Angola

ANGOLA

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT
TOPOGRAPHY
CLIMATE
FLORA AND FAUNA
ENVIRONMENT
POPULATION
MIGRATION
ETHNIC GROUPS
LANGUAGES
RELIGIONS
TRANSPORTATION
HISTORY
GOVERNMENT
POLITICAL PARTIES
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
JUDICIAL SYSTEM
ARMED FORCES
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
ECONOMY
INCOME
LABOR
AGRICULTURE
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
FISHING
FORESTRY
MINING
ENERGY AND POWER
INDUSTRY
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
DOMESTIC TRADE
FOREIGN TRADE
BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
BANKING AND SECURITIES
INSURANCE
PUBLIC FINANCE
TAXATION
CUSTOMS AND DUTIES
FOREIGN INVESTMENT
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
HEALTH
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS
MEDIA
ORGANIZATIONS
TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION
FAMOUS ANGOLANS
DEPENDENCIES
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Republic of Angola

República de Angola

CAPITAL: Luanda

FLAG: The upper half is red, the lower half black; in the center, a five-pointed yellow star and half a yellow cogwheel are crossed by a yellow machete.

ANTHEM: Angola Avanti.

MONETARY UNIT: The Angolan escudo (ae) was the national currency until 1977, when the kwanza (Kw) of 100 lwei replaced it. There are coins of 50 lwei and 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 kwanza, and notes of 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 kwanza. Kw1 = $0.01129 (or $1 = Kw88.6) as of 2005.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is used.

HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Anniversary of Outbreak of Anti-Portuguese Struggle, 4 February; Victory Day, 27 March; Youth Day, 14 April; Workers' Day, 1 May; Armed Forces Day, 1 August; National Heroes' Day, 17 September; Independence Day, 11 November; Pioneers' Day, 1 December; Anniversary of the Foundation of the MPLA, 10 December; Family Day, 25 December.

TIME: 1 pm = noon GMT.

LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT

Angola is located on the west coast of Africa, south of the equator. Angola is slightly less than twice the size of Texas, with a total area of 1,246,700 sq km (481,353 sq mi), including the exclave of Cabinda (7,270 sq km/2,810 sq mi), which is surrounded by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC—formerly Zaire) and the Republic of the Congo (ROC). Angola proper extends 1,758 km (1,092 mi) se-nw and 1,491 km (926 mi) ne–sw; Cabinda extends 166 km (103 mi) nne–ssw and 62 km (39 mi) ese–wnw. Angola proper is bounded on the n and ne by the DROC, on the se by Zambia, on the s by Namibia (South West Africa), and on the w by the Atlantic Ocean. Its total boundary length, including Cabinda's, is 5,198 km (3,233 mi).

TOPOGRAPHY

Topographically, Angola consists mainly of broad tablelands above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in altitude; a high plateau (planalto) in the center and south ranges up to 2,400 m (7,900 ft). The highest point in Angola is Mt. Moco, at 2,620 m (8,596 ft), in the Huambo region; other major peaks are Mt. Mejo (2,583 m/8,474 ft), in the Benguela region, and Mt. Vavéle (2,479 m/8,133 ft), in Cuanza Sul.

Rivers are numerous, but few are navigable. There are three types of rivers in Angola: constantly fed rivers (such as the Zaire River), seasonally fed rivers, and temporary rivers and streams. Only the Cuanza, in central Angola, and the Zaire, in the north, are navigable by boats of significant size.

CLIMATE

Angola's climate varies considerably from the coast to the central plateau and even between the north coast and the south coast. The north, from Cabinda to Ambriz, has a damp, tropical climate. The zone that begins a little to the north of Luanda and extends to Namibe, the Malanje region, and the eastern strip have a moderate tropical climate. Damp conditions prevail south of Namibe, dry conditions in the central plateau zone, and a desert climate in the southern strip between the plateau and the frontier with Namibia. There are two seasons: a dry, cool season from June to late September, and a rainy, hot season from October to April or May. The average temperature is 20°c (68°f); temperatures are warmer along the coast and cooler on the central plateau. The Benguela Current makes the coastal regions arid or semiarid. The annual rainfall is only 5 cm (2 in) at Namibe, 34 cm (13 in) at Luanda, and as high as 150 cm (59 in) in the northeast.

FLORA AND FAUNA

Thick forests (especially in Cabinda and in the Uíge area in the north) cover the wet regions, and in the drier areas there is a thinner savanna vegetation. Fauna includes the lion, impala, hyena, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and elephant. There are thousands of types of birds and a wide variety of insects.

ENVIRONMENT

Long-standing environmental problems in Angola have been aggravated by a 30-year war. The main problems are land abuse, desertification, loss of forests, and impure water. The productivity of the land is continually threatened by drought and soil erosion, which contributes to water pollution and deposits silt in rivers and dams.

The cutting of tropical rain forests for international timber sale and domestic use as fuel contributes to the destruction of the land. Angola's forests and woodland declined 3.1% between 1983 and 1993. Between 1990–2000, a further decline of 0.2% was reported. In 2003, about 6.6% of the total land area was protected, including the Quicama National Park. In 2002, improved water sources were available to 70% of the urban population and 40% of rural dwellers.

Endangered species in Angola include the black-faced impala, three species of turtle (green, olive ridley, and leatherback), the giant sable antelope, the African slender-snouted (or long-snouted) crocodile, the African elephant, Vernay's climbing monkey, and the black rhinoceros. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), the number of threatened species included 11 types of mammals, 20 species of birds, 4 types of reptiles, 9 species of fish, 5 types of mollusks, and 26 species of plants.

POPULATION

The population of Angola in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 15,375,000, which placed it at number 61 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 2% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 46% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 97 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–2010 was expected to be 2.6%. This relatively high rate, which the government viewed as satisfactory, is due in part to the low rate of contraceptive use (about 4.5%) in country. The projected population for the year 2025 was 25,876,000. The population density was 12 per sq km (32 per sq mi).

The UN estimated that 33% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 4.92%. The capital city, Luanda, had a population of 2,623,000 in that year. Other principal cities are Huambo (population about 400,000), Benguela, Lobito, Cabinda, Malanje, and Lubango (population about 136,000).

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on the population of Angola. The UN estimated that 5.5% of adults between the ages of 15–49 were living with HIV/AIDS in 2001, and that the number was increasing rapidly. In addition, years of civil conflict have had significant impact on the populace, including the creation of one million internally displaced persons and refugees. Life expectancy in Angola is an average of 41 years.

MIGRATION

From the 1960s until the mid-1990s, Angola was ravaged by civil war, with terrible effects on the Angolan population and social structure. Although fighting stopped in 1994, at the beginning of 1997 there were still an estimated 200,000 Angolan refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC); 96,000 Angolan refugees in Zambia; 12,000 refugees in the Republic of the Congo; 1,000 refugees in Namibia; and 15,000 Angolan refugees in 15 other countries. As of May 1997, there were still 1.2 million Angolans displaced within their country as a result of the civil war. By June 1996, 74,000 Angolan refugees had returned to their country. However, with an upsurge in the fighting again between May 1998 and June 1999, some 100,000 refugees fled the country once again. The Angolan repatriation operation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was suspended in September 1998. However, by June 2002 UNHCR had directly repatriated 45,000 Angolans and another 124,000 had returned on, their own. By October 2005 another 40,000 Angolans were repatriated from Zambia. This was more than half the total Angolan refugee population living in camps and settlements in Zambia and more than double the number that returned from Zambia in 2004, the UN reports. Besides Zambia major countries of asylum for Angolans in 2004 were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, and South Africa.

In 2003, there were 450,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) within the country. Despite internal conflict, Angola still hosted some 105,145 refugees as of 2004. In 2005, the net migration rate was estimated as 0.28 migrants per 1,000 population. The government views the migration levels as satisfactory.

ETHNIC GROUPS

The overwhelming majority of the population is Bantu, divided into a number of ethnolinguistic groupings. The main ones are the Ovimbundu, constituting some 37% of the population in 2005, the Kimbundu, totaling 25% of the population, and the Bakongo with 13%.

The mestiço (mixed European and Native African) make up about 2% of the population. Since the mestiços are generally better educated than the black population, they exercise influence in government disproportionate to their numbers. Europeans, mostly of Portuguese extraction, constitute 1% of the population; other varied groups account for the remaining 22%.

