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Angola |
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| Background: |
Civil war has been the norm in Angola since independence from Portugal
in 1975. A 1994 peace accord between the government and the National
Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) provided for the
integration of former UNITA insurgents into the government and armed
forces. A national unity government was installed in April of 1997,
but serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hundreds of thousands
of people homeless. Up to 1.5 million lives may have been lost in fighting
over the past quarter century. The death of insurgent leader Jonas SAVIMBI
in 2002 and a subsequent cease-fire with UNITA may bode well for the
country. |
| Location: |
Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Namibia
and Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
12 30 S, 18 30 E |
| Map
references: |
Africa
|
| Area: |
total: 1,246,700 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land:
1,246,700 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly less than twice the size of Texas |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 5,198 km
border countries: Democratic
Republic of the Congo 2,511 km (of which 225 km is the boundary of discontiguous
Cabinda Province), Republic of the Congo 201 km, Namibia 1,376 km, Zambia
1,110 km |
| Coastline: |
1,600 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season
(May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April) |
| Terrain: |
narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Morro de Moco 2,620 m |
| Natural
resources: |
petroleum, diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite,
uranium |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 2.41%
permanent crops: 0.4%
other: 97.19% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
750 sq km (1998 est.) |
| 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, Desertification,
Law of the Sea, 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: |
10,766,471 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 43.5% (male 2,363,829; female 2,317,610)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,941,999; female 2,842,923)
65
years and over: 2.8% (male 134,330; female 165,780) (2003 est.)
|
| Median
age: |
total: 18.2 years
male: 18.2 years
female:
18.2 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
1.97% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
45.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
25.83 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population:
1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 193.82 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
180.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 206.26
deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 36.96 years
male: 36.13 years
female: 37.83 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
6.38 children born/woman (2003 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 |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total
population: 42%
male: 56%
female: 28% (1998
est.)
|
| Economy
- overview: |
Angola has been an economy in disarray because of a quarter century
of nearly continuous warfare. An apparently durable peace was established
after the death of rebel leader Jonas SAVIMBI on February 22, 2002,
but consequences from the conflict continue including the impact of
wide-spread land mines. Subsistence agriculture provides the main livelihood
for 85% of the population. Oil production and the supporting activities
are vital to the economy, contributing about 45% to GDP and more than
half of exports. Much of the country's food must still be imported.
To fully take advantage of its rich natural resources - gold, diamonds,
extensive forests, Atlantic fisheries, and large oil deposits - Angola
will need to continue reforming government policies. While Angola made
progress in bringing inflation down further, from 325% in 2000 to about
106% in 2002, the government has failed to make sufficient progress
on reforms recommended by the IMF such as increasing foreign exchange
reserves and promoting greater transparency in government spending.
Increased oil production should bring about 6% GDP growth in 2003. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $16.9 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
9% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $1,600 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
8%
industry: 67%
services: 25% (2001 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
106% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
5 million (1997 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 85%, industry and services 15% (1997 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
extensive unemployment and underemployment affecting more than half
the population (2002 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$928 million
expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital
expenditures of $963 million (1992 est.) |
| Industries: |
petroleum; diamonds, iron ore, phosphates, feldspar, bauxite, uranium,
and gold; cement; basic metal products; fish processing; food processing;
brewing; tobacco products; sugar; textiles |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
1% |
| Agriculture
- products: |
bananas, sugarcane, coffee, sisal, corn, cotton, manioc (tapioca), tobacco,
vegetables, plantains; livestock; forest products; fish |
| Exports: |
$8.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
crude oil, diamonds, refined petroleum products, gas, coffee, sisal,
fish and fish products, timber, cotton |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 44.2%, China 18.7%, France 9.0%, Belgium 8.8%, Spain 2.1% (2001)
|
| Imports: |
$4.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and electrical equipment, vehicles and spare parts; medicines,
food, textiles, military goods |
| Imports
- partners: |
Portugal 14.6%, South Africa 12.4%, US 10.3%, France 4.8%, Brazil 4.1%
(2001) |
| Debt
- external: |
$9.9 billion (2002 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$383.5 million (1999) |
| Currency: |
kwanza (AOA) |
| Currency
code: |
AOA |
| Exchange
rates: |
kwanza per US dollar - 43.5302 (2002), 22.058 (2001), 10.041 (2000),
2.791 (1999), 0.393 (1998); note - in December 1999 the kwanza was revalued
with six zeroes dropped off the old value |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
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