
resources in addition to oil, notably gold, diamonds, and arable land. To
realize its economic potential Angola not only must secure domestic peace
but also must reform government policies that have led to distortions and
imbalances throughout the economy.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $8.3 billion, per capita $950; real growth rate
1.7% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6.1% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate:
NA%
Budget:
revenues $2.6 billion; expenditures $4.4 billion, including capital
expenditures of $963 million (1990 est.)
Exports:
$3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
oil, liquefied petroleum gas, diamonds, coffee, sisal, fish and fish
products, timber, cotton
partners:
US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil, France
Imports:
$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.)
commodities:
capital equipment (machinery and electrical equipment), food, vehicles and
spare parts, textiles and clothing, medicines; substantial military
deliveries
partners:
US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, Brazil
External debt:
$7.0 billion (1990)
Industrial production:
growth rate NA%; accounts for about 60% of GDP, including petroleum output
Electricity:
510,000 kW capacity; 770 million kWh produced, 90 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
petroleum, diamonds, mining, fish processing, food processing, brewing,
tobacco, sugar, textiles, cement, basic metal products
Agriculture:
cash crops - coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, sugar, manioc, tobacco; food crops
- cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains, bananas; livestock production
accounts for 20%, fishing 4%, forestry 2% of total agricultural output;
disruptions caused by civil war and marketing deficiencies require food
imports
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $265 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1,105 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $1.3 billion; net official disbursements
(1985-89), $750 million
Currency:
kwanza (plural - kwanza); 1 kwanza (Kz) = 100 lwei
Exchange rates:
kwanza (Kz) per US$1 - 180.0
:Angola Economy