LANGUAGES

Portuguese is the official language, although Bantu and other African languages (and their dialects) are used at the local level.

RELIGIONS

Christianity is the primary religion, with Roman Catholicism being the largest denomination. An estimated five million people are Roman Catholic. About 3–5 million people are of Protestant denominations; the largest of which include Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists (United Church of Christ), and Assemblies of God. Almost half the population (47%) follow African traditional beliefs either exclusively or in conjunction with other faiths. The largest syncretic religious group is the Kimbanguist Church, whose followers believe that the mid-20th century Congolese pastor Joseph Kimbangu was a prophet. Communities in rural areas of the country practice animism and other indigenous religions. There is also a small Islamic community. There are very few declared atheists in the country.

The constitution provides for freedom of religion and this right is generally respected in practice. However, there is still a colonial-era law in effect banning non-Christian religions. Though this law has generally not been enforced, the minister of justice announced in 2004 that the law could be enforced against religious groups linked to public disturbances or acts of terrorism. Religious groups with a outreach for political and social change include the Inter-Church Committee for Peace in Angola and the Catholic Pro-Peace movement.

TRANSPORTATION

According to Portuguese estimates, there were 72,323 km (44,939 mi) of roads at the time of independence (1975), of which only 8,371 km (5,201 mi) were paved, all-weather highways. In the mid-1980s, these figures had increased to perhaps 80,000 km (50,000 mi), but by 2002 had fallen back to 76,626 km (47,615 mi), of which 19,156 km (11,904 mi) were paved. In 2003, there were 40,000 passenger cars and 63,400 commercial vehicles.

The rail network had a total extension in 2004 of 2,761 km (1,717 mi), of which 2,638 km (1,641 mi) were 1.067-m and 123 km (76.5 mi) were 0.600-m (narrow) gauge track. There was limited trackage in use because land mines were still in place from the civil war. There are three main railway lines, the Luando, Namibe, and Benguela railways, all of which experienced service disruptions as a result of the civil war. The Luanda railway connects the national capital with the provincial capital of Malanje in the north. The Namibe railway, which theoretically runs from Angola's port of Namibe to the provincial capital of Menongue in the south, formerly hauled an average of six million tons of iron ore a year from the Kassinga mines. The Benguela railway was formerly the main exit route for DROC and Zambian copper, extending through the country from the port of Benguela to the border with the DROC. As of 1991, service had resumed between Lobito and Huambo. By mid-1992, normal passenger traffic resumed from Lobito to Ganda. East of Ganda, however, the route was still severely damaged, with at least 75 bridges in serious disrepair. The Southern African Development Coordination Conference could not obtain the estimated $600 million in funds needed to repair the entire line, so a modest partial repair of the section from Lobito to Kuito was approved, for an estimated cost of $17 million. Angola has 1,300 km of navigable waterways. The merchant marine had 4 ships of 1,000 GRT or over in 2005, totaling 26,123 GRT.

Angola had an estimated total of 43 airports as of 2004, of which 31 had paved runways as of 2005. There is an international airport at Luanda. International and domestic services are maintained by Transportes Aéreos de Angola (TAAG), Air France, Air Namibe, Sabena, South African Airways, TAP (Portugal) and several regional carriers. In 2003, domestic and international carriers carried 198,000 passengers. There are airstrips for domestic transport at Benguela, Cabinda, Huambo, Namibe, and Catumbela (near Lobito).

HISTORY

Angola was inhabited first by people of the Khoisan group (Bushmen), and then by various Bantu peoples from farther north as well as east between 1300 and 1600. By the 15th century, several African kingdoms had developed in the area; the most notable included the kingdoms of the Kongo and Mbundu peoples. The Portuguese arrived on the coast in the late 15th century, and Luanda was founded as a trading settlement in 1575. The Portuguese developed trade with African nations, particularly with the Mbundu, whose ruler was called the ngola (from which the name of Angola comes). The slave trade assumed paramount importance during the 17th century, when slaves were carried to Portuguese plantations in Brazil. From the late 16th through the mid-19th century, Angola may have provided the New World with as many as two million slaves.

Slavery was formally abolished (with a 20-year grace period) in 1836, although under Portuguese rule forced labor was common until the early 1950s. Trade in other commodities was needed to replace the slave trade; hence, between 1870 and 1903 the Portuguese claimed control over more and more of the interior of the country. To strengthen their control, the Portuguese began building the Benguela railway in 1902. European domination continued until 1951, when Angola's status changed into an overseas province of Portugal. Increasing numbers of Portuguese settlers came to Angola, and by 1960 there were about 160,000 Europeans in the country.

Organized armed resistance to Portuguese rule began on 4 February 1961, when urban partisans of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) attacked the São Paulo fortress and police headquarters in Luanda. Within six weeks, the war had been extended to the north by the rural guerrillas of another organization, the Union of Angolan Peoples, which later became the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA). The FNLA, headed by Holden Roberto, set up a revolutionary government-in-exile in Zaire on 3 April 1962. A third movement, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), headed by Jonas Savimbi, came into being as the consequence of a split in the government-in-exile, of which Savimbi had been foreign minister. All three movements were divided by ideology, ethnic considerations, and personal rivalries; they were also active militarily in 1974 when the Portuguese decided to put an end to their African empire after the coup in Portugal on 25 April. After negotiations with FNLA, MPLA, and UNITA leaders, the Portuguese agreed on 15 January 1975 to grant complete independence to Angola on 11 November 1975. The agreement also established a coalition government headed by a three-man presidential council including MPLA leader António Agostinho Neto, Roberto, and Savimbi. As independence day approached, however, the coalition government fell apart; mediation attempts by other African countries failed.

Thus, at the dawn of Angola's independence, each of three rival organizations had its own army and sphere of influence. The FNLA primarily represented the Kongo people; it was based in Zaire and it received financial support mainly from China and the United States. Together UNITA and the FNLA established the Popular Democratic Republic of Angola (with its capital at Huambo); this was sustained with US funds, South African troops, and some white mercenaries (mostly former commandos in the Portuguese armed forces). UNITA had the support of the Ovimbundu, the largest ethnic group in Angola. The MPLA, a Marxist-oriented party, drew social support from mestiços in Luanda and other urban areas and from the Mbundu people. It received military as well as financial assistance from the USSR and from some 15,000 Cuban soldiers. The MPLA and Cuban forces soon seized the initiative, and by mid-February 1976 the FNLA and UNITA strongholds had fallen. On 11 February, the OAU formally recognized the MPLA government in Luanda as the legitimate government of Angola. South African troops subsequently withdrew, but the Cuban forces remained to consolidate the MPLA's control over the country and provide technical assistance. By 1982 there were 18,000 Cuban troops in Angola, with the number reportedly rising to 25,000 during the first half of 1983 and to 30,000 in late 1986.

A coup attempt on 27 May 1977 by an MPLA faction opposed to the Cuban involvement was suppressed and followed by a massive purge of the party. Activist groups were reined in, and the organization became more centralized. Meanwhile, UNITA, which had never been rooted out of southern Angola, began to regroup. Despite the Cuban troops and Soviet-bloc military assistance, the MPLA government remained vulnerable to the UNITA insurgency, operating from the southern Angolan countryside and from Namibia. Implicated in this conflict was the government of South Africa, whose continual incursions into southern Angola in the late 1970s and early 1980s were aimed chiefly at the forces of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), who were using Angola as a base in their bid to force South Africa to give up Namibia. By 1983, South African soldiers were said to be permanently stationed in southern Angola; in December, South Africa launched a major offensive in the region. In addition to harassing SWAPO, South Africa was continuing to provide supplies to UNITA. The Angolan government resisted efforts by the United States to secure the withdrawal of Cuban troops in return for Namibian independence and a South African pullback.

Under an agreement brokered by the United States, South African troops withdrew from southern Angola in 1985 but continued to raid SWAPO bases there and to supply military aid to UNITA, including air support. In 1986, the United States sent about $15 million in military aid to UNITA, reportedly through Zaire.

Fighting escalated in 1987 and 1988 even as negotiations for a settlement progressed. An Angolan settlement became entangled with the resolution of civil war in and the independence of Namibia. A controversial battle at Cuito Cuanavale in 1988, at which South African and Angolan/Cuban forces were stalemated, led to a South African willingness to agree to end its involvement in Angola and eventually to withdraw from Namibia. Included in the settlement was the Cuban commitment to a phased withdrawal of its military forces from Angola by mid-1991.

