1987 Edition

Climate

semiarid in south and along coast to Luanda; north has cool, dry season (May to October) and hot, rainy season (November to April)

Coastline

1,600 km

Comparative area

almost twice the size of Texas

Environment

locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on plateau; desertification

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Land boundaries

5,070 km total

Land use

2% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 23% meadows and pastures; 43% forest and woodland; 31% other

Special notes

Cabinda is separated from rest of country by Zaire

Terrain

narrow coastal plain rises abruptly to vast interior plateau

Territorial sea

20 nm

Total area

<¢ 300 km Cabinda South Atlantic Ocean

1,246,700 km?; land area: 1,246,700 km?

Ethnic divisions

37% Ovimbundu, 25% Kimbundu, 13% Bakongo, 2% Mestico, 1% European

Infant mortality rate

148/1,000 (1983)

Labor force

2,783,000 economically active (mid-1985 est.); 85% agriculture, 15% industry

Language

Portuguese (official); various Bantu dialects

Life expectancy

men 40.6, women 42.9

Literacy

20%

Nationality

noun—Angolan(s), adjective— Angolan

Organized labor

about 450,695 (1980)

Population

7,950,244 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 2.86%; includes Cabinda 109,802, average annual growth rate 6.64%

Religion

68% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, about 12% indigenous beliefs

Administrative divisions

18 provinces

Branches

the official party is the supreme political institution; legislative—National People’s Assembly

Capital

Luanda

Elections

none held to date Political parties and leaders: Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labor Party (MPLA - Labor Party), led by dos Santos, is the only legal party; National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), lost to the MPLA in immediate postindependence struggle, now carrying out insurgency

Government leader

José Eduardo dos SANTOS, President (since September 1979)

Legal system

formerly based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law; being modified along socialist model

Member of

AfDB, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), ICAO, IFAD, ILO, 1MO, INTELSAT, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

National holiday

Independence Day, 11 November

Official name

People’s Republic of Angola

Suffrage

to be determined

Type

Marxist people’s republic

Agriculture

cash crops—coffee, sisal, corn cotton, sugar, manioc, and tobacco; food crops—cassava, corn, vegetables, plantains bananas, and other local foodstuffs; disruptions caused by civil war require food imports

Budget

total expenditures $2.7 billion (1986 est.)

Electric power

540,000 kW capacity; 851 million kWh produced, 100 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$1.2 billion (f.0.b., 1986 est.) oil, coffee, diamonds, sisal, fish and fish products, timber, and cotton

Fiscal year

calendar year

Fishing

catch 112,000 metric tons (1982)

GDP

$3.0 billion, $390 per capita, 0% real growth (1986 est.)

Imports

$1.4 billion (f.0.b., 1986 est.); capital equipment (machinery and electrical equipment), food, vehicles and spare parts, textiles and clothing, medicines; substantial military deliveries

Major industries

mining (oil, diamonds), fish processing, brewing, tobacco, sugar processing, textiles, cement, food processing plants, building construction

Major trade partners

US, USSR, Cuba, Portugal, and Brazil

Monetary conversion rate

official rate 80.214 kwanza=US$1; black market rate reportedly 1,200-1,500 kwanza=US$1 (December 1986)

Natural resources

petroleum, diamonds, iron, phosphates, copper, feldspar, gold, bauxite, uranium

Airfields

349 total, 252 usable; 25 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 12 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 7] with runways 1,220-2,489 m

Civil air

30 major transport aircraft

Highways

73,828 km total; 8,577 km bituminous-surface treatment, 29,350 km crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth, remainder unimproved earth

Inland waterways

1,295 km navigable

Pipelines

crude oil, 179 km

Ports

8 major (Luanda, Lobito, Namibe), 5 minor

Railroads

3,189 km total; 2,879 km 1.067 meter gauge, 310 km 0.600-meter gauge

Telecommunications

fair system of wire, radio-relay, and troposcatter routes; high frequency used extensively for military / Cuban links; 2 Atlantic Ocean satellite stations; 40,300 telephones (0.5 per 100 popl.); 16 AM, 13 FM, 2 TV stations

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force/Air Defense; paramilitary forces—People’s Defense Organization and Territorial Troops, Frontier Guard, Popular Vigilance Brigades

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 December 1983, $587 million; 25% of central government budget Anguilla ° ‘ombrero Caribbean Sea Scrub island ? THE VALLEY; Blowing Point

Military manpower

males 15-49, 1,933,000; 972,000 fit for military service; 85,000 reach military age (18) annually