Those two agreements, signed on 22 December 1988 in New York by Angola, South Africa, and Cuba, also included a pledge that the signatories would not permit their territories to be used "by any state, organization, or person in connection with any acts of war, aggression, or violence against the territorial integrity…of any state of southwestern Africa." This meant that South Africa would be prohibited from aiding UNITA and Angola would remove the ANC's training bases.

All the major parties had been brought to the conclusion that a settlement was better than a prolongation of the fighting. The Soviet Union wanted to disentangle itself from Angola. The administration of US president Ronald Reagan wanted to take the lead in a successful resolution, and its Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Chester A. Crocker, took the lead in the negotiations.

But as settlement in Namibia was moving forward, it proved much harder to bring the Angolan government and UNITA to terms. At a summit at Gbadolite involving 19 African leaders, MPLA Leader José Edvardo dos Santos and Savimbi shook hands publicly and endorsed the "Gbadolite Declaration" (cease-fire and reconciliation plan) on 22 June 1989. But from the start, the terms were disputed and swiftly unraveled. The parties returned to the battlefield.

Yet, the powers began to scale back their support. The relaxation of cold war tensions provided the basis for contacts between the warring parties. Progress moved in fits and starts and in April 1991, Savimbi and dos Santos initialed an agreement that led to the establishment of a UN-supervised cease-fire and a process of national reconciliation.

Tension increased when UNITA took de facto control of several provinces, and its generals were withdrawn from the officially "merged" national army. Fighting broke out in Luanda in October and more than 1,000 were killed in a week. UNITA gained control of 75% of the country. Its refusal to accept UN-brokered cease-fire terms agreed to by the government in May led to a Security Council resolution on 1 June 1993, condemning unanimously UNITA for endangering the peace process and to US recognition of the Angolan government on 19 May. In 1994, it was estimated that 1,000 were dying every day in the fighting.

On 20 November 1994, the Lusaka Protocol was signed, promising a new, if tenuous, era of peace in Angola. The third peace effort between the opposing groups, it was the first to guarantee a share of power to UNITA and the first to be supported by over 6,000 armed UN peacekeepers. Demobilizations of fighters were suspended and renewed as new offensives broke out and were halted. In 1995, the international community imposed sanctions against UNITA, though several governments have violated them, including African countries serving as arms transshipment points. In September 1995, the United States pledged $190 million to support Angolan reconstruction and development at the Brussels Roundtable.

In June 1997, the government and UNITA found themselves involved on opposite sides of the Zaire civil war (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo—DROC). UNITA supported its ally, President Mobutu Sese Seko, while the government backed Laurent Kabila. Following Kabila's victory in May 1997, and subsequent to the 1998 invasion of DROC by Rwanda and Uganda, dos Santos joined other SADC leaders in providing military support to the Kabila government. By July 1999, all sides at war had signed the Lusaka Accords leading to an eventual withdrawal of most foreign troops by 2003.

In Angola, full-scale war resumed as the government launched offensives in December 1998, and again in March 1999. In February 1999, the UN Security Council voted to end its peacekeeping operations after Secretary-General Kofi Annan declared there was no longer any hope of carrying out the 1994 Lusaka peace agreement. In August 1999, the Office for Coordination of Human Affairs estimated 2.6 million persons were internally displaced in Angola. The following month, Human Rights Watch released a 200-page report detailing how the UN deliberately overlooked evidence showing rearmament and retraining of soldiers by both sides in breach of the 1994 accords. In October 1999, UNITA's main headquarters at Bailundo and Andulo had fallen, and in February 2000, the Fowler report was issued on strengthening UN sanctions against UNITA.

In February 2002, prospects for peace changed dramatically when the army announced that it had killed Savimbi in an attack in southeastern Angola. In addition, the death from illness of Savimbi's second-in-command, General Antonio, further weakened UNITA's military capacity. In March 2002 UNITA commanders issued a joint communiqué with the Angolan army (FAA) confirming a cessation of hostilities and reiterating unequivocal support for a political settlement based on the 1994 Lusaka Peace Accord. A peace accord between the government and UNITA followed in April.

As disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of the armed forces, the repatriation of refugees, and the arduous task of rebuilding the country got underway, dos Santos said he would not seek reelection in the elections scheduled for late 2003–early 2004. However, his departure depended on a successor who could be trusted not to prosecute him for human rights abuses and large-scale diversion of state funds. He may choose a hardliner to succeed him, who will permit dos Santos to run a shadow government. Yet another option for dos Santos would be to remain in power—for one extra term, or for as long as possible. To seek either option, he could cite difficulties arising from Angola's tortuous postwar reconstruction, the demilitarization of society, and the integration of former militias into the national army. The next elections were scheduled for September 2006.

GOVERNMENT

The constitution of 1975, amended in 1976 and 1980, was promulgated and revised by the MPLA. The president of the republic is both chief of state and head of government. He appoints and leads the council of ministers. In 1980, a 223-member National People's Assembly, indirectly elected, replaced the Council of the Revolution as the supreme organ of the state. In January 1987, the Assembly was enlarged to 289 members, and later reduced to 220. In 2006, there were 220 members elected by proportional vote to four-year terms.

A transitional government was established in December 1992 dominated by the MPLA. UNITA held six cabinet posts, and four other parties were also represented. In 1997, the MPLA and UNITA reached an agreement that allowed UNITA to participate in a Government of National Unity and Reconciliation. With the ruling party's approval, UNITA would nominate candidates for four ministerial positions: Trade, Geology and Mines, Health, and Hotels and Tourism. UNITA members would also occupy a number of deputy ministerial, governor, deputy governor, and ambassadorial posts. In early 1997, 70 elected UNITA deputies assumed their seats in the National Assembly, and Jonas Savimbi assumed the role of special advisor to President José Eduardo dos Santos.

The resumption of war in 1998 all but doomed this arrangement, and rendered the National Assembly nominally functional. In reality, it had little independence and did not have oversight over presidential appointments or the ability to initiate legislation. In 1999, dos Santos abolished the post of prime minister, vesting these powers in the director of his own office. He also created a parallel ministry of defense within the presidency.

The civil war officially ended in August 2002, after Jonas Savimbi died in a gun duel with government forces in February and UNITA signed a cease-fire agreement in April. In December 2002, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos Nando was appointed prime minister, though the position had very little real power. Elections were slated for 2006, but they were likely to be constrained by the poor state of roads and railways. A postponement was likely to allow more progress on the clearing of land mines, infrastructure development, and the return and resettlement of refugees.

POLITICAL PARTIES

Until 1974, the Portuguese suppressed movements and political parties that stood for self-determination and independence. The three leading political organizations at independence were the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola—MPLA), founded in 1956; the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola—FNLA), founded in 1962; and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (União Nacional para a Indepêndencia Total de Angola—UNITA), founded in 1966. The victory of the MPLA and Cuban forces brought recognition to the MPLA government by the OAU and by most non-African countries. The MPLA-Workers' Party (MPLA–Partido de Trabalho, or MPLA–PT), a Marxist-Leninist vanguard party, was created in December 1977. UNITA remained in de facto control of part of the country, while the remnants of the FNLA continued low-level guerrilla activity in the northwest, as did the Front for the Liberation of the Cabinda Enclave.

Some 18 parties and 11 presidential candidates contested the 1992 elections. In the presidential contest, the MPLA's Dos Santos won 49.6% of the presidential vote and UNITA's Savimbi got 40.1%, requiring a runoff. Though international observers considered the elections reasonably free and fair, Savimbi repudiated the results and refused to participate in a second round. The contest was regarded as generally free and fair however; the MPLA won 54% of the votes and 129 seats, while UNITA took 34% of the votes and 70 seats. Also represented were the Angolan Democratic Forum (FDA), the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), and the Angola Youth Worker, Peasant Alliance Party (PAJOCA). Separatist groups in Cabinda, such as the Frente Nacional de Libertação do Enclave de Cabinda (FLEC) and the National Union for the Liberation of Cabinda (UNLC) did not take part in the national elections. They continue to wage a low-level armed struggle for the independence of oil-rich Cabinda province.

Opposition parties are extremely weak and fractured, many with little apparent influence in the National Assembly. Some—the UNITA Renovada is one example—have formed working relationships with the MPLA. Such arrangements could well strengthen the ruling party's hands vis-a-vis small splinter groups; but they could also create opportunities for new opposition parties to spring up and find their feet. New elections were expected in September 2006.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Angola consists of 18 provinces. Cabinda is separated from the others. The provinces are divided into districts and communes. The communes are led by commissioners who are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the MPLA-PT.

Provincial legislatures consisting of 55–85 members were created in 1980. In 1986, these legislatures were expanded up to 100 members each. In the 1992 elections, MPLA carried 14 of the provinces to UNITA's four. The civil war severely disrupted the performance of local government, and for many years, severed ties between Luanda and the outlying provinces.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The legal system is based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law, recently modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of free markets. Prior to independence, Portuguese civil and military law was applied by municipal courts, labor courts, ordinary courts, and administrative tribunals; final appeal was to the Metropolitan High Court in Lisbon. A 1978 law declared that people's courts with working class representatives would be courts of first instance. It also made provisions for criminal, police, and labor courts with lay judges whose voices would be equal to those of professional judges.

The judicial system includes municipal and provincial courts at the trial level and a Supreme Court at the appellate level. Municipal court judges are usually laymen. In theory, the Ministry of Justice administers provincial courts located in each of the 18 provincial capitals. The Supreme Court nominates provincial court judges. The judge of the provincial court, along with two laymen, acts as a jury.

In 1991, the constitution was amended to guarantee an independent judiciary. In practice, however, the president appoints the 16 Supreme Court judges for life upon recommendation of an association of magistrates, and he appoints the attorney general. Confirmation by the General Assembly is not required.

Several issues confront the legal system. Many of the seats on the Supreme Court remain vacant, and a Constitutional Court, authorized by law in 1992, has not yet been established. In addition, the courts were crippled by the war and are perceived as ineffective and untrustworthy by the few who have access to it. The system lacks the resources and independence to play an effective role and the legal framework is obsolete. Much of the criminal and commercial code reflects the colonial era with modifications from the Marxist era.

ARMED FORCES

Defense responsibilities are vested in the Armed Popular Forces for the Liberation of Angola (Forças Amadas Populares de Libertação de Angola—FAPLA), which as of 2005, had 108,400 active personnel, divided into the Army, Navy, Air Force/Air Defense Force, and territorial troops (a militia). In 2005, FAPLA had a total of 90,000 active personnel of which the Army had 100,000 members, whose major equipment included over 300 main battle tanks, 600 reconnaissance vehicles, over 250 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 170 armored personnel carriers and more than 1,396 artillery pieces. The Navy had an estimated 2,400 personnel whose major naval units consisted of nine patrol/coastal vessels. The Air Force/Air Defense Forces had 6,000 personnel and 90 combat capable aircraft, including 22 fighters, 59 fighter ground attack aircraft and 16 attack helicopters. The defense budget in 2005 totaled $1.16 billion.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Angola, a United Nations member since 1 December 1976, participates in ECA and all the nonregional specialized agencies such as FAO, IAEA, IMF, ILO, UNESCO, UNIDO, WHO, and IFC; the nation is a member of the WTO (1996) and the World Bank. Angola also participates in the African Development Bank, G-77, the ACP Group, Interpol, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), and the African Union. It is one of 14 countries in the SADC. Angola has observer status in the OAS and CEMA. It is also a participant of COMESA. As a result of offshore oil discoveries in the Gulf of Guinea, Angola has recently strengthened cooperation with Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Principe. Angola promotes the revival of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP). Angola is part of the Nonaligned Movement. In environmental cooperation, Angola is part of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Montréal Protocol, MARPOL, and the UN conventions on the Law of the Sea, Climate Change, and Desertification.

ECONOMY

Angola is a potentially rich country of abundant natural resources, a surplus-producing agricultural sector, and a sizable manufacturing potential. This promise has remained unfulfilled due to the effects of the war for independence and a 27-year-long civil war that only ended in April 2002 when the army signed a peace agreement with the UNITA rebels. With the end of the war Angola has began to score astounding economic growth rates. In 2004 Angola's GDP grew by 12.2% and in 2005 the growth rate was 19.1%. This growth is expected to continue with heavy flow of foreign direct investments into the oil and mining sectors.

Having both temperate and tropical zones, Angola had the potential for producing a wide variety of agricultural products. Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, Angola produced major surpluses of coffee, sisal, cotton, and maize. Cassava was the staple food crop and the leader, though consumed almost entirely domestically, in terms of volume of agricultural output. The civil war resulted in famine conditions in many parts of Angola, especially during the 1990s. Although the civil war ended in 2002, farmers have been reluctant to return to their farms, and the country is littered with land mines. As such, food must be imported.

Petroleum production and diamond mining have led Angola's industrial sector. Economists estimated that Angola's alluvial reserves of diamonds totaled between 40 and 130 million carats. In addition, there were untapped diamond reserves in volcanic pipes called kimberlites. Angola's six known kimberlite pipes, among the ten largest on earth, held an estimated 180 million carats worth several billion dollars. Diamond production (official and unofficial) was estimated to be worth $1 billion per year in 2002.

The petroleum sector benefited from major investments, totaling over $2 billion since 1987, and from a relative immunity from the civil war. Producing around 980,000 barrels a day in 2004, up from 950,000 barrels a day in 2002, Angola was the second-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa. Crude oil accounted for 90% of total exports, more than 80% of government revenues, and 45% of the country's GDP. Known recoverable reserves were estimated to total several billion barrels, but Angola was not a member of OPEC at the time. In 2000, Angola was one of three countries to receive the largest amount of global and US foreign investment to the sub-Saharan region (the other two were Nigeria and South Africa). Inflation, always a problem, ran at approximately 44% in 2004 down from a high of 150% in 2001. The IMF was critical of the government's economic policy on a number of aspects, such as persistent opacity and uncertainty in the government's accounts, lack of progress on structural reforms, failure to implement policies to deal with systematically with poverty, and corruption in the management of oil revenues. The IMF recommended a slate of reforms, such as increasing foreign exchange reserves and encouraging a more transparent accounting of government spending. In 2005 the IMF gave some credit to the government's handling of the economy, particularly the sustained progress in lowering inflation and improved transparency in government financial accounting.

INCOME

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reports that in 2005 Angola's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $27.7 billion. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange based on current dollars. The per capita GDP was estimated at $2,500. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 14.1%. It was estimated that agriculture accounted for 8% of GDP, industry 67%, and services 25%.

Foreign aid receipts amounted to $499 million or about $37 per capita and accounted for approximately 4.6% of the gross national income (GNI).

The World Bank reports that in 1990 household consumption in Angola totaled $3.67 billion or about $272 per capita based on a GDP of $13.8 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1980 to 1990 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of -0.1%. It was estimated that in 2003 about 70% of the population had incomes below the poverty line.

LABOR

In 2005, the Angolan workforce was estimated at 5.58 million. As of 2003, around 85% of the workforce was still engaged in agriculture, while the industry and services sectors together accounted for the remaining 15%. More recent employment figures are not currently available. In 2001, it was estimated that more than half of the population was unemployed or underemployed.

The 1991 constitution recognizes the right for Angolans to form unions, bargain collectively, and to strike. However, these rights are not respected in practice. While strikes are permitted by law, lockouts and the occupation of places of employment by workers are prohibited. Non-striking workers are also protected under the law. Armed forces personnel, firefighters, prison workers and police are prohibited from striking. Compulsory labor by children is also prohibited.

The government has established a 40-hour workweek, along with minimum health and safety standards, including 26 hours of rest per week. However, inadequate resources have prevented the government from enforcing these standards. The minimum working age is 14, but the government has been unable to enforce this standard. Although the legal minimum wage in 2005 was $60 per month, most wage earners must hold a second job, or rely on the informal economy, subsistance agriculture, or income from abroad in order to survive.

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture has long been the backbone of the Angolan economy. Even though an abundance of arable land is available, only about 2.6% is cultivated. Agriculture engages about 85% of the population but accounts for 9% of GDP. Diverse climatic conditions favor a wide variety of crops, and there is also considerable irrigation potential. Coffee, primarily of the robust variety, at one time made Angola the world's fourth-largest producer, but during the civil war almost all the main plantations were abandoned, and crop disease set in. Moreover, the widespread use of landmines has discouraged farmers from venturing into their fields.

Marketed cash crops in 2004 included 1,250 tons of coffee (down from 225,000 tons in 1972), 4,400 tons of cotton (48,000 in 1972), and 500 tons of sisal. The principal food crops are cassava, with an estimated 5,600,000 tons in 2004, corn, 510,000 tons, and sweet potatoes, 430,000 tons. Other 2004 estimated yields included bananas, 300,000 tons; citrus fruits, 78,000 tons; millet, 96,000 tons; dry beans, 66,000 tons; potatoes, 27,000 tons; sugar cane, 360,000 tons; rice, 16,000 tons; and peanuts (in shell), 30,000 tons.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Lack of a pastoral tradition among northern Angolans, abundance of the tsetse fly in many regions, and the poor quality of natural pastures are some of the factors most frequently cited to explain the lag in animal husbandry in Portuguese Angola. What little there was of the livestock industry was virtually destroyed in the 1975–76 civil war.

Estimated livestock in 2004 included cattle, 4,150,000 head; goats, 2,050,000; hogs, 780,000; and sheep, 340,000. There were 6.8 million chickens. Livestock products included an estimated 85,000 tons of beef and veal and 195,000 tons of milk in 2004. Honey production totaled 23,000 tons in 2004 from 1.1 million beehives.

FISHING

Fresh fish, fishmeal, dried fish, and fish oil are produced for the domestic market and for export. During 1975–76, some of the processing plants were destroyed, and most of the modern fishing boats departed with refugees. In 2003, the Angolan catch was 211,539 tons (up from 122,781 tons in 1995), 95% from marine fishing. Exports of fish products in 2003 totaled $8.9 million. Some of the Spanish, Japanese, and Italian vessels fishing under license also pay in kind. About 13% of the 2003 catch consisted of cunene horse mackerel.

FORESTRY

About 18.4% of the country is classified as forest and woodland. Angola's large timber resources include the great Maiombe tropical rain forest in Cabinda. In addition, eucalyptus, pine, and cypress plantations cover 140,000 hectares (346,000 acres). In 2003, roundwood production was estimated at 4,518,000 cu m, and exports amounted to 1,000 cu m.

MINING

Diamonds are an important source of revenues to Angola, and are only second to petroleum. Petroleum accounted for more than 90% of exports by value ($7.56 billion) while diamonds followed at $638 million or 7.6% of the value of exports in 2002. Official reported diamond production in 2003 was 5 million carats, up from 5.022 million carats in 2002. However, that total does not include smuggled production. Sociedade Miniera de Catoca Ltd (SMC) is Angola's leading producer of diamonds, with an annual production of around 2.8 million carats from its Catoca kimberlite pipe. Reserves in the Catoca kimberlite were estimated to be at 189.3 million carats. SMC is a joint venture of Empressa Nacional de Diamantes de Angola (Endiama), the state-owned diamond mining company and the Joint Stock Company Almazy Rossii-Sakha (Russia), Odebrecht Mining Services Inc. (Brazil), and the Leviev Group (Israel).

Large iron ore deposits have been discovered in many areas. The deposits at Kassinga, with an estimated reserve of one billion tons of high-grade hematite iron ore, annually yielded millions of tons of ore exports before the civil war halted mining in 1975. Ferrangol, the state iron ore mining company, produced a slight quantity of ore in 1988; it has shown no output since. The mines in Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul provinces, previously controlled by UNITA rebel forces, were opened to foreign companies for exploration and development in 1996, and an Endiama-De Beers venture announced the discovery of 17 new kimberlites there in 2000. These areas contributed about $400 million to the annual $1.1 billion value of diamond production. SDM, an Endiama-Australian-Odebrecht venture formed in 1995 to mine alluvial diamonds in the Cuango River Valley, near Luzamba, produced 210,000 carats of high-quality diamonds in 2000 and 185,000 carats in 1999. Other such ventures saw their operations frequently suspended because of security problems. A feasibility study of the proposed Camafuca kimberlite estimated 23.24 million carats of diamonds valued at $109 per carat.

Salt production has remained steady at an estimated 30,000 metric tons annually from 1999 through 2003. Clay, granite, marble, and crushed stone were also reportedly mined throughout the country. The country is also rich in nickel, platinum-group metals, magnetite, copper, phosphates, gypsum, uranium, gold, asphalt, and feldspar, but areas have been off-limits to exploration during the civil war.

ENERGY AND POWER

Angola has extensive hydroelectric power resources that far exceed its present needs. The Cambambe Dam, on the Cuanza River, provides Luanda's industries with cheap power. Two dams on the Catumbela River produce power for the Lobito and Benguela areas. Matala Dam in southern Cunene provides power to Lubango and Namibe. The Ruacaná Falls Dam, near the Namibian border, was completed in the late 1970s, but the power station is in Namibia. A 52 million kW hydroelectric station on the Cuanza River at Kapanda was tentatively scheduled to have begun production in early 2003. As of late 2002, only three of the country's six dams (Cambambe, Biopo, and Matala) were operational; $200 million has been allocated to repair the remaining dams, which suffered major damage in the civil war. In 2002, electricity generation was 1.728 billion kWh, of which 34.5% came from fossil fuels and 65.5% from hydropower. In the same year, consumption of electricity totaled 1.607 billion kWh. Total capacity in 2002 was 0.635 million kW.

Crude oil, in the production of which Angola ranks second in sub-Saharan Africa, has been Angola's chief export since 1973; it is also the leading source of government revenue, accounting for $2.9 billion in exports in 1994, or 95% of the total. As of end 2004, Angola had proven oil reserves of 8.8 billion barrels. Oil reserves are along the Atlantic coast, mostly offshore Cabinda and the northern border area between Quinzau and Soyo. In 1999, several oil companies were engaged in production, of which the largest was a subsidiary of Chevron, Cabinda Gulf Oil Company. This firm has a 49/51% participation agreement with Sonangol, the state oil company. Other firms included Fina Petróleos de Angola (a Belgian subsidiary), Elf Aquitaine, and Texaco. In 2004, crude oil production averaged 991,000 barrels per day. ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso began development of a section of the Xikomba offshore oilfield in August 2002. Development was planned for a new 200,000 barrel per day refinery in the city of Lobito, on the coast.

Gross natural gas production totaled 296.65 billion cu ft in 2002. Total natural gas reserves were estimated at 45 billion cu m (1.6 trillion cu ft) as of 2002. Domestic demand for refined petroleum products is expected to increase as the economy gradually rebuilds following the end of the civil war. As of 2002, Sonangol and Chevron Texaco had joined forces in a $2 billion project to develop liquefied natural gas from natural gas in Angola's offshore fields. Production was slated to begin in 2007.

INDUSTRY

In its pre-1975 prime, the Angolan industrial sector centered on petroleum refining and machinery, construction inputs, food processing, electrical products, chemicals, steel, and vehicle assembly. As a consequence of the civil war, Angola's industrial sector started operating at a fraction of prewar levels.

Industrial production during the 1990s included food processing and the production of textiles, soap, shoes, matches, paint, plastic bottles, and glues. In 1993, industrial production also included 9,000 tons of crude steel, 250,000 tons of cement, and 9 million barrels of refined petroleum products. Heavy industry for that year (cement, steel, oil refining, vehicle assembly, and tire production) accounted for about 15% of Angola's manufacturing output. Angola is now an importer of machinery, vehicles, and spare parts.

Angola is the second-largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria. In 2004, the petroleum industry accounted for about half of the GDP and over 90% of export revenues. Sonangol is the state-owned oil company, which controls exploration and production, although foreign companies participate in joint ventures and production sharing agreements. Oil production was expected to surpass 1 million barrels per day in 2003 but this target had not been achieved by 2004. However, with the coming online of new oil drilling platforms such as the Kizomba B platform owned by ExxonMobil and the Dalia platform owned by Total, the 1 million barrels per day should be surpassed in 2006. It is expected that by 2007 Angola will be producing 2 million barrels per day. Angola has one oil refinery in Luanda, with a crude oil processing capacity of 39,000 barrels per day, but is planning to build a 200,000-barrels per day refinery in Lobito. Angolan oil exports to Asia are growing, and China's oil imports from Angola grew by more than 400% in 2001. The government stated in 2003 that foreign oil companies would invest $25 billion in Angola over a five-year period, by building offshore production ships and a liquefied natural gas plant, among other projects. Many of these investments, such as ExxonMobil's Kizomba B have already begun to produce oil.

The diamond mining industry also plays an important role in Angola's economy, but during the 27-year-old civil war, many of the gemstones had been sold on the black market and were referred to as "conflict diamonds" because the parties in the civil war used the sale of them to fund their military campaigns. Since the civil war ended in 2002, Angola began to restructure its diamond sector. The government in 2003 ended the four-year-old monopoly of the state-controlled diamond marketing company, Ascorp, which was controlled by the state diamond company Endiama. Ascorp now competes with other private companies to buy diamonds from miners and small producers. The government also planned to build a new diamond cutting factory, to create an industry of diamond cutting in Angola.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, quoting a new report published in June 2005 by a Canadian nongovernmental group, Partnership Africa Canada, highlighted the fact that, although some $900 million-worth of diamonds will be mined in 2005, relatively little of the revenue will be spent on development in the diamond areas or will benefit the poor. The report said that 145 diamond licenses had been granted in 2004, often through nontransparent processes, of which nine were already operational, around ten were in the process of starting up and the remainder were vacant and were steadily being recolonised by garimpeiros (artisanal miners). The report also highlighted a number of problem areas in the sector, saying that transparency is lacking not only in published tax data but also in the 10% revenue allocation due to the diamond-producing provinces.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Security considerations and a severe shortage of skilled personnel have limited Angola's development of its extensive mineral reserves and abundant fertile land. Angola's research institutes include the Cotton Scientific Research Center in Catete, the Agronomic Research Institute in Huambo (founded in 1962), the Institute for Veterinary Research in Lubango (founded in 1965), the Angola Medical Research Institute in Luanda (Founded in 1955), and the Angolan Directorate of Geological and Mining Services in Luanda (founded in 1914). The University Agostinho Neto (founded in 1963) has faculties of sciences, agriculture, medicine, and engineering, and the National Center of Scientific Investigation. In 1987–97, science and engineering students accounted for 24% of college and university enrollments. The National Museum of Natural History and the National Anthropology Museum are located in Luanda.

DOMESTIC TRADE

Practically all domestic trade was in Portuguese hands before independence, when state people's stores and consumer cooperatives were established in the cities. Over half of Angolan consumer goods were still imported from Portugal in 1998. The Angolan domestic economy faced sporadic fighting during the late 1990s despite the 1994 peace accord, inhibiting domestic commerce. The rural population was displaced—first by the war for independence that started in 1961, and then by the civil war that started after independence was gained in 1975—and has not been able to fully return to agricultural production. Imports were strictly controlled due to a lack of foreign exchange, and barter was common. Though a privatization program has been in effect, there are very few groups or individuals in the private sector with the finances and/or administrative abilities to purchase and effectively run larger public corporations.

FOREIGN TRADE

Crude petroleum and products top the commodities export list for Angola (89%), while only accounting for a small percentage of the world's exportation. Diamonds and other precious and semiprecious stones are the second-largest export, and shellfish exports follow. A small amount of natural and manufactured gas is also exported from Angola. As of 1999, the United States was buying up to 75% of Angola's crude oil production. Since then China has entered the picture as a second major trading partner for Angola.

Current Account				-150.1
Balance on goods			4,567.8
Imports	-3,760.1
Exports	8,327.9
Balance on services			-3,115.2
Balance on income			-1,634.6
Current transfers			32.0
Capital Account				18.3
Financial Account				-356.7
Direct investment abroad			-28.7
Direct investment in Angola			1,672.1
Portfolio investment assets			…
Portfolio investment liabilities			…
Financial derivatives			…
Other investment assets			-1,321.0
Other investment liabilities			-679.1
Net Errors and Omissions				150.5
Reserves and Related Items				356.3
(…) data not available or not significant.

In 2004, the United States bought 40% of Angola's crude oil while China bought 30%, Taiwan 8%, and France 7%.

BALANCE OF PAYMENTS

Oil exports produced substantial trade surpluses during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Despite this positive cash flow, Angola in 1979 began to request lines of credit in order to finance its reconstruction projects. By 1991 the government's economic policies encouraged neither private investment or non-oil exports. Furthermore, poor monetary policy created price distortions, which exacerbated a trade deficit and rapidly diminished agricultural exports. The results of the end of the 27-year-old civil war in 2002 on trade had yet to be assessed as of 2005.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported that in 2004 the purchasing power parity of Angola's exports was $12.8 billion while imports totaled $4.9 billion resulting in a trade surplus of $7.9 billion. With high prices of crude oil, the Economist Intelligence Unit predicts sustained trade surpluses in the near future.

BANKING AND SECURITIES

In 1976, the government nationalized the two major banks, the Bank of Angola and the Commercial Bank of Angola (renamed the People's Bank of Angola). The Bank of Angola became the central bank, renamed the National Bank of Angola (Banco National de Angola-BNA). In 1996, this bank transferred its commercial accounts to the Caixa de Credito Agro-Pecuaria e Pescas (CAP) in order to function more as a regulatory organization for other state-owned banks. CAP, established in 1991, was owned by the Ministry of Finance and used to finance government activities. It has had liquidity problems in recent years, making it unable to clear checks at times, so some businesses refuse to accept CAP checks.

Banco de Comercio e Industria (The Bank of Commercial and Industrial Commerce-BCI) was a semiprivate bank, but was occasionally restricted to government financing. The government owns about 40% of the BCI's shares.

The opening in mid-November 1996 of the Banco Africano de Investimento (BAI) was Angola's first private bank launched since it gained independence in 1975, and Angola's only investment bank. Other major banks included Banco de Poupanca e Credito (BPC), serving primarily the trade sector and construction; and Banco Fomento Exterior and Banco Totta e Azores, both Portuguese commercial banks.

The International Monetary Fund reports that in 2001, currency and demand deposits—an aggregate commonly known as M1—were equal to $648.2 million. In that same year, M2—an aggregate equal to M1 plus savings deposits, small time deposits, and money market mutual funds—was $1.9 billion. The discount rate, the interest rate at which the central bank lends to financial institutions in the short term, was 150%.

There were no securities exchanges in 2000.

INSURANCE

The conflicts that began in the mid-1970s greatly shook the insurance industry, which was nationalized in 1978. At that time, the National Insurance and Reinsurance Co. of Angola was created. All private company policies were declared null and void except for life insurance.

PUBLIC FINANCE

Liberal monetary policies financed large public sector deficits, which led to high inflation and price distortions. Military expenditures consumed an enormous portion of the national budget. Since the 1970s, Angola has relied heavily on oil exports for revenue. However, revenues from oil sales went down as the result of a fall in the international price of oil in the late 1990s. Until 1991, Angola had a Soviet-style, centrally planned economy. The government planned privatization for the 1990s, but most companies remain state-run as of 2000, including the major energy companies and the diamond distributor.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Angola's central government took in revenues of approximately $8.5 billion and had expenditures of $10 billion. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$1.5 billion. Public debt in 2005 amounted to 40.9% of GDP. Total external debt was $9.879 billion.

TAXATION

The ordinary corporate tax is 35%, with a reduced rate of 20% for agricultural and forestry enterprises. Various corporate tax exemptions and reductions, and exemptions from real estate taxes on land and buildings are offered by the government as investment incentives.

Income tax for individuals ranges from 1–40% for employees, and 3–60% for self-employed professionals. Also levied are inheritance and gift taxes, and a payroll tax for social security.

The main indirect tax is a manufacturer's sales tax with rates ranging from 5–50% on 100 listed products.

CUSTOMS AND DUTIES

Both specific and ad valorem duties are levied; but, as a member of the World Trade Organization, Angola is reviewing the need for reductions in tariffs and nontariff barriers. Specific duties are assessed by weight. Additional taxes are levied on luxury items and preferential treatment is accorded to goods from Portugal, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Princípe. All imports require a license and are handled by one of several state companies. Most exports are similarly handled by state agencies.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT

In spite of the civil war and the socialist legacy, sizable investments in the petroleum sector were made during the 1990s. In 1994, Texaco announced plans for a five-year, $600 million investment in its Angolan oil exploration and production efforts aimed at increasing the company's Angolan oil output by 50%. Approximately 15 foreign companies, including Chevron, Texaco, ExxonMobil, and Occidental, had invested more than $8 billion in Angola as of 1997. Elf Oil and Chevron both had major investments underway. In 1999, the Angolan government issued three new licenses to oil drilling companies in order to conduct exploration in ultra-deep water. By 2005, ExxonMobil's Kizomba B deep water platform had begun the production of oil. Total was also in the process of completing its Dalia platform and other oil companies were in the process of construction of new platforms.

Countering the illegal trade in diamonds, De Beers, in a 1991 agreement with the government diamond company Endiama, invested in new diamond exploration. A UN sanction on the purchase of black market diamonds has been hard to enforce and corruption in the diamond business continued as of 2005.

In spite of a 27-year civil war (1975 to 2002), an investment climate characterized by corruption, ineffective governance, arbitrary decision making, a deteriorating infrastructure, kidnappings for ransom targeted at foreigners in the Cabinda enclave, socialist suspicions about free markets, openly solicited bribes, no capital market or stock exchange, scarce skilled labor, and scarcer foreign exchange, Angola ranked second in the world in 2000 (after Lesotho) in foreign investment as a percent of GDP. The statistic is a result of both Angola's small economy and substantial investments in its oil sector that continued despite the civil war. With the war over and a semblance of peace and normalcy back to Angola, more investments should be forthcoming both in the oil and gas industries as well as the diamond mining sector.

On the basis of joint ventures (JVs) or production sharing contracts (PSCs), at least $8 billion ($1 billion a year average) was invested by foreign oil companies from 1990 to 1997 with the state oil company, Sonangol, which dominates both upstream and downstream operations. The main foreign operators upstream were Energy Africa (South Africa), Agip (Italy; now ENI-Agip), Elf (France; now TotalFinaElf), Chevron and Texaco (United States; now ChevronTexaco). About 30 other foreign companies have substantial interests in upstream enterprises. Petrofina of Belgium is both a major producer and a major downstream partner with Sonangol. Downstream operations are hampered by poor infrastructure and a small domestic market.

From 1998 to 2001, reported foreign direct investment (FDI) totaled about $5.6 billion, averaging about $1.2 billion a year from 1997 to 2001. This performance was driven by giant class offshore discoveries, particularly in 1999 when FDI peaked at close to $2.5 billion. Between 2000 and 2004 annual FDI flows averaged $2.05 billion with a peak in 2003 of $3.5 billion. With a combination of Diamond and oil reserves, Angola is expected to become one of the largest destination for FDI inflows in Africa.

FDI outflows are insignificant. FDI inward stock grew steadily from $1 billion in 1990 to $2.9 billion in 1995, and in 2002 it rose to $11.4 billion. In 1999, the Angolan government issued three new licenses to oil drilling companies in order to conduct exploration in deep-water, including ExxonMobil, the major investor in the offshore Kizomba field that began operations in August 2002. The only substantial FDI outside the oil sector before 2002 was a $36 million Coca-Cola bottling plant in 2000, 45% of which was bought in 2001 by SAB Miller of South Africa, which in 2003 was considering adding a brewery.

Before the peace accords of April 2002, there had been three other peace agreements, starting with the Lusaka Protocol of 1994, which had had virtually no effect. However, with the death of UNITA leader, Jonas Savimbi, in February 2002, Angola finally seemed to be able to move past the civil war. In September 2002, IDAS Resources, a subsidiary of London-based American Mineral Fields, Ltd., was granted the first clearance for diamond mining in 27 years. Under the contract, IDAS holds 51%; the state diamond company Endiama, 36%; and private investors 13%.

A 1991 agreement between Endiama and De Beers for diamond exploration was moribund because the territory was under the control of UNITA, which used smuggled diamonds to finance its operations. In 1998 the UN Security Council imposed an embargo on diamonds from areas controlled by UNITA. A report in 2000 implicated De Beers in the purchase of "blood diamonds," prompting the company to alter its policy of buying up diamonds to uphold the world price to a world certification system. In 2000, Angola set up ASCORP, a state-controlled company in partnership with Lev Leviev (Russian/Israeli diamond manufacturer), and established a monopoly on certified diamond buying. De Beers' plans to build a $30 million diamond processing facility in Luanda did not come to fruition, but in April 2003 the newly established National Private Investment Agency (ANIP) announced it was seeking funding for a diamond cutting and polishing factory in Luanda.

Before peace in 2002, the foreign investment regime as laid out in the foreign investment law of 1994 and administered by the Foreign Investment Institute (IIE) stood little chance of implementation. In February 2003, a new law on private investment and a companion law on tax incentives for private capital were passed, forming a new agency, the National Private Investment Agency (ANIP), for their implementation. As under the old regime, foreign companies are guaranteed national treatment, the right to repatriate profits, and the right to indemnification for property nationalized or expropriated. Added are incentives for private investment and provisions for streamlining the approval process. New investments receive up to 15 years exemption from industrial taxes and smaller investments, $50,000 to $250,000, are exempted from all customs duties. By law, approval requests for investments less than $5 million must be processed in 15 days and requests for larger investments, in 30 days. Despite the reforms, serious obstacles remain: poor infrastructure, a small market, single-entry visas, and registration costs that range from $20,000 to $60,000 for foreign corporations.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In March 2003, the South Africa-Angola Chamber of Commerce (SAACC) was established with the potential of channeling considerable investment from South Africa. In 2003, major South African investors included the construction company Grinaker-LTA, Investec Bank, Securicor Gray and the Shoprite Supermarket chain. In May 2003, TotalFinaElf announced a major offshore oil discovery and awarded contracts totaling $780 million to the French oil services company, Technip, for its development. Since then to 2005, a number of other partnerships have also been announced, which should see a large increase in diamond prospecting. For example in 2005 De Beers signed a prospecting agreement. On 22 June 2005, Russia's Technopromexport signed a $112 million contract to build a new, 260-MW generating unit at the Capanda dam near the northern town of Malange. The project will be financed with a ten-year, $225 million loan from a consortium of Russian banks, led by the Russian Regional Unified Bank. As well as this contract, two other contracts relating to the supply of equipment and the completion of civil engineering works have been signed with Brazil's Odebrecht. By 2005 the government of Angola was involved in diversifying the economy by continued attraction of foreign investors to partner with local private firms and government owned companies.

With the exception of the petroleum industry and possibly the fishing industry, economic development in Angola depended upon a political settlement of the civil war, which came in 2002. The diamond industry was no exception to this rule. In 1997, the Angolan state diamond enterprise, Endiama, provided for the establishment of a UNITA-backed mining company, SGM. Although the government initially granted SGM the right to prospect, UNITA claimed that the government was attempting to gain control over its mining operations. The continuation of the Angolan civil war began shortly thereafter (1998), with diamonds acting as the UNITA rebels' main source of income. The termination of the UN mission to Angola in early 1999 spelled disaster for any form of economic growth during the following years.

In 2000, Angola entered into a Staff-Monitored Program (SMP) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Although the program lapsed in 2001, the IMF remained engaged in the country. The World Bank prepared a Transitional Support Strategy (TSS) as a short- to medium-term plan for involvement in Angola. In 2002, the IMF reported that $900 million had disappeared from government finances in 2001. That amount was greater than the value of humanitarian assistance sent to Angola in 2002. In all, over $4 billion was unaccounted for from 1997–2005. These difficulties notwithstanding, the IMF in 2005 concluded that oil and diamonds will continue to form the backbone of Angola's economy for the unforeseeable future.

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Until recently, social services for Africans were almost entirely the responsibility of the various tribal groups. The Roman Catholic Church also played an integral part in the administration of welfare, health, and educational programs. A number of international nongovernmental organizations have also gotten involved, particularly in the provision of health care.

Although women's rights are protected in the constitution, in practice there is discrimination in the workplace and in the home, and most women hold low-paid jobs. Spousal abuse against women is widespread. Credible evidence suggests that the majority of homicides against women were a result of a domestic dispute. Women and children are also at high risk for mutilation from land mines, due to foraging in the fields for food and firewood. Children are recruited to fight in both the government and UNITA forces. There were an estimated 1,500 children living on the street in Luanda in 2004, many of them engaging in prostitution. Angola's government has a poor human rights record. Security forces have reportedly been responsible for torture, beatings, rapes, and disappearances and prison conditions are life-threatening.

HEALTH

Angola lies in the yellow fever endemic zone. Cholera incidence is high. Only a small fraction of the population receives even rudimentary medical attention. As of 2004, the ratio of physicians per population was estimated at 7.7 per 100,000 people. In 2005, average life expectancy was estimated at only 38.43 years, one of the lowest in the world. That year infant mortality was estimated at 187.49 per 1,000 live births, the highest in the world. The incidence of tuberculosis in 1999 was 271 per 100,000 people. Immunization rates for one-year-old children in 1999 were estimated at 22% for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus and 46% for measles. Malnutrition affected an estimated 53% of children under five years of age as of 1999. From 1975 to 1992, there were 300,000 civil war-related deaths. The overall death rate was estimated at 24 per 1,000 in 2002. The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 3.90 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 240,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country. There were an estimated 21,000 deaths from AIDS in 2003.

In 2000, 38% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 44% had adequate sanitation.

HOUSING

Decades of war and lack of appropriate economic and legal reforms have posed a serious housing problem in Angola. During the war for independence, a majority of the Portuguese residents abandoned homes that were then confiscated by the government. In fact, all urban land is considered to be property of the State. But management and administration of dwellings is under the control of provincial governments and leasing or other housing and property regulations are ambiguous or nonexistent. As a result, a UN report indicated that about 90% of urban residents live in settlements without a clearly defined legal status.

Most people live in multi-family dwellings that were constructed in the 1960s and have since deteriorated to the point that basic utilities are limited or unavailable. Housing shortages have led to urban slum developments. These are most prominent in Luanda, where about four million people are living in a city designed for about 700,000.

Over the years, the government has made some efforts to ease the situation. The most recent has included government-sponsored housing construction projects. In April 2003, 331 houses were completed in Kilamba-Kiaxi. At least 65 of them were given to government employees and other civil servants.

EDUCATION

In 1999 the adult illiteracy rate was estimated at 42%. Education is compulsory for children between the ages of six and ten. As of 2001, the basic educational program consisted of a primary education system lasting for six years and a secondary education system divided into two cycles of three years each. There are also three-year vocational and four-year technical programs available for secondary students. In 2000, about 61% of eligible children were enrolled in primary school. Similar figures for secondary students were unavailable. The pupil to teacher ratio for primary school was at about 42:1 in 2003. The ratio for secondary school was about 18:1.

While Portuguese was the language of instruction in earlier times, the vernacular is more commonly used now. The academic year runs from October to July. The Ministry of Education oversees the national public programs. The government spends and estimated 2.8% of the GDP on education.

The University Agostinho Neto in Luanda was established in 1963 and has a faculty for science, engineering, law, medicine, economics, and agriculture. In 2001, all higher-level institutions had about 8,000 students and 800 faculty members.

LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The National Library of Angola, founded in Luanda in 1969, had 84,000 volumes in 2002 and the library of the University of Luanda (1963) had 75,000 volumes. The Municipal Library in Luanda has more than 30,000 volumes. Additional libraries of note are the Geological and Mining Services Directorate Library (1914) in Luanda (40,000 volumes) and the National Historical Center Library (1982) with 12,000 volumes located in Luanda.

The Angola Museum (which contains Angola's historical archives), the Coffee Museum, Museum of Geology, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of Archaeology, Central Museum of the Armed Forces, and National Museum of Anthropology are all located in Luanda. There are regional museums in Namibe, Huambo, Lobito, Lumbango, and Uíge. The Museum of Chitato, located in Dundo, houses a distinctive ethnographic collection featuring the art of the local Chokue people, recordings of local folk music, and a photographic collection dating to the 1880s. The Municipal Museum of New Lisbon houses a collection of traditional and modern African sculpture. Elinga Teatro is gaining popularity as a modern urban art gallery and theater in Mutamba.

MEDIA

Telephone service is primarily limited to government and business use. In 2003, there were an estimated seven mainline telephones for every 1,000 people; about 240,300 people were on a waiting list for telephone service installation. The same year, there were approximately nine mobile phones in use for every 1,000 people.

Most of the media is controlled by the state. Rádio Nacional de Angola broadcasts in Portuguese, English, French, Spanish, and major local languages; government-owned, it is the only station with the capacity to broadcast nationwide. In 2004, there were five commercial radio stations, including the Catholic Church's Radio Ecclesia and Radio Lac Luanda. The primary news agency is the Angola Press. The only television station was the government Angola Public Television (TPA), which broadcasts in Luanda and most provincial capitals. In 2003, there were an estimated 78 radios and 52 television sets for every 1,000 people.

In 2005, the only national daily newspaper was the government-owned Jornal de Angola (circulation in 2000 was 41,000). There were at least seven private weekly publications with circulation in the low thousands.

In 2003 the country had about 17 Internet hosts. The same year, there were 1.9 personal computers for every 1,000 people and 3 of every 1,000 people had access to the Internet.

Though a constitution provides for basic freedom of speech and press, the government is said to restrict these freedoms in practice. Journalists are intimidated into practicing self-censorship, and the government tightly restricts the main newspapers, television stations, and radio broadcasts.

ORGANIZATIONS

Organizations established by the MPLA include the Organization of Angolan Women, the Medical Assistance Service, and the Centers for Revolutionary Instruction. There are professional associations for a variety of fields.

The Angolan National Youth Council, founded in 1991, serves as a major nongovernmental organization representing the opinions and concerns of the nation's youth. The Association of Students of Higher Education (AEES: Associazao dos Estudiantes de Educacao Superior) and the National Union of Angolan Students (UNEA) have been major student movements. A scouting organization (Associação de Escuteros de Angola) is also present. There are branches of the YMCA and YWCA present. There are a few sports associations.

Angolan Action For Development (A.A.D.), the Angolan Women's Organization, and the League Of Angolan Women (LIMA) are groups focusing on the political, social, and developmental issues and concerns of women. There are associations for professional women in the fields of journalism, law, and law enforcement.

Africare–Angola provides aid to the rural population. The ACM - YMCA of Kuanza Sul offers assistance to displaced persons within the country. There are active chapters of the Red Cross, Caritas, and UNICEF.

TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Tourism was an important activity until 1972, when the guerrilla war and the subsequent civil war led to a precipitous drop in the number of tourists and hence of tourist revenues. Throughout the late 1990s, a yo-yo effect seemed to hit the tourist industry. In 1996, only about 21,000 visitors came to the country. In 1997, the number jumped to 45,000 and increased to 52,000 the following year. In 2003, the number of visitors again jumped to 106,625. Tourism receipts totaled approximately $71 million. A valid passport, visa, and International Certificate of Vaccination against yellow fever and cholera are required.

The US Department of State estimated the daily cost of staying in Luanda at $289 in 2005. Staying in rural areas would cost much less.

FAMOUS ANGOLANS

António Agostinho Neto (1922–79), a poet and physician who served as the president of MPLA (1962–79) and president of Angola (1975–79), was Angola's dominant political figure. José Eduardo dos Santos (b.1942) succeeded Neto in both these posts. Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (1934–2002), the son of a pastor, founded UNITA in 1966.

DEPENDENCIES

Angola has no territories or colonies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Brittain, Victoria. The Death of Dignity: Angola's Civil War. Chicago: Pluto Press, 1998.

Ciment, James. Angola and Mozambique: Postcolonial Wars in Southern Africa. New York: Facts on File, 1997.

Hodges, Tony. Angola: Anatomy of an Oil State. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004.

James, W. Martin. Historical Dictionary of Angola. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2004.

——. Historical Dictionary of Angola [computer file], 2nd ed. Boulder, Colo.: netLibrary, Inc., 2000.

Kreike, Emmanuel. Re-creating Eden: Land Use, Environment, and Society in Southern Angola and Northern Namibia. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 2004.

McElrath, Karen (ed.). HIV and AIDS: A Global View. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002.

Rotberg, Robert I. Ending Autocracy, Enabling Democracy: The Tribulations of Southern Africa, 1960–2000. Cambridge, Mass.: World Peace Foundation, 2002.

Zeilig, Leo and David Seddon. A Political and Economic Dictionary of Africa. Philadelphia: Routledge/Taylor and Francis, 2005.